Pods in the rain

[Spyder]

Hi all,
I have'nt been on this forum for a number year. And may have some information from K&N filters that will be food for thought. About 4 years ago I installed the complete power train from a 92 corvette with tuned port injection my 77 carb engine corvette. In that install this question came up, the filter had to be put in front of the radeator and lower to the ground than a GS. K&N said that this would not be a problem do to the filter media design. That being said my gs does'nt have and will not be installing them, this bike is a very good comuterer and I can only support one hot rod. Riding this bike in all weather condition, I have not noticed inside of my pants gettin wet, and in carb engines thay will run better with little water nist this is common on gasoline drag cars.

Ultasound analist...
Was any of that suposed to make sense, and/or a relavent point?!?!

[dardoonk]

Seeing as how K&N filters are cleaned by washing in soap and water, why would anyone want to ride in the rain with them and suck dirt into the engine? Also, K&N filters don't filter very well under any condition - they flow lots of air but don't filter the air that well. Despite these downsides, K&N filters are like crack for most motorcyclists.

I've had K&N's on my Triumph twin for over three years, ridden in terrible rainy conditions & never had a problem.

If you follow the directions, you are supposed to wash the K&N filters from the "clean" (from inside on pods) after spraying with their air filter cleaner. Their filter cleaner breaks down the red filter oil, making it easier to spray off. It is the Oil on the filter that is holding the small dust particulates. Technically, you can clean them spraying both ways as long as you are getting the oil out of the filter there is no dirt left behind because the gauze isn't holding any of it.

Does anyone have any UNBIASED test results comparing filtering ability of various types. I had found one before, but never saved the link. As I recall, the actual filtering of the K&N was not as bad as I had been lead to believe.

[Spyder]

But on a serious note. I dont like my pods. Alot more trouble than they're worth in my opinion. The performance gain was minimal on my 83' 750t, and wind REALLY affects performance.
I'm currently looking for stock air box (unfortunately it's VERY rare)...

[chef1366]

With a jet kit and a pipe the pods are a nice upgrade. Key is to get it jetted correctly. If you're looking for serious power gains this is not the answer. Big blocks, cams, worked heads and $$$$$ are the answer.
I ran pods on my bikes in Ohio where it would rain HARD w/out any problems.

[blowerbike]

The pod people are a race of nomadic, extraterrestrial parasites originating from a now dying planet. Realizing that it was only a matter of time before the planet's resources would be completely depleted, the pods somehow evolved the ability to defy gravity and leave their planet's atmosphere in the search of a new world to colonize. For millennia, the pods floated in space like spores, propelled by the solar winds, some occasionally landing on inhabited planets. There, they would replace the dominant species by spawning emotionless replicas; the original bodies would then disintegrate into dust once the duplication process was completed. They would then consume all of the planet's resources, only to then leave in search of yet another new world. Such a consumption was apparently the fate of the civilizations that once inhabited Mars and the Moon. The pods' sole purpose in life was that of individual survival, with no attention given to the civilizations they conquered or the resources they squandered. The duplicates had lifespans of only five years, and could not sexually reproduce. Their invasion of Earth was short-lived: unable to tolerate the sheer determination humanity displayed in defense, the pods abandoned the planet, leaving behind a small population of duplicates, who died off shortly after.

[Nessism]

Does anyone have any UNBIASED test results comparing filtering ability of various types. I had found one before, but never saved the link. As I recall, the actual filtering of the K&N was not as bad as I had been lead to believe.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

http://duramax-diesel.com/spicer/index.htm

[dardoonk]

Nes, Good data there. Most surprising thing about it is that you are only talking about a minimal airflow advantage/disadvantage regardless of the filter you are using. Since there's so much talk about pods vs airbox it might just be that the "real" difference is that pods allow a greater total amount of air intake area compared to passing the same demands via the airbox. Thus, having an airbox that could offer, say twice the filter surface area over stock, might give the same performance benefit as any pods.

This argument pops up everywhere. Interestingly, on my Triumph (CV carbs), dumping the airbox & tossing on a set of K&N's requires very little as far as adjustment goes. 1mm needle shim & 3 or 4 main jet sizes & it's pretty darn close. On that forum, we've even developed a jetting calculator program that calculates main jet size based on what brand pipes, intake mods, elevation etc... you are at and will tell you what jets to buy. Sure wish it was that simple over here.

Since I have open velocity stacks on my GS, obviously dirt isn't much of concern, but the whole "what flows best arguments" are of particular interest to me. Personally, I think the tuning issues with pods are related to reversion issues & intake runner length. I struggled adjusting low speed jets with UniFilters, it wasn't much better with 2" velocity stacks, but with 3.5" velocity stacks, low speed idle & overall performance was much improved.

Damn, now I need to make an airbox that attachs to my velocity stacks and can hold a very large filter.

I guess most of this should have been in another thread, but I forgot which one I was replying too...

[C.V.]

The pod people are a race of nomadic, extraterrestrial parasites originating from a now dying planet. Realizing that it was only a matter of time before the planet's resources would be completely depleted, the pods somehow evolved the ability to defy gravity and leave their planet's atmosphere in the search of a new world to colonize. For millennia, the pods floated in space like spores, propelled by the solar winds, some occasionally landing on inhabited planets. There, they would replace the dominant species by spawning emotionless replicas; the original bodies would then disintegrate into dust once the duplication process was completed. They would then consume all of the planet's resources, only to then leave in search of yet another new world. Such a consumption was apparently the fate of the civilizations that once inhabited Mars and the Moon. The pods' sole purpose in life was that of individual survival, with no attention given to the civilizations they conquered or the resources they squandered. The duplicates had lifespans of only five years, and could not sexually reproduce. Their invasion of Earth was short-lived: unable to tolerate the sheer determination humanity displayed in defense, the pods abandoned the planet, leaving behind a small population of duplicates, who died off shortly after.

Bodysnatcher.

[woodman]

Dardoonk, what Triumph forum were you referring to ?

[blowerbike]

Bodysnatcher.

i felt left out with all this (pod) talk....
im not sure why a motorcycle site would talk so much about alien pods and such
and yes...bodysnatchers with there famous (pods).

[burp reynolds]

Okay, you guys have convinced me. Is there any chance I can go back to the original airbox with the bigger main jet I had installed? I asked the carb guy and I don't think he wants to give back my old jet.

[dardoonk]

Dardoonk, what Triumph forum were you referring to ?

I forget if I got from the guys on BonnevilleAmerica.com or TriumphRat.

I used to be on them both a good bit, mostly BA, but since I ride that bike & fix a zuki, I am on here a lot more.

You got a Trumpy??

[bmt]

i would only consider pods as a last resort. plain and simple. I have the K&N RC-2382 dual pods and matching dyno-jet stage 3 kit. This will set you back $200. same setup is needed for your 550L

living in portland, OR i've been riding a lot in the rain and this doesn't really cause problems but the pods are harder to get on and off than the stock airbox (on the 550 at least) and rain that hits the gas tank drains right into the side of the exposed filters. probably not a good thing long term.

If you only need the rubber boots (carb intake side) bike bandit has all four for $40. if you are like me and needed an airbox, with the plastic air collector, and the rubber boots well, good luck, you'll probably end up with pods and a jet kit.

My stock carbs had damaged and/or missing jets when i got the bike, so the jet kit helped me out there too, but again, I would much rather have a stock setup given the choice as i see no benefit to pods for your average motorcyclist.

[bmt]

forgot to mention that you'll also need a K&N 62-1010 crankcase filter, some hi-temp hosing and hose clamps if you ditch the stock air collector. another $25 gone.

I saw in another post that you had a damaged airbox.

I was unable to source a replacement air collector and airbox that was in good shape or find an ebay salvage seller with a return policy on those parts so that led me down the pod path.

personally, if you could repair the airbox and the air collector isn't deformed I would buy a new collector to airbox seal from bike bandit along with the four air collector rubber boots, put some weather stripping on the airbox cover to give it a good seal and call it good.

i wish i'd spent a bit more time trying to repair my stock setup before I drilled out my slides for the jet kit. no going back there.

of course, i don't remember if you had a stock exhaust or not? if yes, than pod/jet away, otherwise try and keep it stock. just trying to save you some grief as I've already been down this path and it offers no advantadges.

[Old Colt]

I should have stuck my nose in here awhile ago. I have a fair amount of experience with different forms of filters on both bikes and cars.

My 79 GS550 has had the smoothbores on it since it was a few months old. For the most part these have had open velocity stacks on them and a bit of time with K&N pods.
I have ridden in some torrential rain, Hurricane David comes to mind. No issues ever noted.
I also have many miles summer and winter in cars with dual Weber side drafts with K&Ns on it. Splashed many puddles up under the hood. Again I have never had problems.

The filters I have had problems with were foam element filters. Every time these get wet they become restricted. My early days riding my DT2 I routinely had to take the filter off and wring it out. I have had foam filters on cars and every one had issues not just with rain but simply weather changes. High humidity and the engine went off song.
Splashed a puddle in a 87 Corvette and the Filtron tore free and got sucked into the intake.

I myself install K&N or similar filters on everything now, be they pod style or whatever.