Do I really need an air filter?

[GoldenEye]

I’ve seen countless turbo cars with no filter, just straight turbo, so I fuk’d around and removed my filter and put on a double layer mesh screen, sounds nasty AF. But seriously, do turbo cars really need air filters?

2 seconds of google;

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[rwense]

Yes

 

[racebuild]

Engine mask is optional.

 

[XtremeMaC]

dude. I think it's time to visit the looney doc. Air intake is becoming an obsession

kidding aside, I remember you poked some holes next to the radar for CAI inlet hose and it's not like the under the hood is sealed. I doubt a rock or stone is likely to be sucked in given that your engine shield cover is intact (except small ones!). Top of my head, I can think of leaves and stuff like that getting sucked in.. I don't know if slimy stuff could make it there, but wouldn't want the turbine splashing crap onto the turbo core.

but don't go installing a ram intake duct with this

 

[GoldenEye]

@XtremeMaC , lol my guy! Yeah maybe a little but for real the sound is CRAZY!

 

[Jmanlevan]

@GoldenEye I’ve noticed a lot of the big top mount turbos like the pictures you posted and have wondered that myself. Genuinely curious as to why those setups don’t need an intake filter. Maybe one of these top mount turbo guys can chime in and educate us as to why.

 

[Axix23]

I did a dyno pull on a custom sidewinder mounted turbo on my Acura with a filter and without. It was a 10whp difference on the dyno. I personally WOULD run a filter if it’s a street driven car. Most people with top mount turbos in an a90 have limited space to run a filter…. You would need a fairly short/flat one.

 

[lucky phil]

Do you need an air filter on a road car? No. But what's needed and what's advisable are different things. Just a fine mesh screen to stop the major stuff is doable but not really desirable in the real world. I rode Ducati road bikes for years with just coarse screens for filtering and of course the race bikes never had filters. The surprising thing was the cylinder and ring wear/damage and oil contamination wasn't an issue but the tell-tale was minor valve seat damage. You could always tell the open carbed road engines because of the pitting on the valve seats from airborne particles getting caught between the seat and closing valve. It was never an issue with regards to engine/valve failure but they did require seat grinding and sometimes a light cut to restore them again where the filtered engines didn't suffer the same way.

Phil

 

[ope_sry]

I think the big turbo guys don’t care because they’re probably doing 1/4 mile stuff. Around town I would cringe driving without a filter, not for fear of ingesting rocks or water, just the dust and small particulate matter in the air. I’d worry about engine longevity and even turbine blade erosion. Turbine engines in aircraft are unfiltered and they have rigorous inspection criteria for erososion- and they’re flying way up in the clean air. The cowboys in 8 second cars plan a rebuild every winter anyways

 

[Evolution]

People who don't run air filters or run improper air filters for their application is what keeps me having a job. So yes, it's fine to run without one.

 

[lucky phil]

I think the big turbo guys don’t care because they’re probably doing 1/4 mile stuff. Around town I would cringe driving without a filter, not for fear of ingesting rocks or water, just the dust and small particulate matter in the air. I’d worry about engine longevity and even turbine blade erosion. Turbine engines in aircraft are unfiltered and they have rigorous inspection criteria for erososion- and they’re flying way up in the clean air. The cowboys in 8 second cars plan a rebuild every winter anyways

Not if you're flying somewhere like domestically in India they're not. We used to provide power by the hour to a major Indian airline and the dirty air effects on compressors were significant. However a gas turbine shifts a lot more air than a turbo car engine. Most of the compressor blade damage in commercial jet engines is from tarmac and runway foreign objects, so FOD. General erosion of compressor blades isn't a real issue. Takeoffs and landing on pacific Coral runways can be a problem as well but there are Coral runway kits for those to minimise blade erosion.

Phil

 

[Thraxbert]

I love sandblasting my comp wheels.

 

[BrettMRC]

I've always run a filter, even on a big turbo drag setups.

It's just not worth the extra grief vector!

 

[razorlab]

Why not run a filter? Or we can talk about something completely different like airplane turbines so we can sound smart.

My hair dryer and leaf blower have filters and they use turbines so it must be the same, right?

 

[Kujiwara]

if you have to have that extra 10hp or so then i guess no filter, or can go for an over size filter (aka 800hp flow rated filter if you are making 650hp) and that would help negate losses to some extent

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