hi, i have recently bought a passat tdi 110bhp & it needs a new air filter, i would rather spend £35 on a decent 'lifetime' one as opposed to £12 every so often & i was wondering what is the best? any help would be appreciated thanks.

 ive had 2 k&ns and 1 pipercross - i think the k&n sounds better - has a deeper note than others, the filter has to be clear of anything touching it though as it can get dammaged after a while if it is resting against the battery or something

 did you mean panel filter Lee?

both are good, im currently running K+N but have had Pipercross on previous cars, so I would have no problem in recommending both.

 yes i did mean the panel filter as opposed to the cone shape

Im using a pipercross panel filter lee, it seems ok, only a very very slight improvement, but easier to clean etc so worth the £30 i think!

I have the K&N and havent had any problems even though its talked about quite alot about the K&N's destroying the MAF sensors due to the oil that gets sucked in on the filter. BUT i did dab the new filter of any residual oil and also give it a light blow with compressed air (which you shouldnt do full on as it parts the fibres)

there is always Green Cotton ones to throw into the equation??  

Another thing that swung it for me was i already had a recharge kit which would come in handy..

I was impressed with the noise and the better breathing it gave, which i saw abit more improvement due to having a Tunit tuning box on, *it cured the black smoke, which was shocking!*

HTH