Originally Posted by
JDNSW
Just a comment - the assumption that a 3.9 V8 would have a higher airflow than a 2.5 Tdi is not necessarily correct (it may be, but not necessarily).
For a start, if we assume that they have the same maximum rpm, just to simplify things, and at full power there is no throttle restriction on the petrol engine, then the amount of air taken in by each engine will be proportional to the swept volume, everything else being equal. But it is not equal - for a start, around 8% of the volume going into the V8 cylinders came out of the injectors, and is the flow restriction of the valves the same? (I don't know the answer!). But the BIG difference, is the turbocharger, which is pushing air into the diesel at a higher pressure. Again, I don't know the answer, but I strongly suspect the diesel, after taking this into account, is pushing more air in at full power than is the V8.
And in any case, diesels are unthrottled at all times, so unless you drive the V8 wide open all the time, the amount of air going into the diesel will easily exceed that going into the V8 on an average per kilometre basis. So perhaps the engineers did know what they were talking thinking. Of course the air cleaner size was probably really determined by how much room was left in the engine bay!
I look forward with considerable interest to the filtration results.
John