Spoon Vs. Stock Filter
 

I got a Spoon filter about a month ago and I wanted to see if the claims were true or not. So this past weekend I finally when to a dyno and check it out for myself. And here are the results... drum roll please:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/9...rfilterwn5.jpg
As you can see / read, Blue is stock, and Red is Spoon.

Here are the conditions:
Fit had 7.4k miles along with the stock filter and the car is completely stock (Sport trim if that makes a difference... we I guess since this is a DynoJet aka Chassis Dyno wheels do make a difference). I did an oil change a week before putting in Castrol Syntec 5W20 with a HAMP filter. Also the morning of the dyno, I set my tire pressure to 40psi. I did 2 runs with the stock filter, then swap it out with the Spoon brand new, and did another 2 runs.

So as you can see, the Spoon lose power through out the whole power curve. Now, I don't know the standard deviation for a dyno, but I'm sure 2HP is pretty close to it. So I'm guessing that the Spoon filter does nothing if not lose a little power. Maybe the Spoon filter needs to be used for a bit to open up some holes or something, I don't know, but at least from the comparison of a used 7.4K mile used stock filter vs. a brand new Spoon filter, it hurts it or does nothing.

great info

nice! thanks for the info

Great job on de-bunking the Spoon air filter, I have been waiting to see what kind of gains it actually got, in the end it is just another gimmick I guess :rolleyes:

Wow I'm going to have to consider getting rid of my spoon drop-in filter now.

very interesting!

Good info. But not surprising, I may be mistaken (being older your brain tends to forget details) but it took Comptech back in the day about 20+ design attempts to create headers for the S2K that gave a decent hp gain compared to other brands. Aftermarket add-ons sometimes give little or no gain or, as in this case create a loss. Because they base their component designs from the Honda part; Honda already makes sure to send you the best "overall" package out of the box. (When I say overall I mean a combination of cost/efficiency/power/reliability all together) So unless the aftermarket people have the money and time to design from scratch and test over and over, gains can potentially be minimal if any. Also, that, along with different testing conditions, results can vary. Include to the mix knock-offs and fakes, and the aftermarket industry can become a headache. You just have to watch you backs when buying components otherwise the only performance gain you might end up with is weight loss on you wallet. Choose wisely but don't choose just because of a brand name or a "good deal", take your time and do your research. :)

What are the opinions on the K&N filters? I'd assume that those would see a little increase of maybe 1hp... no?

why not just get a cai instead? or a short ram, depending on your preference.

Cause I figured that it would be something that would carry me over until I can afford (and when the warranty runs out) a supercharger. :D Unfortnately, it became a spare filter. Oh well.

or because a drop-in filter is cheaper, some people might want to keep the stock airbox, or keep the stock sound. it really is preference like you said. but maybe drop-ins aren't really helping at all huh?

I'm almost willing to bet the filter MADE power....


I mean look at it....

they did 4 pulls in a little less than 5 minutes.... and expect the dyno graph to be consistant? C'mon, you have to let the car cool down...

On top of that, the humidity from run one to run 4 changed 1% (which is a LOT), and the temperature changed by .6 degree warmer.

Between that and the super-speedy runs, i don't doubt one bit that the car made less power... it probably would have made even LESS power if it had the stock filter in it for run #4...



Do the same thing with your precious T1R intakes, and i'll bet they will "lose power" to.

heat soak...

The point I was trying to make with the dyno was that the drop-in filters (well at least Spoon) doesn't live up to the hype. I think it's about equal to stock.

I think it is good information, nice to see somebody take the initative to do it.

Maybe if people don't agree they can go run a more controlled test, but until then this is the only hard information currently availaible that I have seen and anything else is purely speculative.

i agree! You have to allow the car to cool off. I have a spoon drop in and i notice better acceleration and throttle response than with the stock filter.

how much does this filter cost...? just seems like a waste of money to me...even if you let it cool off, i dont think it would really create any gains...might not lose any but dont think it would gain anymore than stock. isnt that the point of upgrading? better performance? has anybody tried scanguaging this filter compared to the stock? just seems like the only reason to buy it is for the name.

thats VERY interesting. however, now im concerned about my Mugen drop-in and perhaps IT could be holding my car back a bit. if you ask me, having used drop-in filters on two different cars, the difference in response from a drop-in is almost non-existent anyway....i really can't imagine feeling much of a "pull" from one of these. sometimes i think my Mugen drop-in is doing something at around 3500 to 5000 RPM but i could just be tricking myself :rolleyes: . anyway, has anyone done a dyno on a Mugen drop-in???.....this is quite interesting indeed.

Zombie Bump
 

***Bump, Bump, BUMP**

Seven year old thread but bumping regardless. Very, very, very good read. Thanks OP for posting this info. I'm not agreeing with the 1% humidity and .6 degree warmer statement earlier either. If your car loses this much horsepower from a 1% change in humidity and .6 degree change in air temperature, you'd be driving backwards when summer hits. :rotfl:

Anyway, this is refreshing since the new Fits are getting panel filters from Spoon, J's Racing, Mugen, etc. I always respect the people forking over the $$ for dyno runs as I was an addict for dyno's in the past.

Just wanted to bring this back up due to the 2015 aftermarket being a little lazy and putting out the panel filters and for reminders to the old schoolers. Beware! ;)