Jofftastic

I changed the air filter in my diesel engine the other week and after looking around the best diesel air filter available I finally decided on one.   There are many websites out there giving advice on which air filter is the best for my TDi engine, including diesel filters.  It’s not just the TDi engine though, but everything from SDi to i-CDTi and everything in between.

Diesel engines are fast becoming the engine of choice for many motorists so the choice of aftermarket replacement parts such as air filters and oil filters is only going to increase as manufacturers switch from petrol to diesel parts.

The VAG range of engines is well catered for and should present no problems in sourcing parts.

The 1.9 TDI is the emblematic turbodiesel from Volkswagen, which developed the notion of various outputs of the same engine. In the Passat, the 90 hp was introduced in 1993, the 110 hp in 1996 and the first TDI with pump­jet direct injection in 1998 with 115 hp.

Looking for diesel air filters?

The Diesel engine has been under a lot of changes lately, many of them being related to the unique fuel control process that distinguishes the diesel engine from the petrol alternative. Recent new technologies in petrol engines have introduced changes in the way the fuel ignites by modifying the ignition cycle to great complexities, resulting in technologies such as Honda’s Intelligent Dual Spark plug Ignition (i-Dsi).

It seems only yesterday when I was enthusiastically championing the launch of the official Dodo Juice wax forums.

Fast forward a whole 24 hours and my inbox has just received an email announcing the Dodo Juice website itself has gone live! I have to admit I was a bit concerned that the website would be all geared towards the professional car detailer and completely forget the little guys at home.

Thankfully pj at Dodo Juice has pretty much got it sorted with what Dodo Juice are called “version 0.95″ of the website. With a tongue-firmly-in-cheek theme, the website entertains as much as it educates in the world of Dodo Juice wax.

From the Dodo’s humble beginnings on Mauritius, to the origins of the Carnauba wax and Candelilla wax that help to make Dodo Juice wax the product it is today, everything you need to know about your favourite premium car wax is online in all it’s Dodo technicolour glory.

The website also features some tips to cleaning your car, getting the paintwork ready for that all important final coat of Dodo Juice Light Fantastic (or maybe it’s Dodo Juice Banana Armour for you?). For those that really want to get stuck into their tub (literally), a “handy” guide on applying the Dodo Juice wax by hand (ah now those jokes make sense!) is only a click away. That relationship with your car just moved to a whole new level.

In case you were wondering, Carnauba Palm is found in the Brazilian Rainforest and the wax produced by it’s leaves is harder than concrete. Candelilla bushes are found in Mexico (and Texas) and produce Candelilla wax, which without it, Dodo Juice just wouldn’t be the same.

Oh, did I mention the hatch…?

If the number of Dodo Juice Wax websites was anything to go by, all other carnauba wax manufacturers will be out of business by the end of the year!

The latest in a long line of sites promoting the Dodo Juice wax range is Dodo Juice Wax UK, giving visitors all the juicy details on a product range with names (and ingredients) that you’d expect to find on a range of Innocent smoothies rather than a range of premium carnauba waxes.

It sounds like Dodo Juice Light Fantastic is the wax for me, seeing as my car is silver and I’m lazy when it comes to cleaning the car. For those willing to put the effort in and reap the rewards, the best selling Dodo Juice Banana Armour is right up your street with a hard wearing finish that will keep you grinning as the water just beads way each time it rains.

The Dodo Juice Forums are also in full swing so point your beak in it’s direction and register your interest.

Let me explain why I believe Pipercross to be the best air filters for the enthusiast looking for increased performance and engine protection.

After spending quite a bit of time researching into various performance air filter solutions for the Fabia vRS, I finally decided that the Pipercross panel filter was the one for me.

So why Pipercross?
Firstly, it’s an OE replacement filter which means it’s designed to fit to the original vehicle’s airbox and doesn’t require any modification of other parts. That makes it good for cars under warranty as well as insurance companies.

…doesn’t require oiling

Secondly, the Pipercross air filter for my TDi Skoda doesn’t require oiling. That’s probably not a big deal to most people but for owners of engines with Bosch air flow meters (MAF sensors) it can be a big headache when oil from a filter contaminates the sensor causing it to send false signals or fail altogether.
Pipercross listened to their customers and developed a specification of foam which could run dry and is now the filter of choice over greasy rivals like K&N, Green and BMC where some VAG specialists are concerned.

Third, I can run the foam Pipercross filter for 25,000 miles without having to worry about it clogging up and starving my engine of air. With standard paper filters and cotton-gauze filters like K&N and Green, dirt starts to clog the filter as soon as it’s fitted thus compromising airflow.
Thanks to it’s three-dimensional nature however, foam allows air to bypass blocked cells (cells that have trapped dirt) and doesn’t restrict airflow until it’s full loaded.

In researching air filter options, I discovered that cotton-gauze filters can become noticeably ineffective in as few as 2,000 miles of road use! Green even state in their instructions that their filters require cleaning after 5,000km (3,100 miles) which is pretty pointless for a car designed for every day use in my opinion.

Fourth and finally, cleaning. When the time comes to finally clean the air filter (roughly every two years for me and my Pipercross filter), all I need to do is tap off any loose debris and armed with a Pipercross cleaning solution (C9003 if anyone’s interested as I don’t need the oil that comes with their other cleaning kits) spray the cleaner over the filter and run under the tap. Once the dirt has all gone, the filter can be patted dry with some kitchen towels and then popped back into the airbox.

The cleaning method for an old K&N filter I had on my Vauxhall Nova was horrendous and needed all manner of bottles, trays and devices to sufficiently clean and re-oil the filter. If the K&N is over-oiled, it doesn’t work. If it’s under-oiled, it doesn’t work. No thanks.

Conclusion

As you’ve probably guessed, I’m a fan of this Pipercross filter. I did consider other air filter manufacturers but as it’s my money and time I didn’t think their products were all they were cracked up to be. If I was running a race team with a supply of free filters I might be tempted by K&N or Green but for road use the Pipercross filter cannot be bettered in my view.
Saying that, if I did have a race team, I would be speaking to Pipercross to get a different grade of filter (they make different types for road and race use) that was more in tune with my needs.