Air filter modification for PCX150/Vario150

Drivetrain upgrades, engine upgrades, or any other mods to gain speed or acceleration.

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clemence
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Air filter modification for PCX150/Vario150

Post by clemence »

Less than 2 weeks and I couldn't resist myself not to open the air box
Hopefully no porn popping this time :lol: .

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The earlier batches of Vario125 snores in light throttle. It didn't cause any harm/trouble but Honda (indonesia) got a lot of complain because it sounds like there was something wrong with the engine. Then the factory redesigned this holed intake runner.

The original filter:

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The filter mod:

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Original filter has 4.928 mm^2 frontal open area.
Modified filter has 10.444 mm^2 frontal open area
It's a huge 52,81% increase yet no noticeable performance different other than a slightly higher idle speed (this bike has manual adjustment idling unlike the high tech PCX)

I've been doing this to all my pleated paper filter equipped motorcycle with no problems. I never dyno measure this, and if I did, I always did together with other mods. For me this mod is not mainly for performance gain, though that was why I did it in the first place. It's simply just removing the perforated filter holder plate. It's there to prevent the paper filter collapsing under extreme conditons and perhaps to reduce intake hiss.

I imagine a scenario of a bike stored for a long time in a garage. Then a mouse comes in and create a cozy nest inside the air box. It then eats the paper to make a comfy bedding for the kiddos. When the owner start the engine the screen should protect the engine and all family inside! :lol: :lol:

I remember when I had to move my Uncle's old Datsun in my old house. When we pushed the car, the exhaust including the whole muffler stays on the floor! We found there were several mice inside. Their urine attacks the metal and it broke at the header section. o_O o_O

Therefore, it a good practice to stuff all the holes when you plan to store your vehicle for a long time!

I've seen the plate to be so restricted down to only 20% open area in some mini's. The reason why opening up the area doesn't really alter performance is because the final opening to the atmosphere is still the same. The result would be totally different if we enlarge to airbox inlet
The most gain I got from removing the plate was easier cleaning. I seldom change my OILED paper filter because it has bigger pores and when the oil has washed off, it has more chance to get back almost to 100% clean (visually) compared to the dry paper type. I usually clean it using clean gasoline followed by a very hot water bath from my gas powered shower head (reaches 85-90C max.). Ultrasonic cleaning would be the preferred method but I don't have a powerful one other than the jewellery grade. Fibers known to dampen the ultrasonic cleaning power thus more powerful wattage is required.