Air Filters

[Bob2C]

I know there has been many discussions on this subject. Just thought I would share.

 

 

 

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[Grumpy Bear]

I've been all over the map on inlet air filter choices and had settled on AC-Delco based on that test that floats around here sometimes. Only scientific study we mortals could get our hands on. I normally have mixed views about the 'Project Farm' guy and his test methods. Not sure how I feel about flour as a test media but the pitot tube and particle counter...yea...I'm going to give him some credit. Especially since the results follow common filtering sense. Tis the nature of filtration. The cleaner you want it the less your going to get through it.  I'd long tossed my K&N and installed the AC-Delco. Believe I did have a WIX in there for awhile. On balance WIX or Purolator One does what a filter is suppose to do. Get R' Dun. 

 

Thanks for the share Bob. 

[Bob2C]

I've been all over the map on inlet air filter choices and had settled on AC-Delco based on that test that floats around here sometimes. Only scientific study we mortals could get our hands on. I normally have mixed views about the 'Project Farm' guy and his test methods. Not sure how I feel about flour as a test media but the pitot tube and particle counter...yea...I'm going to give him some credit. Especially since the results follow common filtering sense. Tis the nature of filtration. The cleaner you want it the less your going to get through it.  I'd long tossed my K&N and installed the AC-Delco. Believe I did have a WIX in there for awhile. On balance WIX or Purolator One does what a filter is suppose to do. Get R' Dun. 
 
Thanks for the share Bob. 

I have run K&n in my vehicles for years. I never had any issues at at. I also don’t over oil them. I think that’s where most run into problems. But then again I don’t live in an environment with huge dust like driving on non paved surfaces so my exposure to extreme particulate matter is minimal. Currently I have the dry media filter from air aid in my truck. That filter seems rock solid. Weighs a ton but who knows. Like you said. More filtering, less air flow.


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[Black02Silverado]

I have been running Car Quest filters and my UOA's don't show anything out of the ordinary.  If I find a Fram air filter on sale I'll grab it. 

[flyingfool]

stick with the paper elements on my truck, K and N is not for a daily street truck.  gaping wide mesh holes in the filter media isnt filtration, and the oil residue on the MAF is a no no for sensor readings... nothing good to say about em.

 

I once had a 90 suburban tbi  truck.  it used the old standard wheel shaped filter design, works great, got a K&N set up , noticed lots of light soil and dust getting past the filter  and residue on the lower tbi. Then I found the Diesel airfilter assembly top hat , and you could install a 6" tall paper element into the airbox  on that truck, it was way cleaner and no restriction due to more surface area..

I wonder if the duramax filter would fit a 5.3? 

 

[Grumpy Bear]

I believe engine time is the element most have trouble getting their head around. People have just as much trouble with the idea of exposers influence on time, or loads influence. If you could perfectly seal a motor from all contamination and it could run in a state of perfect hydrodynamic lubrication it would literally never wear out. Then again if that same motor was feed sand with its air and under 100% load at peak torque with 2 cSt oil it might last all of 5 minutes. The truth for your motors lifetime is somewhere between NOW and INFINIITY. 

 

A motors "normal' lifetime is that of the average human experience. For legal purposes courts have used 150K as that number. For the individual we tend to think in terms of our personal experiences. IF our life time of observation is 100K, as such was the case with our grandparents then for those persons an average life time is 80-100K. IF however you grew up with average maintained Honda Civics you might consider 250K the average lifetime. If you life revolved around OTR diesels perhaps a million miles or more is your paradigm. WW II era British motorcycles? Perhaps 40K is a normal lifetime. 

 

When we argue the length of a motors average  lifetime against our experiences instead of it's possibilities we can not reach the truth. Example. I love Brit singles and ran them often with noting but a velocity stack and had no trouble getting 40K out of such motors. Should I then, based on this experience expect that because no filter did not shorten the life of my motor that filters are useless? Isn't this the same argument we make when we say I've run an oiled cotton filter on my vehicles for my entire life and never had an issue? And yet your lifetime of experience with this filter has been over 20 vehicles the longest of which never made it past 200K? (People that trade often rarely put on more than 60K)

 

I know K&N has a million mile warranty but what does it warranty and under what conditions?

 

K&N O/E Replacement Air Filters and Air Intake Systems purchased from Authorized Dealers are backed by a Million Mile Limited Warranty when used primarily on paved roads and on vehicles for which they were designed. If one of these products ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, K&N will replace it.

 

Yea, they replace the filter but only if the vehicle rarely left the road, was purchased from a 'authorized dealer' yada yads

 

Do you know anyone who has ever collected on that warranty? Me either. I wonder if that is because a motor fit with this filter is incapable of reaching a million miles?  

 

[Doublebase]

I think it comes down to this, what do you want? Do you want “performance” or “protection”? 
 

If you want “performance” you’re going to need more air flow - more air flow will let more contaminants in - and if that’s ok with you, then do it. You’re one of those guys that’s probably going to trade the vehicle in way before you notice any damage. And you’ll get your .5 mpg increase and 2 extra horsie power. 
 

And if you want “protection”, I mean ultimate protection...well, you’d probably be best served to go twice the recommended change interval for your air filter. It’ll filter more if it’s clogged up with whatever it caught in the filter element. You’ll lose some air flow, you’ll lose some power and you’ll lose some fuel economy. But you’ll get your protection. 
 

What I do, is I change my filters every 30,000 miles now. I got a little tired of throwing away filters at 15-20k miles that looked like they were brand new. I actually kind of buy the old, “dirty filters filter better”, point of view. I’ve watched videos on it, it makes sense, and I don’t have to worry about letting it go a little longer. And to me, 30,000 miles isn’t a lot of driving...I do that in a year...mostly highway, no dirt road driving. 

[Grumpy Bear]

4 hours ago, Doublebase said:

I think it comes down to this, what do you want? Do you want “performance” or “protection”? 
 

If you want “performance” you’re going to need more air flow - more air flow will let more contaminants in - and if that’s ok with you, then do it. You’re one of those guys that’s probably going to trade the vehicle in way before you notice any damage. And you’ll get your .5 mpg increase and 2 extra horsie power. 
 

And if you want “protection”, I mean ultimate protection...well, you’d probably be best served to go twice the recommended change interval for your air filter. It’ll filter more if it’s clogged up with whatever it caught in the filter element. You’ll lose some air flow, you’ll lose some power and you’ll lose some fuel economy. But you’ll get your protection. 
 

What I do, is I change my filters every 30,000 miles now. I got a little tired of throwing away filters at 15-20k miles that looked like they were brand new. I actually kind of buy the old, “dirty filters filter better”, point of view. I’ve watched videos on it, it makes sense, and I don’t have to worry about letting it go a little longer. And to me, 30,000 miles isn’t a lot of driving...I do that in a year...mostly highway, no dirt road driving. 

Ya know, back in the day when the air filter was on top of the carburetor we stacked OEM filters. Doing so we did not compromise filter efficiency and still gained additional air flow. The trade comes when we INSIST on an increase in flow without an increase in filter area. But yes....it's a choice. 

 

I have issues with those the claim efficiency plays no part in motor life. 

[KARNUT]

I don’t used K&N anymore. That being said I used them and Amsoil filters on many vehicles when performance was my first goal. My work vehicles saw a lot of dirt. I did routinely when re- oiling take a white cloth an check downstream for dirt. Generally 150K miles per work vehicle some got passed around and many more miles. I did see one failure. The driver never cleaned one. It crumbled up and a 7.3 diesel failed at 200K from no filter. My 92 blown truck had one. I replaced it 9 years ago. I’ll probably put a drop in my 02 eventually. Maybe just stay with stock. Performance isn’t a top priority anymore.


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[TJay74]

So those of you that say you are compromising filtering by looking towards performance. With the performance filters what is the bad you see from using them?

[SierraHD17]

Have ran paper and k&n for over a decade in a fine clay dust environment.  My k&n's look like they are covered in mud when i swap them after a few months of no snow on the roads.  The only notable dust intrusion in my experience was GM's air boxes leaking at the air filter base gasket.  This has happened with both the k&n and the paper elements... and yes I use GM oe paper filters.  I have since started greasing the track the filters sit in on the filter box and that mitigates that issue.  Both the k&n and the paper do a good job of keeping thr maf and intake tube clean.  I have never had silica show up as any amount of contaminant on my UOA's either.  Its just a good topic to get people all warped over lol.