Evora 400 Air Filter Change / Upgrade

[dalepearson]

So after @JayEmm mentioned he changed his air filter to a K&N in his Evora 400 with positive results, I thought I would do the same.
Its not difficult but its not simple either, so thought I would share quick thoughts on the strips to take.

Ideally if you have the ability to shrink like Ant-Man this would be the recommended approach, failing that put on some gloves and be ready to lose some skin and assume all sorts of awkward twisting positions.

1. Disconnect the air pipe between the airbox and the engine, un-tighten both ends and remove engine side first, then you can wiggle it off the air box. Its attached so just push up towards the rear window
2. Now unclip the MAF sensor and tuck this down out the way
3. Now top left there is a black plastic cylinder thing (not sure what its called), slide this up and it will come off the mount, again push this up our of the way as its still attache
4. Now there are 3 clips to undo, the first one is easy its on the top right of the box, just under where the pipe was you removed. The next one is top left you can get to this by reaching up and down where the black plastic cylinder was removed. Then finally you have one bottom left which is a right pig to get to, so just carefully squeeze your hand through near the coolant reservoir, or over and down the airbox.
5. Once done the airbox should pull off to the right (you can see the little slot mounts easily) it should move forward around an inch, then you can slowly raise it up and ease the paper filter out. Sometimes the clips rest back down which will stop it sliding, so keep checking those clips and wiggling.
6. If replacing with another paper filter be careful not to crumple it going back in, but if you are using an aftermarket K&N or Green it will manipulate abit easier and slot in
7. Reverse the steps, the hardest bit here is sliding it all back on into the mounts and a nice square fit, doing up the clips is alot easier than undoing, but make sure everything is tight and sealed
8. Reconnect the pipe, hang up the cylinder and reconnect the MAF sensor cable.

It will take a little while for the car to adjust as the airflow will change slightly, you can speed this up by disconnecting the battery, but thats probably more hassle so just let it adjust over time.

The K&N replacement panel filter is part number K&N 33-2355 and costs around £50

I will add I think these cars are getting hard and harder to work on
My Elise I did all the work on, as with the Exige S which was slightly trickier, then on my S1 Evora I fitted the exhaust and a Radium Induction kit. So I am confident in what I am doing, but man some of these things are a ball ache

Edited July 23, 2017 by dalepearson

[dalepearson]

Once the K&N filter is in here are the improvements:

• Increased air intake (can hear the air sucking more, like the Radium I had on my S1 Evora)
• Increased supercharger whine (I like this)
• More pops from the exhaust, sounds even more animal
• Increased throttle response, but coming on an off the pedal

[Cypriot]

21 hours ago, dalepearson said:

Once the K&N filter is in here are the improvements:

• Increased air intake (can hear the air sucking more, like the Radium I had on my S1 Evora)
• Increased supercharger whine (I like this)
• More pops from the exhaust, sounds even more animal
• Increased throttle response, but coming on an off the pedal

thanks for the guide.  What do you mean by "but coming on and off the pedal".  Do you mean, "both coming on and off?

[dalepearson]

Sorry yeah, I meant "both".
In the past I would say coming off the throttle could be abit jerky, now its alot smoother.

[Phil S1]

Just ordered a K&N for my Sports Racer, great price at the moment from carparts4less using their 'Madness' discount code. Only £38.79 with free delivery!

Thought I'd better check it was the OE filter I had currently fitted before ordering and fully agree with Dale, removing it was a right pain, at least I now know what to expect when the K&N arrives :-)

[dalepearson]

Just as well the hands heal quickly

[Phil S1]

Fitted it last night, it was alot easier the second time round, a bit of lube on the air pipe also helped with the reassembly 

[dalepearson]

On 20/09/2017 at 06:54, Phil S1 said:

Fitted it last night, it was alot easier the second time round, a bit of lube on the air pipe also helped with the reassembly 

That you think Phil?

[Phil S1]

On 26/09/2017 at 19:43, dalepearson said:

That you think Phil?

TBH Dale, although I've not driven it much as yet, I couldn't tell any real difference....maybe it's better suited to the supercharged 400 than my lowly NA 

[JayEmm]

If the 400 is anything to go by, the difference is mostly noted with the passenger window down. However to me the biggest difference was the increased SC whine, which you obviously won't be getting.

[Mister_Tad]

Thread revival - I have one of the K&N filters sitting in a box that I've not yet got around to slotting in - I wasn't going to pass up making an impractically noisy car even noisier for the sake of £40.

 

When perusing tuning options to add some urgency to my land-barge today, I came across a suggestion that a non-standard-fit air filter would need to be declared on insurance, which I didn't even consider - aside from marketing claims of a million more horsepower, we're not really talking about power gains.

 

So question to those that have fit it - Declared? Premium hike?

Edited January 25, 2018 by Mister_Tad

[RichardC]

I've fitted K&N replacement filters to just about every car that we have owned: never declared them to insurance companies and never had a problem with claims. What we are talking about here is a washable replacement panel filter, made of oil-soaked cotton gauze, rather than the paper used by other manufacturers. I doubt that they offer any power increase over a new, good quality paper filter. However, I believe that they still flow well even when dirty, so you don't loose power between services (source  - "Tuning BL's A-series Engine" by David Vizard). Basically it's a non-OEM replacement part with an extended service life, rather than a performance upgrade. I would however declare filters that require you to change any of the induction system, such as K&N cone filters, etc.

Edited January 27, 2018 by RichardC
typo

[Julian73]

On 1/25/2018 at 11:11, Mister_Tad said:

Thread revival - I have one of the K&N filters sitting in a box that I've not yet got around to slotting in - I wasn't going to pass up making an impractically noisy car even noisier for the sake of £40.

 

When perusing tuning options to add some urgency to my land-barge today, I came across a suggestion that a non-standard-fit air filter would need to be declared on insurance, which I didn't even consider - aside from marketing claims of a million more horsepower, we're not really talking about power gains.

 

So question to those that have fit it - Declared? Premium hike?

That is absurd, its a friggin maintenance item.

[KAS-118]

According to their advert https://www.knfilters.co.uk/search/appsearch.aspx?type=auto&year=2017&make=LOTUS&model=Evora&engine=3.5L its designed to increase power.

My view is that its non-standard - so tell the insurance company; if you don't you risk the fact that they'll find out and then say you're not covered.

[Mister_Tad]

I'm still on the fence.

On one hand it's a maintenance item, a consumable, designed to be standard-fit replacement, with no real-world power gains.

On the other hand, I'm sure if I called up my insurer and reported that I used a non-standard windscreen wash they would up my premium.

[RichardC]

22 hours ago, KAS-118 said:

According to their advert https://www.knfilters.co.uk/search/appsearch.aspx?type=auto&year=2017&make=LOTUS&model=Evora&engine=3.5L its designed to increase power.

My view is that its non-standard - so tell the insurance company; if you don't you risk the fact that they'll find out and then say you're not covered.

Marketing BS. However, it probably does ever-so-slightly increase the average power over the service interval between air filter changes as it's less prone to clogging up. IMHO informing the insurance company is way overboard as it's a direct replacement service part, albeit one of higher quality than the one that Lotus fit. Would you feel the need to inform them if you decided to change your paper air filter every 1000 miles? Or use slightly thinner engine oil?

Insurace companies will, sometimes out of ignorance but usually for profit, use any excuse to increase premiums. Are there any mods  that they'll reduce premiums for? Put better brakes on the car and their answer is "more likely to drive fast and therefore have a crash, more money please". OK so I'll put rubbish brakes on the car to encourage me to drive slowly and less likely to have a crash then!

[KAS-118]

3 hours ago, RichardC said:

Marketing BS. However, it probably does ever-so-slightly increase the average power over the service interval between air filter changes as it's less prone to clogging up. IMHO informing the insurance company is way overboard as it's a direct replacement service part, albeit one of higher quality than the one that Lotus fit. Would you feel the need to inform them if you decided to change your paper air filter every 1000 miles? Or use slightly thinner engine oil?

Insurace companies will, sometimes out of ignorance but usually for profit, use any excuse to increase premiums. Are there any mods  that they'll reduce premiums for? Put better brakes on the car and their answer is "more likely to drive fast and therefore have a crash, more money please". OK so I'll put rubbish brakes on the car to encourage me to drive slowly and less likely to have a crash then!

Well this http://www.lsxmag.com/tech-stories/engine/dyno-test-4-kn-vs-aem-5th-gen-camaro-intake-options/ seems to suggest it isn't "Marketing BS" - and in any event, I'm sure if you're involved in an accident with a non-declared filter put on the Insurance Company is going to be referring to the K&N website to see if their filters only reduce maintenance - or 'improve' other aspects of the car's engine.

This http://www.iaea-online.org/news/2015/06/motorists-warned-about-uninsured-modifications.aspx and this https://www.keithmichaels.co.uk/modified-cars-insurance/car-insurance-modifications-guide/ also identify the risks someone runs by not declaring a modification.

After spending £75k on a car - penny pinching on trying to avoid the comparatively minor costs of a slightly increased insurance premium seems rather a strange decision and, if you have an at fault accident and your car is written off and your claim refused due to the failure to disclose, a rather expensive one.  

Edited January 29, 2018 by KAS-118

[Mister_Tad]

Maybe I'm principled, maybe I'm just an idiot.

I'd take exception to phoning up and the person on the other end of the phone, through ignorance, jacked up my premium by £100+, "because modifications".

Where's the line with "non-standard"? A differently branded paper filter? Different engine oil? Tyre makes? Windscreen wash? I took one of the springs out of my fuel filler cap to lessen its ferocity opening, is that declarable? What about repairs with non-Lotus, but equivalent parts? Or even replacing a lotus part with its identical Toyota equivalent?

 

As it is though, I'm getting my annual quotes now and declaring it with the one that gave the best quote doesn't affect the premium at all. It also tickled me that their online quote system, under modifications, had an option for "slick tyres"... wtf?

Edited January 30, 2018 by Mister_Tad

[Bravo73]

Why doesn’t someone just ask the resident insurance brokers, @AIBinsurance, over on the Insurance forum?

 

[Bibs]

I called AIB and they said that anything which can change the performance of the car should be declared. It's called "utmost good faith" that they trust you're being honest about any changes you make and undeclared options could influence certain insurers from paying out. They also cover every aspect of the car, so if you upgrade the brakes for example, the extra cost is included in the value of the car which may be the cause of the premium change. That said, most modifications may not change premium anyway, so it's best to check with them when you do do something. 

[Colin P]

On 1/30/2018 at 12:11, Bravo73 said:

Why doesn’t someone just ask the resident insurance brokers, @AIBinsurance, over on the Insurance forum?

 

Or your resident Underwriting Manager, or read the Consumer Insurance act.

In summary however in the Consumer world the general principle is to answer any questions asked honestly. If you do that then you are OK, if you don't then you are not. One of the questions is always about modifications - so if it didn't leave the factory that way then it is a modification. Some questions are better phrased and more specific that others, such as "have you made any cosmetic changes to the appearance of the vehicle" or "changes that affect performance".

Strictly speaking a straight forward "modification" question would pick up non standard parts, so anything not OEM, however an insurer would still need to demonstrate that the item in question was material. So a cheap oil filter - probably not, unless it could be proved to have caused the engine to cease and the crash to happen and even that would be a stretch. 

Yes a K&N filter is disclosable, it is a performance item. 

If in doubt disclose it and to be fair most insurers are far more informed about these things these days they will soon say if they are not interested in the modification. 

Don't assume that modifications are covered though - Admiral for one exclude the cost of modifications, so they will only repair using the original parts.

Best declare it - because if a premium would be charged by your insurer then it is a good indication that they'd take exception to the claim if it wasn't disclosed. There are limitations however as to what actions they can take - it is no longer a case of just avoiding the policy.

[Mister_Tad]

I got around to fitting this today. Admiral cared from the point of view that they wanted it declared, but they didn't charge me for it.

First thoughts: Good lord, with the passenger window down that induction noise borders on the preposterous. So much so that I had to stop and check if I had actually re-fitted everything properly. I had, it's just daft. With the windows up there's a bit more supercharger whine that comes through, which I like.

Second thoughts: There's a good chance it's the placebo effect, but the car seems to rev with a bit more urgency, especially on blips.

On the down side, I'm missing approximately 75% of the skin on the tops of either of my hands. This is one of those jobs that half way through (i.e. past the point of no return) I was wishing I wouldn't have bothered, such a pain, figuratively and literally.

Edited February 25, 2018 by Mister_Tad

[Lotus Evora 400]

On 23/07/2017 at 19:51, dalepearson said:

So after @JayEmm mentioned he changed his air filter to a K&N in his Evora 400 with positive results, I thought I would do the same.
Its not difficult but its not simple either, so thought I would share quick thoughts on the strips to take.

Ideally if you have the ability to shrink like Ant-Man this would be the recommended approach, failing that put on some gloves and be ready to lose some skin and assume all sorts of awkward twisting positions.

1. Disconnect the air pipe between the airbox and the engine, un-tighten both ends and remove engine side first, then you can wiggle it off the air box. Its attached so just push up towards the rear window
2. Now unclip the MAF sensor and tuck this down out the way
3. Now top left there is a black plastic cylinder thing (not sure what its called), slide this up and it will come off the mount, again push this up our of the way as its still attache
4. Now there are 3 clips to undo, the first one is easy its on the top right of the box, just under where the pipe was you removed. The next one is top left you can get to this by reaching up and down where the black plastic cylinder was removed. Then finally you have one bottom left which is a right pig to get to, so just carefully squeeze your hand through near the coolant reservoir, or over and down the airbox.
5. Once done the airbox should pull off to the right (you can see the little slot mounts easily) it should move forward around an inch, then you can slowly raise it up and ease the paper filter out. Sometimes the clips rest back down which will stop it sliding, so keep checking those clips and wiggling.
6. If replacing with another paper filter be careful not to crumple it going back in, but if you are using an aftermarket K&N or Green it will manipulate abit easier and slot in
7. Reverse the steps, the hardest bit here is sliding it all back on into the mounts and a nice square fit, doing up the clips is alot easier than undoing, but make sure everything is tight and sealed
8. Reconnect the pipe, hang up the cylinder and reconnect the MAF sensor cable.

It will take a little while for the car to adjust as the airflow will change slightly, you can speed this up by disconnecting the battery, but thats probably more hassle so just let it adjust over time.

The K&N replacement panel filter is part number K&N 33-2355 and costs around £50

I will add I think these cars are getting hard and harder to work on
My Elise I did all the work on, as with the Exige S which was slightly trickier, then on my S1 Evora I fitted the exhaust and a Radium Induction kit. So I am confident in what I am doing, but man some of these things are a ball ache

Holy crap. Where are all the razor sharp edges. By the time I am done I am soaking in sweat and my right hand is so bloodied by cuts it looks like my oiled K&N filter 😂

[lwalling]

I purchased a new Evora 400 this week in the US and of course decided to replace the air cleaner with a K&N, the procedure is as described here in the thread, though the airbox could be pulled a bit forward to allow my large hands to reach the clip near the coolant reservoir.

Perhaps a bigger difference for us driving on the other side of the road, the intake air noise level is markedly increased beside the drivers left ear, equaling the sport-button-pushed exhaust note nearly.  It's not just supercharger whine either, it's part throttle air being pulled in which isn't all that pleasant.

It is fun under full throttle though.

Glad to have another Lotus.  It has been many many years since my last (and Esprit).

Luke

[Bibs]

Welcome Luke :)