I just received my intake that I ordered from Outmotoring.com (who are AWESOME by the way). From the pics i've seen all over the net, the red foam filter has a thin metal mesh cage on it and a black plastic end cap on the end of the filter? Or maybe what i think is an end cap is just shadow? When i pulled mine out of the box there was no cage around the filter, and no plastic end cap. The end of the filter was just rounded red foam. Looks like one of those old school emergency lights that undercover cops would throw onto their roof when beginnng a hot pursuit.
Anyway, no pics yet, but once installed i will post some. It's probably just the cage that i don't have, but I'm sure somebody who has one will chime in here real quick to let us know.
Here's a the pic i was referring to.

 

You are correct in your assumption, Mine looks like the picture. It has the black ends and the mesh around the foam filter.
Sounds like yours may be easier to clean. Let us know what you find out about the changes.
Craig

 

Got mine from Out Motoring as well... in Nov. 03 as I recall. Mine is just like the picture, mesh on outside and black end-cap. I kinda like the black mesh to help protect the foam but, wonder if the one with the rounded foam end would flow better

 

Mine is like yours, rounded off at the top with no metal.

 

They are all like that now. The filter design has changed. It pulls air in all around now and is supposed to flow better. I have to admit that I like the k&n better they have a filter that pulls air in from the front too. I will probably buy one at some point. The new alta filter doesn't look too good for filtering to me and seems a bit cheesy (no offense just my .02).
The K&N part number if anyone is interested is #RX-4860

 

Mine is like the one in the picture with end cap. The round one make sense becuase it's pulling the air directly from the vent. :smile:

 

>>They are all like that now. The filter design has changed. It pulls air in all around now and is supposed to flow better. I have to admit that I like the k&n better they have a filter that pulls air in from the front too. I will probably buy one at some point. The new alta filter doesn't look too good for filtering to me and seems a bit cheesy (no offense just my .02).
>>The K&N part number if anyone is interested is #RX-4860

Randy really likes the Alta filter and he feels it does filter and flow better than the oiled cotton type filters so I'm not going to switch to K&N. While the new design Alta filter probably flows better than the end cap version, I'll bet its louder... not that would be a bad thing.

 

I have the new filter design, bought from http://www.minituner.com. It does look a bit like a big matchhead, but it certainly makes better design sense pulling from all angles....Plus it IS quite loud! love it!!

 

>>I have the new filter design, bought from http://www.minituner.com. It does look a bit like a big matchhead, but it certainly makes better design sense pulling from all angles....Plus it IS quite loud! love it!!

I'll see ya at the Richmond PP. Would like to compair sound.

 

I too have an Alta intake - purahced through Webb Motorsports. I had a choice to get the old style or the new & opted for the new.

From my own perspective I really don’t see a huge benefit to the screen over the old filter. Our filters are well protected from most anything large enough to perforate them. …Not like some engine compartments (esp. track/race cars) where the filter is completely exposed.

Knowing that my dealer isn’t keen on foam filters I contacted Randy Webb to ask about replacing the filter with an oiled gauze. Randy pointed out that the new Alta filter’s foam cells become more dense (smaller holes) on the inside of the filter. He also pointed out that the filter is supported by an inner cage or framework. This pretty much alleviated any concerns I might have had about the filter & gave me arguments to use on my dealer.

Who knows which of the two Alta filters works better? …Maybe the new one is superior or maybe it was cheaper with similar performance to the original? Either way it seems like a good filter and wouldn’t seem worth worrying about.

As for aesthetic considerations it looks like a microphone cover or a giant pencil eraser.

 

Here you can kind of see the new filter. photo stollen from the yo-yo thread. thanks ryan.

_________________
Electric Blue/Black Mini S with Aero Kit. Plate: AGOKART **single** http://www.michiganmini.com .. who wants to go faster?

 

>>I'll see ya at the Richmond PP. Would like to compair sound.


Apexer... I can't wait till the PP! Yeah, it would definitly be worth a check to see if one filter is louder than the other somehow. Of course, being the only real performance mod on my mini so far, if you have an exaust on yours it will be a bit tough to compare somewhat. I guess we'll see when we get there!

 

the new alta filter looks like a very cheap filter so i trashed it and replaced it with an K&N filter :???:

 

have a picture of my setup with the filter but i can not figure out how to post the image

 

Might flow slightly better but now for the price of the Alta, I think I would look at a different filter system. Looks kinda ugly/cheap now. I have the old style and It cost more than some of the other filter system but I also looks better.

Me no likey new filter... :???:

 

The new Alta intake does feel cheap when I first saw it. I do like the red color though. I'll keep it for now while waiting for the Dinan intake. :smile: