Just curious, for those out there with all out race cars, do you run an air filter? I know almost all the stock eliminator cars have basically an open throttle body.

I've been thinking about modifying my current home made induction setup and my new design won't have room for any filter.

My car is a "track only" car. I'm not looking to gain performance from running no filter but gain from being able to ram more air in a new way. I currently have a K&N FIPK filter at the end of my home made intake, I will try to reuse it if possible.

Any thoughts?

Thx,
Lee

 

Many people pull their filters at the track on their daily drivers...I do. And yes, I pick up a little MPH like that too (perhaps helped by the FTRA kit.)

 

I've experimented with this. It seems everytime I've pulled it, I go faster for one pass and then the car slows down the next few. I'm wondering if I should have it tuned without the filter and see if that helps.

 

i have seen a motor get messed up due to this. a bolt came loose from the ftra and got sucked into the motor and bent a wrist pin.

at least put a stocking over the maf to catch trash from going into the motor.

 

my boyfriend drives his car as a daily driver and he takes out his air filter at the track but leaves it in for daily driving!

 

Lee,

No air filter for me. Madman made me a killer air induction system. He cut out the space where the licence plate goes. Built a air box with a big tube that goes to the throttle body tube. We call this the Big Dick mod.

When is your 1st race of 2004? Mine is this weekend. 2nd Annual Hang Over Nationals at Lone Star Raceway(Sealy, Texas).

Coach

 

I know this thread is old but I'll be running a very similar setup pretty soon and this question has been bothering me for a while. I run at Sealy a lot and the bugs out there are ridiculous, I'm running some mesh over my inlets but anything smaller than 1/4" may still make it through. So how bad would it be if I sucked in a few small bugs?

 

I doubt chunks of bug are goint to cause much issue, I'd be more worried about rocks and bolts/screws.
Having said that, I (and many others) routinely race filterless then reinstall before driving home.
I do a have a mesh on my ram air hood though.

 

Here's how I would do it...

 

I have run without a filter before but it's the new intake setup that concerns me, seeing as the holes in my bumper will flow directly to the tb. Also there are no screws in the intake path and rocks really aren't too much of a concern unless I'm losing at just the right distance for the other car to throw a rock into one of the 6" holes, missing the screen, and bounce its way up 2' of piping

I'd have to sell my damn car to do that

 

I don't use a filter with my Dominator style TB. Though I have some foam and a carb tray that seat up against the cowl of the hood.

 

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I've never ran a air filter. I keep everything covered between rounds when working on stuff.
Definitely cover everything when towing, or when stored.
I'm sure with all the huge hood scoops out there, a bug or pebble has found it's way in there.
Probably not a good thing. Especially since you are so much closer to the ground, maybe a screen would be a good idea??
I was thinking about something myself, just never got around to it.
I believe there were some ideas on the bullet, that guys liked a lot.

.

 

I pull my filter but I have a stock MAF so I have a screen. I don't know if it helps or not the times between runs with or without were on two differant nights.

 

I'm sorry, but it's just not worth the risk for what little ET gain may or may not be generated IMHO. We did run without a filter a few times when we first got started into the LS game and never saw a noticable improvement. It actually seemed like we slowed down a bit IMO.

There is just too much to risk (dirt, sand, etc) getting into the cylinders. These engines are not cheap. For guys that do stay on top of it and keep it covered when not needed that's all fine, but most do not and that's when the trouble starts. Most racers do run without any protection, but they also freshen their engine on a regular basis.

If you want to freshen your engine on a regular basis, toss that filter in the trash and good luck

 

i think i made a couple more HP on the dyno without it, I always take it out at the track

 

I tried this at the track this weekend and I didn't gain anything.

 

I'll only have this intake on at the track, I'll drive there with the lid setup on. I can't imagine there would be enough dust in the air to affect it much for the 20 minutes or so it will be running but I guess if it's a windy day I may have something to worry about.

Either way, the intake setup I want to do won't work with an air filter so I guess I'll just go test it out and see what happens.

 

Ive had my car for almost 3 years, and have made probably 3000 passes with no airfilter, and forgot to put the filter in and drove 35 minutes home multiple times. My mass air flow really doesnt get that dirty, ive cleaned it once, and check it every once in awhile, but its usually really clean. I guess it might be a little different, but ive watched my dad and now me race our older muscle cars with no type of filter for 10 years and they are still running the same exact thing.

 

Like a lot of guys here, I take mine out when I get to the track and put it back in for the drive back

 

I honestly wouldn't even bother, much like TXCAMSS said. It's not worth the risk to me.