Guide To Fitting K&N 57i Induction, 1.2 55bhp

[cevans598]

Well i bought this K&N induction/air filter kit this week n fitted it with a fair bit of tinkering.
Its for a 1.2 polo, year 02 - 05, And will be listed as K&N 57i Induction Kit SOHC 6v. part number 57-0490
if your looking for one just type K&N 57-0490 into google and bam, u got ur car specific filter right there!!
there average price ranges from an ebay £72 - MotorSport £89.
ive done a fair few in the past but this one came with basic, basic, basically basic instructions ever. really useless, lol.
ive seen alot of quiries on them so i thought id try n help abit with this guide.
best bet is the print this out and keep it with u while fitting and testing!!

heres a set list of what to do.

In the box you should have;
1 x Circular Air Filter
1 x Cold air extendable black pipe
1 x Circular metal clamp
5 x Black Zip Ties
2 x K&N Stickers
1 x breather pipe extender
1 x small plastic filter to go into breather pipe extender
1 x Larger breather hole blocker

If you dont have all of these, send it back, cos they should include all of this in the box.
if the filter doesnt look pre oiled, send it back, and if it stinks of petrol, its been tested on by the garage,
so send it back. if its all good, packaged and present, then on we crack !

Heres a nice n easy worded step by step guide to how i did it:

1) Removing engine bay cover.
this is quite simple. after opening the bonnet, locate the top right corner of the black plastic cover section.
you will need to go from top right, bottom left, bottom right, top left, pulling hard on each section.
careful u dont yank the top right, as there is a breather pipe connected and u dont wana rip the whole thing off.
once uve wriggled it off the 4 plastic clamps, you shouldnt be able to pull it away, hence the breather pipe still being connected.
so, remove the breather pipe by flipping the engine cover over, and levering the plastic circle holding the pipe off. it can also
be removed by getting someone to pull at the pipe with slight force, while u put a flathead screwdriver and lever the pipe off the bottom of the plastic
nib it is attatched to. so with force it will come off. once removed, the engine cover can now be put to side as it isnt possible to reconnect it after installation.
so keep it in the garage or shed if u want to sell the car on again.


The Cold Air Feed
this is the black tubing that looks rather small out of the box, but with careful force, can be extended by stretching it like an accordian.
once strecthed, it should be around 50cm long. first, you need to locate the original air feed, which is that strange box shaped thing on the back
of the grill, right hand side which has two screws. undo them by unscrewing the top 2 screws on the plastic top and yank it away from the grill. now, we replace this boxy air feed with the black pipe and secure it with cable ties. you wana get a pin head screwdriver or small drill bit and put 2 hole in one plastic end of the tube. you now need two cable ties and rap it round the plastic slats in the grill, putting it through hole in the pipe aswell. do this twice for both holes uve drilled in the end of the pipe and you should have 2 cable ties securing one end on the black pipe to the grill. next, make the pipe run straight between the
right side of the engine, and to the left of the battery cover. so run it between these two in a straight line and use one cable tie to secure it to engine piece.
i used the wire that has a spiraling, plastic rap round it as it doesnt get hot. a good test to do, to find a place to secure it is to drive it around for 10 mins, come back and see which place isnt remotly hot, then secure the pipe by rapping it round whatever looks steady and the black cold air pipe. this should secure it
if you pull the tie tight, and there should be hardly any movement. all secure? then all good! so now ur able to shout stick air in ya pipe n combust it!!


The K&N Filter Box
this is another easy part if u follow these instruction to a tee!!. first, remove the filter from the packaging aswell as the two plastic nibs and rubber tube. if you flip the circular filter box over, there should be two holes visible, and since ull only need one, place the bigger 'V' shaped plastic nib in the underside of the circular filter box in the larger hole. this wont be connected to anything, and is simply to stop too much pressure building up. so the excess air can escape. right, now get the smaller 'I' shaped plastic nib n shove one end into the smaller hole in the underside of the circular filter. u next need to get the rubber tube that came in the box and fit it to the remaining side of the smaller 'I' shaped plastic nib, so u should end up with a tube coming away from the filter. after that, attatch this tube to the loose breather pipe coming off the engine with the adapter supplied. then, for safety measures, rap another cable tie around the end of the tube from the engine onto the plastic adapter, pull it tight so it shouldnt freely come loose. this should conclude in the two rubber pipes being secured by a cable tie, tightly secured around the bit where the engine breather tube is touching the tube coming off the filter. and theres ur breather pipe connected!! were almost there!!


Connecting The K&N Circular Air Filter To the throttle body
you see that circular entrance with the two black flaps that open if u rev? top right of your engine? thats where the air's going to go in. The big tube coming from the bottom of the air filter will fit snuggly over this metal pipe. before u do this, get the metal circular bracket from the box and place it round the big rubber tubing on the bottom of the air filter. dont tighten it yet, just place it over, and hold it up while you place the filter onto the metal pipe. line it up, put it over the metal tube and push the filter down tightly. the K&N logo on the top, shiney side should be facing you, dead straight. then, slowly place the metal circular clamp aorund the bottom of the rubber connection which is over the metal tube. put it sitting on the bottom of the rubber section. this bit is tricky as its hard to get into a position and hold it there while tightening it. so maybe experiment by tightening the clamp until it fits snugggly at the bottom of the rubber when u place the metal clamp at the bttom of the tube. it should support itself it it fits snuggly. then, if u can get ur hands in deep enough, tighten the bolt with an adjustable locking wrench, not with a screw driver as its a bit tough and u'll wreck the head, so try a small monkey wrench. tighten it up REAL TIGHT. so, you shouldnt be able to twist the air filter but only wobble it as it sits on the engine bay. after that, its successfully attatched to ur engine. Final measures are to make sure the black, cold air pipe is facing the air filter, so the air will follow a path straight onto the filter. looks like ur fine ass filter is fit!! so lets give it a whirl!


Testing
Once your gear is all secure, run the ignition and make sure theres no excessive movement. there will be a wobble, but its should follow the same wobble pattern as the engine. now, close the bonnet. and take it for a drive.

1) be easy with it at first. drive steady, no foot to the floor, keeping between 20 - 30 revs, no higher for the first 5 minutes. after 5 mins, stop the car, open the bonnet, and see if were all still nicely snug and connected. if the filter has fallen off, then the clamp was no where near tight enough, and if the air pipe has moved at all, then tighen those cable ties !!! if its all still linked, then stage 1 is complete. lets roll on.

2) this time, drive between 30 - 40 revs, and once in 3rd gear, floor the accelarator. u should feel a rumble in the both clutch and accelator pedals. thats the air filter working nicely. not to mention, if u slam ur foot onto the acc pedal, then u should hear a quick 'PSHHT' noise, and also while a gear change is happening, which is the excessive air being sucked in. stop after 10 minutes of hard driving, and check under the bonnet, all good? Stage 2 Complete !! then roll on!!.

3) this time, drive it real hard, first gear to 50 Revs, change 2nd gear 50 revs, up to third, change to 4th, all changes between 45 - 50 revs. really slam the pedals. work through the gears hard as u can, and u should still hear the 'PSSHT' noise and rumble in the pedals. try a few hard corners on a quiet place, car park even. now, slow right down, take it off into a side road, car park, or whatever, and drive real slow, in 1st. foot off the acc and let it come to a stop in 1st, stalling the car. since is camel hops, this is a real engine jerker and is the last and best durability test. pop the bonnet, and see if everytins all good. if its all connected and fine, then ur new air filter is a go!! and uve done a good job! cups of tea all round!!

Well...there you go, a long winded but damn fine guide.
stick to it and you should be done within 30 - 45 mins.
these sound great and work well with an exhaust cos of the cleaner air.
there not exactly amazing for performance, but if ur lucky ur looking at 2-5 increase depending on car.


Hope it helps.
chris

[Lakey]

Nice guide. Pics would help but this is definitely better than nothing, thanks!

Also, just to confirm, would the process be the same on my 65bhp? I'm looking to fit one in the coming weeks.

[blkpolo]

Any pics of it fitted?

[JB_UK]

great guide,

i agree any pics of it fitted

[cevans598]

fitted picture :



Ignore the far right curved pipe, bought that as an extra air intake.
and to be honest, the whole 'closed air intake' idea is no better than open aired if done correctly.
heat proof piping costs a slight bit more but you know, its worth it.