[shetty_rohan]

Originally Posted by shifu

Btw, boodmo's feedback seems to be really rotten (thread). I guess you got really lucky to get the air filter without much drama.

Any other way of sourcing this in India? I don't see this listed on Amazon (US or IN), or ebay.

I had ordered this part on 12th August for $24.15, when I checked the status it still shows "processing"(not "shipped"). So had a chat with the customer service executive, he said that their Dubai office has procured this part, and it is being shipped to Boodmo India office. Once they ship out of the Boodmo India office they will update the courier tracking details.
Hoping to get this part by this month end as I have long distance driving plans coming up in the beginning of September..

[shifu]

Maybe I am too obsessed with this topic. I feel sorry for the engine that it is not able to "breathe" fully.

So over the weekend, I opened up the air filter casing and cleaned the Lumax filter. The material does feel quick thick - something that would restrict air flow. It had some dust around, but not too dirty since the filter was put only in May. I unfortunately didn't take the old filter back from them when they changed it so I don't know how the UFI filter looks like. I cleaned up the filter and the casing (few dried leaves and butterfly wings). Maybe it is just psychological (not "maybe", it is surely), but I felt a bit better to drive the car after cleaning some dust off the filter..

And then I set upon the search for the UFI filter. UFI apparently has an office in Gurgaon. I called them up, but there was no response given that it was a Sunday. I'll continue my efforts to locate the UFI filter this week. MANN also has an office in Hyderbad, will try to source that one if I am not able to get hold of UFI.

And while thinking about this issue, I got this doubt. What if this Lumax filter is actually needed here in India where the air has a lot of fine dust/particles? While the downside is the loss of power, but this filter is able to actually filter away particles that the other filter might not be able to stop.

Am I overthinking?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Am I overthinking?

Yes... but you are right about the fine particles. The ones we cannot even see need to be filtered out.

It's not just India: imagine living near a sandy beach, anywhere in the world!

[halfbytecode]

I discovered that the UFI filter is also made in China, apart from being manufactured in Tunisia. Any quality differences are unknown to me.

Images for reference -



Second image is of the box for the made in China filter.



The final image is of the made in Tunisia filter and its box.



Image credits: Blogspot, eBay, skodashop.co.uk

[torque18]

I just received the air filter from boodmo. Attaching the images of the two filters.
I firmly believe that these are fake. On the filter it says made in Germany and on the box its made in Austria!
Also, the stamping on the filter is apparently an afterthought. Not the usual engraved marking that we see on VAG spares.

[karansm4u]

- Are you 100% sure that its fake?
- If you have used it than how is the experience post usages? Do hyou see any difference?
- However you received it from boodmo so does that mean spares on boodmo can be fake?

[Thad E Ginathom]

It is very hard to know that something is definitely fake (except for the stuff where they can't even spell the words!) but the item in post #80 does not look like a good quality moulding. In fact it looks rather ropey.

If I had nothing more than the pictures to go by, and had to make a choice on that evidence, the first item in post #79, made-in-China, at least seems to have some quality to the plastic.

Maybe none of that matters, just cosmetic, a consumable that has to be used for, at most, a year, but I would expect better from VW

[torque18]

Originally Posted by karansm4u

- Are you 100% sure that its fake?
- If you have used it than how is the experience post usages? Do hyou see any difference?
- However you received it from boodmo so does that mean spares on boodmo can be fake?

Looking at the filter marking and the discrepancy in the box labeling and filter makes me believe it is fake.

It is not going in either of my cars for sure! I will rather have the Lumax thing which might be inferior but is VAG approved.

PS: I took this up with Boodmo and they have come up with the most audacious excuse in the book. According to them since VAG is German therefore all the parts have made in Germany branding while the box mentions the actual place of manufacture.

As if this was not funny enough, the smiley on the filter was 'explained' to me to be a VW logo!:banghead:

[antardaksh]

Originally Posted by swissknife

However, on the VW Polo GT TSI, I can say that it is pretty straight forward. There are no overlapping parts that need to be handled while handling the air filter.

Hi,

I got my car serviced last week and filter was replaced in front of me. Both old and new filter are from Lumax. I did not face any performance issues since service done last year.

Its pretty straight forward for TSI and bolts are accessible easily.

Regards.

[shifu]

Originally Posted by antardaksh

Hi,

I got my car serviced last week and filter was replaced in front of me.

This is interesting. Can you let us know how much did they charge for the filter? Thanks!

[antardaksh]

Originally Posted by shifu

This is interesting. Can you let us know how much did they charge for the filter? Thanks!

Hi Shifu,

Let me attach service bill, this might be helpful for others

Second Service bill Vento TSI



Regards.

[Traveler]

Interesting, what is the Wheel Bolt item. Almost Rs. 3000.. Did you break a wheel stud?

[antardaksh]

Originally Posted by Traveler

Interesting, what is the Wheel Bolt item. Almost Rs. 3000.. Did you break a wheel stud?

Hi,

I have shared this here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post4288029

Its safety bolt to prevent theft of tyres.

Regards.

[Traveler]

Oh ok, these are the bolts that have a unique groove and a unique lug key. I had the same in my Ralliart. Thanks

[halfbytecode]

I asked for the UFI filter at the VW dealership. It came to my notice that it appears deprecated in their systems, at least for India. The date for deprecation is somewhere in 2012.

It also does not show up as orderable.

I found this strange, as the Lumax air filter is not entirely similar in terms of performance, as previously covered in the thread. Other parts with such differences are available in parallel.