K&N 57i - Good or Evil

Very unlikey - on older, simpler systems fitting a free-flowing filter such as the K&N could cause over heating due to an over-lean mixture. Fitting larger jets to correct the mixture was the normal fix (we're talking carburettor systems here, especially on bikes.) An over-rich mixture would cool, not heat, your engine. Your car has a closed loop mixture system, so the fuel-air mix will be correct no matter how good or bad your air filter is. You may have got a tad more power by fitting the new filter, but that head/gasket system should cope with a lot more, as it's essentially unchaged in the larger versions of the K engine. Possibly, given that your approach to driving extends to uprating stock components, you may have driven your car considerably harder than the previous owner, and this could have provoked the failure. Not much else I can suggest, other than the usual advice for keeping your K alive - check coolant level frequently, watch out for oil in coolant, water in oil etc.

Snip the top poster

Snip The head gasket has now gone on it causing untold damage to the rest

Head gasket caused by an air filter you must be having a giraffe mate! This is caused by hard plastic dowls trying to stop the head warping . Face it these are a design fault in this series of engines. Land Rover are replacing them under warrenty and so should Rover.

You may need to get a garage to adjust the mix ratio as it will now be lean. As ever when you change a part to a performance one think what it connects to and comensate with that ie fuel/air

The top poster was corect.

AJ VPRBRC Mids Rep RBRC Zrx1100 Rover 220 Coupe

Which century are you living in? :)

Assuming that the K-Series runs the same Rover MEMs as my 600, it's one of the most advanced systems in use. It automatically adjusts on the fly as and when neccessary and 'adapts' to individual driving styles.

As with all modern cars, the mixture is completely computer controlled and unalterable by conventional methods. That's why they have ECUs and umpteen dozen different sensors situated around the engine in them...

Well put - routine mixture and timing adjustments were a quaint, 20th century pastime.

Pretty much as I said - they key sensor here is the lambda sensor in the exhaust, which keeps the mixture stochiometric. Whether the air filter is standard, 'go fast', missing or blocked solid will not affect the mixture on this car. Whatever air gets through, the ECU will inject the appropriate amount of fuel for it. This is what a closed loop system does.

Bob

Well this is not strictly true mems only uses the lambda under part throttle or cruise conditions at certain temps, under full trottle or engine load conditions the fuel ratio and timing are mapped, this is why the engine still runs with a faulty lambda or indeed why if you put a 1.8 mems on to a

You're right, there's no air flow meter, but there is a manifold pressure sensor, which is enough to establish airflow when the engine speed is known. The ignition and fuelling is determined by the ECU map, but the lambda sets the reference of the map so all the other map points are relative. But of course, the map does have to be the one established for the engine, so they are not interchangeable between engines, as you say. Whatever, I don't think it's possible to 'adjust' the mixture as such - you would need to substitute a new map in the ECU.

Exactly.. I was even told by a very senior person at piper x, that they make and sell these air ram kits etc purely for the "youth market" where induction noise creates a perceived increase in performance when in actual fact the opposite is true due to increased air intake, high temps etc. The only worthwile change is a panel filter designed to fit the oem induction system, retaining cold air intake etc.

How can they be ? It doesn't matter what filter you have, as long as it filters the air !

Well yes. If there was any extra air coming in, then obviously the amount of fuel would have to be increased to compensate - otherwise you'd have too much air in there, and not enough fuel. Bear in mind that the extra air allowed in by your K&N is *MINISCULE*.

Think about what you're saying here !

Quite obviously not !

Nope.

Just out of interest, why do you want to fit the K&N ?

No.

All cars produced after 1993 in the UK, have closed-loop fuel injection, with a lambda sensor. The mixture is automatically adjusted on-the-fly.

Pure and simple - I like the way it sounds. I realise that it won't make the car noticeably faster, better, accelerate quicker but I am part of the 'youth market' as mentioned before and why not have a K&N? It was also quite cheap so I didn't shell out a fortune.

Go ahead and fit it as it can't do any damage at all and enjoy the induction roar why not indeed. I was in the same market myself once and fitted useless oil soaked wire mesh pancake filters to my mini because they the right noise.

Fair enough. I have one fitted to mine, simply so I don't need to replace the filter every service. The nice noise is a bonus :)

I was just checking you weren't one of those folks that buys one, thinking they'll get a heap of "free" power !