an old thread but thought i would add something;
i put my OEM air box back on yesterday as i didn't like the ITG intake. far too many strange noises, and the low-mid range performance felt worse to me, though top end was better.
anyway i have a pipercross panel filter which I've run from day one of getting the car.
i removed this to clean it and while i was on yesterday, and while doing so removed the plastic grate at the bottom of the air box which i had left in the first time round.
as far as i can tell this is only there to support the standard paper filter, which is very deep - (panel filters are only about 1/4 depth of this), it also probably is there to reduce noise and possibly prevent very large debris from making it as far as the filter.
anyway, i removed this (it just pops out) and the car sounds nice and OEM. maybe a tiny bit more induction noise and the feeling is VERY similar power wise to the intake i had but the lower rpm range is as smooth as it was OEM. in my opinion much nicer to drive than with an intake.
i tried standard and stage 1 maps and the car just didn't seem happy until 3000rpm with the intake fitted.
so basically i agree panel filters probably make very little difference but IMO if you don't run the deep standard paper filter you can remove this restrictive plate and benefit more from a decent panel filter. so panel filter and air box grid = probably no gains but panel filter and this grid thing removed must be worth something? look how restrictive this plate is. and its free to remove and take 2 minutes.
