Do Performance Air Filters Actually Work? by Engineering Explained 11/14/18

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I use the Injen Nano XX1010BB Blue filter and it works awesome. Lasted over 100k and my UOA samples look great. Has a AEM Drycharger nylon prefilter. Cant complain.
 
I'm not gonna watch it all. He's not gonna compare how much junk comes in. If you want high performance gains, might as well use some steel mesh.
 
Originally Posted by FordBroncoVWJeta
I'm not gonna watch it all. He's not gonna compare how much junk comes in. If you want high performance gains, might as well use some steel mesh.


You're right, I see where it's heading. Tell me which filter lets the least amount of dirt in and I'm curious
 
Originally Posted by Marco620
I use the Injen Nano XX1010BB Blue filter and it works awesome. Lasted over 100k and my UOA samples look great. Has a AEM Drycharger nylon prefilter. Cant complain.


I've always used K&N and never had UOA spikes. Unfortunately none is available for the Sportage (yet). Glad your Injen works great.
 
Originally Posted by demarpaint
Originally Posted by FordBroncoVWJeta
I'm not gonna watch it all. He's not gonna compare how much junk comes in. If you want high performance gains, might as well use some steel mesh.


You're right, I see where it's heading. Tell me which filter lets the least amount of dirt in and I'm curious


Yup you guys are both right - watch the silicon number go off the chart on a UOA.
 
If the factory Air Filter/Air Box/Associated Plumbing cause NO restrictions.....A higher flow filter does NO good.
Usually factory components are a compromise because of costs, space constraints & noise.

K&N filters have ruined MANY turbo diesels that operate in dusty conditions, If your conditions are relatively clean....You probably won't suffer from reduced engine life.
 
I purchase OEM filters because they filter the air really good. I want a Air Filter to do it's job and filter. Filter=performance for me. I wouldn't sacrifice a thinner filter and let external debris enter the system for any horsepower increase.
 
This one's easy.

"Do Performance Air Filters Actually Work?"

Yes. They pass air and trap contaminants.

The question not asked:

Do they work better than OEM filters?

Maybe. Maybe not. The question is irrelevant, as the OEM filter passes more air than the engine uses, even when contaminated with the expected amount of debris at less than the expected filter life, and a slightly dirty filter will trap more particles than a clean one. So don't replace them before the maintenance hours or mileage has transpired.
 
Originally Posted by Johnny2Bad
This one's easy.

"Do Performance Air Filters Actually Work?"

Yes. They pass air and trap contaminants.

The question not asked:

Do they work better than OEM filters?

Maybe. Maybe not. The question is irrelevant, as the OEM filter passes more air than the engine uses, even when contaminated with the expected amount of debris at less than the expected filter life, and a slightly dirty filter will trap more particles than a clean one. So don't replace them before the maintenance hours or mileage has transpired.



^^^^^^^^

Very, very good post here...

Air filters can go way way longer in a number of circumstances. My lady's Camry air filter really looked quite good even after 34k miles... I should have checked it before buying a new one. I was shocked at how good it looked after 2 yrs and 34k miles.

Now funny thing is my Nissan Altima VQ air filters look way worse than hers did... After half has many miles. Strange in a way. . But even my air filter could still go 20-22k miles... While hers probably can go 40-44k miles.. I'm leaving her Purolator air filter in for 2
and a half years for this run.
 
I never change my air filter, I just trade my vehicle in when it needs a new filter and tires.
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Because the minute difference (a few %) in filtering efficiency difference between the performance filters and OEM isn't enough to worry about with for most folks in most conditions and that's why he left that part out - the assumption in these discussions is always that you need ~99% filtering efficiency. Just white gloved my turbo intake pipe after ~5K with my K&N...of course it was clean b/c I don't drive in v. dusty conditions so I'll take the higher flow and ~96% filtering efficiency...your results may vary. I clean my K&Ns (all 3 vehicles have them) at 50K. Doing my first UOA in a few mos at my Golf's first oil change...will be interesting to see what, if anything, it shows w/r to the presumed higher SiO2 from running a high-flow filter.
 
For those whom forget to tend to air filters, K&N are great. Early 2000's did a service on an s10. could not find Pleats on the outside of the filter. They were packed full of garbage, yet ran as good as any other v6 s10.
 
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