A trick to get that lovely filter "cake" to form?

[Kaboomba]

If you have done any in-depth reading on air filtration, you know that one neat thing that happens to air filters is that they get better at filtering after they get a light "cake" of dirt on the fibers of the media.

This "cake" improves the efficiency (Beta ratio) without really restricting flow.

Thus, the worst filtration is the filtration you get from a brand-new filter. Once the cake forms, you have the best filtration and good flow until the cake really starts to fill up the media.

What if you "doped" a new filter to help the cake get started?

My thought was perhaps to use some of that 100% silicone spray lubricant and just apply a mist on the new filter.

The goal would be to get into that light-n-fluffy cake sweet spot more quickly.

Eh?

 

[eljefino]

Get another airbox at the junkyard and hook it up to your household vacuum. Go outside and just hover the intake over some sandy concrete and kick dust up with your shoes. Or get a leafblower and attach its output to the airbox input.

This strikes me as as good an idea as the guy who wants to add resistors to his headlight wiring so his bulbs last longer.

 

[Boomer]

Just buy a pre-oiled air filter. Nissan, for example, uses these.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

STOP!!! Never never NEVER get silicone, siloxane, or similar anywhere near the intake!!!! Bye-Bye 02 sensor. Even waxing a car can cause problems with the silicone dust.

 

[Kaboomba]

Thank you.

I have concluded that I have nothing to lose by buying whatever decent filter is available and giving it a 2.5 cent misting with a sticky petrol-based stuff and the gain of a quicker "cake".

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
Just buy a pre-oiled air filter. Nissan, for example, uses these.

Honda does have pre-oiled air filter too, my S2000 OEM air filter is lightly oiled.

 

[Kaboomba]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Boomer
Just buy a pre-oiled air filter. Nissan, for example, uses these.

Honda does have pre-oiled air filter too, my S2000 OEM air filter is lightly oiled.


hmm. I'm thinking a $3 can of fogging oil would do nicely.

 

[virginoil]

Why bother changing the filter just leave the old one in there for the life of the car.

 

[D Bone]

wow, just wow

 

[Steve S]

That is the problem about reading and not really understanding. It just doesn't work out well most of the time.

 

[Jakegday]

is all that dirt that gets through a brand new filter really that big of an issue for your car?

 

[Loobed]

Buy some pillow stuffing, oil it with motorcycle filter oil, and stuff it in your airbox.

 

[Kaboomba]

Originally Posted By: virginoil

Why bother changing the filter just leave the old one in there for the life of the car.


Most people DO change their air filter too soon. And, there are guys on here who are seeing filters go upwards of 35K before the filter minder says to change. But 230K might be too much!

Originally Posted By: Jakegday
is all that dirt that gets through a brand new filter really that big of an issue for your car?


Yes, especially since I don't plan to change my oil ever again AND I have 230K to go before I hit my goal of six 3's on the OD.

Originally Posted By: Steve S
That is the problem about reading and not really understanding. It just doesn't work out well most of the time.


I think you should do some more reading yourself. Donaldson and FleetGuard both have white papers that deal with the benefits of light "caking". And there are plenty of oiled filters out there already.

Originally Posted By: Loobed

Buy some pillow stuffing, oil it with motorcycle filter oil, and stuff it in your airbox.


Too expensive. I want to be able to throw a readily-available thing in and give it a squirt.

Haw, I can see all y'all squirm!

 

[mjoekingz28]

Be careful with how long you let a filter go. I was fixing up a Ford Mustang that had a shotty service history and one thing I changed was the filter. It had alot of cake, and when removed there was plenty of sand and dirt on the engine side of the intake tract.

Although I don't know how long it was in use, Im sure it was astronomically high.

 

[wbwanzer]

Doesn't make any sense to me but if that's what you want to do, then knock yourself out. Why don't filter manufactureors sell filters that are already full of dirt if that gives the best filtering?

I guess this is just too advanced for my pea brain to understand.

 

[Virtuoso]

Originally Posted By: wbwanzer
Why don't filter manufactureors sell filters that are already full of dirt if that gives the best filtering?

I can see it now. FRAM! The dirt stops here! In fact, open the box, we've proven it.....

 

[Shannow]

Industrially, I was involved in commissioning a fabric filter dust removal plant back in the early 90s.

IIRC, 56,000 bag elements, about 10m long and 6"diameter, filtering 5um (silica/alumina are predominant constituents) and up dust from flue gasses at 230F.

We bought tanker loads of dust from other power stations in the state to blind the bags before running them, as a whole station full of new bags would leave a visible plume for quite some time.

I can prolly score some dust for those that need it.

 

[oggb]

I had actually wondered if that were true.

Veeeery interesting.

 

[greaseball]

It's true, and I've read about it a few times: a 'dirty' air filter is better than a clean filter. It filters the air better, maybe some 'new' dirt sticks to the 'old' dirt that is already on the filter. I'm not talking about a clogged filter, but one that has some dirt and not super white clean.
I generally don't follow extended OCI, but on this one, I'll run long.

 

[justinf89]

If I can see light through the pleats then its still fair game