A lot of people I know have always asked the question “what’s the point in a breather filter” (crankcase breather filter), and “does it make my car faster”. Well, I’ve never really known the answer till now, and heres what is all about…
First of all its called a crankcase breather, and as standard (on a Mini at least), would go to a pipe on the carb. The pipe coming from the crankcase is left over oily air which has seeped past the piston rings and needs somewhere to go. This “crap” air needs to be removed from the block, so putting on to that pipe on carb is ideal as it is under vacuum and is sucking. Only down side is that that “crap air” is now mixed with your air/fuel mixture and reduces your effective fuel octane level, and therefore maybe decreasing performance (ever-so-slightly).
The solution? Putting a bolt-on K&N (or similar) jobby will mean you get higher octane levels overall and will make your car run cooler. Only downside of doing this is that is no longer being “sucked” its just left randomly in the filter for it to disperse naturally, so you may end up with it clogged up crank end, but Im not sure…
Anyway, long story short, I’ve just bought one from eBay. 1, cuz they look cool and 2, Id like to see if I can tell any increase in performance. For £4.50 including postage you can’t go wrong! Ill let you know what happens!
