034 Motorsport “Insuction Bundle” Air Intake Kit

Background:

Modifying the Mk7 GTI stock air intake is an easy way to reduce the pre-turbocharger pressure drop. Free modifications include opening the driver side of the intake duct and removal of the grate that sits in the bottom of the airbox. The turbo inlet elbow, air filter, and inlet hose all have aftermarket options that provide varying degrees of pressure drop improvement.

A successful parts combination has been the MST Performance inlet hose, turbo inlet elbow, and aFe Power Magnum Flow Pro S air filter. This combination rings up at $285 ($228 MST parts plus $57 aFe filter).

For this test I am comparing the MST+aFe combo to the 034 Motorsport “Insuction Bundle”. This kit from 034 includes a turbo inlet elbow, intake hose, and panel filter. The 034 kit sells for $205. (Note: 034 kindly loaned this kit so I could test it.)

The 034 kit wins on price, but how does it perform?

Test Procedure:

Both intake systems are designed to work with the stock Mk7 airbox. For this test the turbo inlet elbow is attached to the flow bench using an adapter that is modeled after the inlet to the IS20/IS38 turbocharger compressor housing.

Note: The bench adapter used in this test is changed from the adapter used in previous tests of this type. When the original design was made I had not anticipated the heavy use the part would be subjected to or the variations in the sizes of the TIP O-rings which puts a good amount of stress on the part when installing and removing the inlet elbows. The adapter was falling apart and a replacement was needed.

In back-to-back tests of a part that flows over 400 CFM I have recorded a decrease of 7 CFM with the new adapter. This difference is fairly insignificant, equating to less than four one hundredths of a psi decrease in pressure drop. Comparisons with previous CFM readings should still keep in mind that there is a slight difference in the affect of the adapter on the flow results.

After attaching the inlet elbow to the bench adapter the inlet hose is attached, and then the top half of the stock GTI airbox is attached. This configuration is then measured to determine the airflow through the parts without the air filters or bottom half of the airbox.

Next the respective air filters are installed and the lower half of the stock airbox is attached. The parts are then measured again to record maximum airflow. All flow testing is performed at a test depression of 28″ of H2O.

Test Results:

The MST hose and TIP are tested first and produce measurements of:

• Without air filter – 402 CFM
• With air filter – 374 CFM

The 034 Motorsport “Insuction Bundle” is tested next and produces measurements of:

• Without air filter – 404 CFM
• With air filter – 383 CFM

All measurements are shown on the chart:

Conclusion:

A comparison was made between the 034 Motorsport “Insuction Bundle” and MST inlet with aFe Filter. The 034 Motorsport bundle retails for $80 less than the MST / aFe combination and flows 9 CFM more when configured as a full Mk7 intake airbox.

The 034 “Insuction Bundle” is the “better” budget intake on the basis of the measures used in this comparison and following the test procedures described above.

Differences in performance and price are small and it’s possible prices of the products may be different depending on where the products are purchased. Both intake setups are relatively inexpensive options for upgrading the performance of the Mk7 stock intake system.

References:

034 Motorsport “Insuction Bundle”

MST Performance Turbo Inlet Kit

aFe Power Air Filter