Hey all, currently have 10 plate s3 with Apr stage 1 dyno'd at 321hp looking to get an intake but not really up for replacing engine cover or having anything too loud as it's mainly Mrs drives the car lol. The Apr carbonio looks good however it's quite pricey. Is it actually good or is there any alternatives that will do job required. Looking at possible hpfp and possibly downpipe in future. Cheers
Apr carbonio intake
- Thread starter StevomcS3
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I believe even with the Carbonio you can't fit the engine cover - at least on the S3. Standard A3 is fine tho.
Depends on what you mean by 'good' - if you want out and out power or best bang for buck then you should look elsewhere - Revo or Neuspeed at the expense of 'phat' noise otherwise the only other alternative is the VW Racing which is an enclose type like the Carbonio - similar price and similar performance.
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Anything I have read does not suggest any improvement with the Carbonio. I have the Neuspeed now running at APR stage 2+. Good quality, value for money and it fits well. It does make more noise as do all of the open cone type filters. The VWR filter is enclosed so will make less noise. However it is expensive and you still have to lose the engine cover.
Originally, I was running APR stage 1+ with the standard engine cover. However, I had installed a Pipercross filter and smoothed as much as possible of the inside of the engine cover airbox. If you open it up you will see lots of plastic struts and ribs. Some are to support the structure but to my eyes some were unnessasary and so I chopped them out and smoothed with files and sandpaper. The idea was to remove as much of the restriction as possible. My car made good stage 1+ figures and pulled well.
If you are considering a hpfp and a downpipe in the future the youare looking at stage 2+. You will need an intake of some type as even the modified oem cover filter box will be too restrictive.
Originally, I was running APR stage 1+ with the standard engine cover. However, I had installed a Pipercross filter and smoothed as much as possible of the inside of the engine cover airbox. If you open it up you will see lots of plastic struts and ribs. Some are to support the structure but to my eyes some were unnessasary and so I chopped them out and smoothed with files and sandpaper. The idea was to remove as much of the restriction as possible. My car made good stage 1+ figures and pulled well.
If you are considering a hpfp and a downpipe in the future the youare looking at stage 2+. You will need an intake of some type as even the modified oem cover filter box will be too restrictive.
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The original Carbonio was not much of an improvement over the stock system.
There's a bit of history in the rest of this...
The VWRacing intake is essentially an enclosed ITG system.
APR were for a while based with VWRacing,in Milton Keynes,and during that time,the VWRacing intake was developed,along with ITG.
If you look at the design of the VWR and current APR Carbonio intakes,you will notice a number of similarities,especially in how the filter element is totally enclosed.
Awesome were with APR,then not,and are now the UK distributor for APR,when APR Europe moved off to Germany after some "issues" with VWR in the UK.
There was a big restructuring of the way APR was being run in 2014,when Mangrove Equity took over,and things have worked well since.
With respect to the VWR system particularly,it does work up to at least the requirements of hybrid and smaller BT systems.
The ITG on which that is based is good for over 600bhp,although it's no looker.
There's a bit of history in the rest of this...
The VWRacing intake is essentially an enclosed ITG system.
APR were for a while based with VWRacing,in Milton Keynes,and during that time,the VWRacing intake was developed,along with ITG.
If you look at the design of the VWR and current APR Carbonio intakes,you will notice a number of similarities,especially in how the filter element is totally enclosed.
Awesome were with APR,then not,and are now the UK distributor for APR,when APR Europe moved off to Germany after some "issues" with VWR in the UK.
There was a big restructuring of the way APR was being run in 2014,when Mangrove Equity took over,and things have worked well since.
With respect to the VWR system particularly,it does work up to at least the requirements of hybrid and smaller BT systems.
The ITG on which that is based is good for over 600bhp,although it's no looker.
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I originally went for the Revo CAI and I wasn't a fan of how noisy it was so I bought a second hand VWR CAI from a member on here and its much more to my taste as you can barely hear it.
I have found 2 issues with the VWR though:
1. As it's so big it rubbed on some pipes but I had the pipes moved slightly by a mechanic.
2. The TTS Engine cover doesn't quite fit as again the intake is so big, so I trimmed a little off the corner.
All in all I'm happy with my VWR Intake
I have found 2 issues with the VWR though:
1. As it's so big it rubbed on some pipes but I had the pipes moved slightly by a mechanic.
2. The TTS Engine cover doesn't quite fit as again the intake is so big, so I trimmed a little off the corner.
All in all I'm happy with my VWR Intake
My Carbonio albeit on the 2.0 TSI engine. Been on for about 3 years now. Recently swapped out the filter for a dry version.
Thanks for the replys guys... got myself in a bit of a twist with this so went to see local Apr dealer to see what they were saying... they confirmed that the carbonio wasn't that great and doest offer great performance gains which was surprising.. they also recommended the vw racing as I wanted it to still be quiet... having talking with them I have decided to go stage 2. Stage 2+ with hpfp is going to put a lot of strain on clutch which I'm not up for upgrading. To be honest I'm probs going to chop car in next summer for rs3 so miltek downpipe and vw racing cai and flash to stage 2 seems to be the way to go for now. What u think?
The reason why the carbonio on the 8P S3 is not that great is because it's just an intake scoop feeding the oem airbox. It looks good due to the carbon and I ran it on stage 2 and 2+ for a bit but it really will hold the car back.
If stopping at stage 2 the vwr is perfectly fine.
If stopping at stage 2 the vwr is perfectly fine.
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As mentioned earlier, there is a little pipe near the diverter valve that will need shortening and some hose clips turning round to avoid rubbing.
This looks an interesting development from Milltek in that they are marketing a cast down pipe rather like the APR downpipe I have fitted.
http://m.millteksport.com/product.news.read.cfm?articleid=180
This looks an interesting development from Milltek in that they are marketing a cast down pipe rather like the APR downpipe I have fitted.
http://m.millteksport.com/product.news.read.cfm?articleid=180
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