Interesting take on air filtration

The only way to damage the MAF sensor is by over oiling the filter. 

That being said, K&N air filters need to be cleaned much more often than is indicated in the instructions. After cleaning, thoroughly drying them is just as important as oiling them properly.

It's a good idea to own two of them for exactly this reason.

Posted by: @pwnzor

The only way to damage the MAF sensor is by over oiling the filter. 

That being said, K&N air filters need to be cleaned much more often than is indicated in the instructions. After cleaning, thoroughly drying them is just as important as oiling them properly.

It's a good idea to own two of them for exactly this reason.

 

 

 

 

Over oiling is what K&N claims and they blamed the owners but in actuality they add plenty of oil brand new from the factory and a good number of the failures were from the initial use of the air filters as most never had them cleaned due to their claims of longer intervals. 

First they denied it could even happen and then they blamed owners of over oiling after they acknowledge that it was a problem.  They also denied a industrial filter study which showed they let in too much dirt. They have also claimed that their filters increase hp by as much as 20% which they had to roll back. Very deceptive company. That is what sparked off the dry paper performance filters. Sure they are a little more restrictive and don’t last as long but they actually filter. 

Well I guess if someone doesn't inspect the parts they put on their car then they might have unexpected results.

Further, if they don't clean their filter for 50,000 miles I might just classify them as foolish.

My Sprinter has a 20,000 miles service interval, and Mercedes will stand by that all day long. Just because it holds four gallons of oil, doesn't mean I'm going to take it more than 10,000 miles before I change it. And K&N lives in my airbox, oil and transmission. 

I'm a bit if a K&N fan if you can't tell. I use every product they make on every vehicle I own. I have never had a failure related from any of them.

Posted by: @dev

  I knew this for many years and had many heated debates over it. Its good to know that Project Farm can actually show this. Air filtration companies lie all the time with the advertising. Everyone wants regulations but they are ineffective because the FTC doesn't do their job because of corruption. This is where real people time and time again has to expose these frauds for what they are and why consumer protection agencies are do nothing bureaucrats that do not act in the public interest.     

  For years Fram filters have been known to be garbage. K&N are garbage also for a street car. That oil gauze ruins your MAF sensor and it does increase the dirt in your engine. When I had that filter my oil analysis would come back with more dirt in the oil. You are basically harming your engine for very little performance that doesn't last because once the filter gets a little dirty it reduces the flow.  

 Wix has a reputation of making very good quality filters, so does Purolator but I wouldn't use their oil filters for a performance car that might need more flow, stick to factory Denso oil filters. 

 

I have seen the videos that expose the quality issues with the cheap Fram filters, but these reports miss the point about what is important in oil filtration.  So what if a Wix is constructed robustly but has a filter media that lets boulders through?  The number one quality you should care about is how well it filters small particles, and the main filter companies have a lot of technology invested in the formulations of filter media.  That is why Fram, Bosch, and Purolator publish their ISO 4548-12 test results.  I would not buy a filter from a company that doesn't provide that data.  It is also unreasonable to worry about the pressure drop differences between the various brands (presumably the filters that have better ISO test results have higher pressure-drop).  The reason I say this is that for even the most restrictive filter, the filter resistance is a tiny fraction of the oil system pressure drop, even for a cold engine.  I don't use the cheapest Fram or Purolator filters, but today, there is very little difference in the quality between the premium filters from Fram, Purolator or Bosch.  

Back about 30 years ago, Consumers report did their own test of filtration capability of the major brands of oil filters, and Fram (the old orange case)  was the only one that did a good job of trapping 15 micron particles.  I used them for years without any problems.  I agree that the cardboard-tubes inside looked cheap, but I never had a failure, and usually cut-open my filters for inspection after changing.  

Dave

I agree with you on Fram as it was one time a quality company that had a great reputation for oil filters. When I worked in an auto parts store when I was in HS that is what we use to recommend to customers. Later on Fram was bought out and then the cheapened up their filters with poor construction and many reported anecdotal failures of their filters collapsing.  They also doubled down on their advertising to make claims that are not true like 2x  better than the next brand. It is not uncommon for a reputable company to be bought out just because of their reputation and then used and abused to generate profit by cutting costs before consumers catch on. 

Many of the more expensive filters do have a very nice exterior to make you believe it’s a better filter.

they should sell chrome oil filters, bet they would sell great

Posted by: @cspidy

they should sell chrome oil filters, bet they would sell great

I remember back in the 70's when chrome was king, there was the expression: "If you can't fix it, chrome it!"

@uncle-mush Hey, carbon fiber FTW!

@desertwanderer Carbon Fiber is the new chrome!  I hadn't thought of that,  but I suppose you are right!

@uncle-mush Maybe even carbon fiber zip ties for the ultimate in tackiness!

Posted by: @desertwanderer

@uncle-mush Maybe even carbon fiber zip ties for the ultimate in tackiness!

I gotta git me some of 'em!

Funny because I always thought exposed CF was last decades tackiness. Sure it’s great material for the ages but it was way over done. In most cases much of the CF was just fiberglass. 

Posted by: @uncle-mush

Posted by: @cspidy

they should sell chrome oil filters, bet they would sell great

I remember back in the 70's when chrome was king, there was the expression: "If you can't fix it, chrome it!"

Or chrome will get you home