i have read the air box mod page as well and i had some questions. i live in the rainy state of washington and was wondering if anyone has had a problem with gettin water up in there? just curious

 

I keep saying it, but it still makes sense to get some sort of aftermarket cotton/gauze filter (K&N, etc) for the simple fact that you never buy another filter again. That alone is worth the money. Any secondary benefits (any additional power, better DV sound, better induction noise under throttle) is just gravy on it.

FWIW, most likely the 1.8T people going BT will need some sort of intake - while the OEM setup has been proven more than capableof flowing enough air to support a K04 or any version of a chipped and modded OEM turbo, when you start throwing a big honking turbo into the mix, I doubt the OEM setup will allow you to make the most of it, so if you're planning on a BT setup, get an intake of some sort as a preparatory mod and enjoy the fringe benefits of it on your stock setup along the way.

 

There's a disclaimer in there about that possibility, but it's been a mod that is popular and has been for a long time, and I have yet to read of anyone soaking their filter heavily, let alone hydrolocking their engine. I've seen a post or two about the filter being a little damp, and seeing a little water around the area of the filter, but not a single blown motor yet. The main thing to be careful of is standing water - if you see it, slow down and crawl through it at a slow speed to minimize the spray-up and you'll be OK.

 

Eh... I wouldnt have done the air box mod to a car that sees off road track action.

 

Yeah, good point there - from the looks of TheRussian's sig pic, he's a lunatic and a small pond with mud would probably be as irresistible as a $3 hooker on sailor's payday. I'd plug that up and get the cone if I were you, comrade

 

Right but Im saying mainly the dust particles could be killer. A higher flowing filter might even be a worse idea if used w/ the air box mod, or even a cone intake by itself. Im thinking the stock air box/filter are best for such conditions.....?

 

I agree with you - what I meant was to use the cone instead of the airbox mod - leave the fender liner alone, so that there is no opening to the outside (if the airbox mod is done, seal it back up with rubber gasketing material), and use the cone instead. That'll keep the dust out of the filter for the most part (maybe not all the way, given how he seems to drive, but better than if the mod is done).