MK3 Ibiza Airbox to Filter Swap.......Problems??

Soo when i change my airbox to an open cone filter why do i always feel a lose of power and it likes to throw up an engine light.....also on the airbox theres a pipe which iv followed down and it looks to me like some sort of fan??
Does anyone else have these problems??

I had a cone filter on the audi for a while and that felt down on power too, its probably down to it getting hot air from the engine bay rather than the colder air that it gets through the air box. Theres pipe that runs into the airbox from inside the wing, air gets forced through the front vents slighty when driving along and goes up this pipe into the airbox. Did on the audi anyway.

As for the light coming on, im guessing you are keeping the air flow sensor ect all plugged in and putting the cone on the end of that? If so i don't think theres too much you can do about it, its just the on board computer detecting the air flow is a bit different. Not sure what filter you are putting on but a better quality or bigger one may help? I got a big ram air one on the vr you could try that and see if its any different.

The fan on the end of a pipe i have no idea where you mean

The pipe thats marked here (not a decent picture of it)....i follwed it down to a fan type thing-ma-jig?? What the hell it is il never know??
Im using a green cotton filter, straight on where the box came off.

Sounds awesome but cant be dealing with the escape of power!

By straight on where the box came off, do you mean straight on the red intake pipe? Or are you leaving this sensor plugged in and putting the filter on that?



The pipe you got circled there looks its the Auxillary air pipe.. think its used on cold starts or something.

Aux pipe ehh wasnt sure if that was the reason for lack of power/engine light??
Yer slapped it on where yoo have circled it mate, not the red hose

Believe it or not the standard airbox is one of the best for performance. Just fit a k and n panel to get the most from it. But the red hose circles is a breather hose. Not sure about the engine light. Most 20vt stuff shits itself when you change stuff anyway.

ibiza maf's (air flow meter bit circled in yellow on james' pic) dont like oiled filters so make sure you use a non oiled filter, you could also try and put a extra bit of silicone between the filter and the maf to space it out a bit,

the extra pipe is the secondary air injection, it only works on start up, most people just put a little filter on it and tuck it out the way some where or you can get a blank plate from forge and take the whole lot out, pump, pipework etc


just read your using a green cotton so ignore the first bit to a certain extent, the light could be down to the sai pipe being disconnected, did it go into limp mode at all?

Yer it did go into limp mode....pooped myself a lil, couldnt handle having any problems chap down the road sorted it for me, still couldnt get that bloody airbag light out though!!

limp mode would have been to do with the sai pipe, problems are part of ibiza ownership so you'd get better used to it


you sure you plugged the airbag back in when you put the seat back in?

Unlike the abs light and the like, once the airbag circuit senses that a fault has occoured the light will stay on even if the problem is sorted. It has to be reset with vagcom.

Yer checked the airbag plug several times....james has even had a stab at getting rid of it for me!

Its running all good again now, dont want to risk the filter swap again really....plus i dont like the lack of power, scary how much disappears!!

Limp mode is a bit cack i must admit,

you tried getting rid of the light with vagcom yet?

Having the air pipe for the SAI disconnected from the airbox shouldn't put the engine light on as it's the intake pipe for the SAI. Normally only get a code if the pipe from the SAI pump to the SAI valve on the head is split, the SAI pump is broken or the SAI valve doesn't work.

Do you have the fault code number and description for the fault your getting when you have the filter on?