Performance Air Intake Systems

Dedicated or universal

A dedicated intake comes with the pipework and the box made for your engine, bolts into the factory points and keeps the filter away from the heat in the bay. A universal one is cheaper and more flexible, but it needs adapting, and if the filter ends up in hot air you gain noise and lose power.

Replacement filter

Some of these are filters that go straight into the original box. It is the cheapest and least invasive option: you keep the factory heat shielding and cold air feed and gain from the lower resistance of the filter medium. On a nearly standard road car, it is often all that is worth doing.

Where it draws air from matters more than how it looks

A good looking intake pipe drawing 70 degree air out of the engine bay gives less than the original airbox pulling from the front of the car. That is why the good kits come with a closed box and ducting to the grille. When you compare two kits, look at where they take their air from.

What it can also ask for

On some engines, an intake that changes the position or the type of the airflow meter needs the map adapted as well. Check on the product page whether that is the case, so you are not left with the engine light on after fitting.