Air Filter Study.

[Rosco]

I found this air filter study over on The Diesel Place. It is the most comprehensive study of air filters I have ever seen. This was performed in a labratory enviroment with equipment soley designed for this purpose. It is a long thread but the results can be found on the last page. This should answer a lot of questions that people have as to which filter is better for our trucks. FWIW I belive the aFe used was a Pro7.



http://dieselplace.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10642&PN=1



Rosco

 

[nickleinonen]

wow... makes some of the popular reusable filters look real bad... i am glad i got a paper element bhaf...

 

[JL penner]

Are there really any horror stories about K&Ns causing major damage? I've heard plenty of people say they let too much in, but never heard anybody say that it screwed up their engine.

 

[Rosco]

wow... makes some of the popular reusable filters look real bad... i am glad i got a paper element bhaf...

I thought the aFe faired quite well in all tests. The K&N on the other hand is a miserable performer.

 

[ttreibel]

Wow that study/test is quite interesting here is the link to the data page:



http://home.usadatanet.net/~jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm





I have been using the OEM Paper filters from the beginning but I have some dusting of the intake and turbo vains at the last oil change. I hope I just got a defective paper filter and this does't occur again. The first replacement filter from the dealer looked way different than the newest ones. They seem to come with a fiberglass prefilter now. I will run paper for another 20K or so if I get more dusting I am switching to a reusable filter media the AIRAID or AFE.

 

[Rosco]

I noticed some dusting from stock filter as well. However, 10,000 miles ago I installed the aFe Magnum Force intake with Pro7 filter and I've seen no further dusting.

 

[hagar]

Are there really any horror stories about K&Ns causing major damage? I've heard plenty of people say they let too much in, but never heard anybody say that it screwed up their engine.

You won't be likely to get a sudden failure from the small amount of dust getting into the engine thru the filter and it would be hard to say it was directly related to the filter when it did go, the problem is in the long run.

from what I understand, the Cummins is good for about 450k under normal conditions, lets say you run a K&N or an AFE and your motor only lasts 250k, can you be sure it was the filter and not just a defect in the original build? how long will it take the average driver to reach 250k to begin with? I imagine most people will never reach that number before selling their truck.

I already have 132k on my 03 and it's only a year old, I will likely have to rebuild within the next 2 or 3 years using stock filters, looking at that info I could see having to do it much sooner with an after market filter,

I think I'll save my money.

 

[mconstable]

Nick Leinonan... what intake are you running? do you have pics?

 

[tschwab]

Great link and very informative. I had an aFe on my '98 and was considering one for the '05... ... but with warranty concerns (warranties being voided) for even the slightest modification and how the stock OEM filter preformed in that test, I am not changing a thing, staying 100% stock.

 

[klenger]

It would have been nice to see how the Dodge OEM filter performed.

 

[nickleinonen]

what intake are you running? do you have pics?

home brew BHAF setup using standard bhaf element [napa/wix 2790]



pictures here

 

[Blakers]

What's the best deal on quality paper filters out there? Fleetguard?



Has anyone looked at how a Fleetguard compares to a Dodge OEM filter? Are they any better?



Does Geno's have them?



I have an Amsoil filter on the shelf I bought for her, but with talk of dealers blaming them for engine damage, I may leave it on the shelf a little longer.



Thanks,



Blake

 

[jcarey]

nickleinonen, where did you get the parts for your BHAF and the cover?



TIA, Jim

 

[rbattelle]

Great series of tests. Based on the results, it certainly seems that if you want maximum filtration capacity, your OEM paper is best. By that kind of logic, then, if you want really good filtration AND high flow rates, a BHAF is the only choice.



I currently run the stock intake system and stock filters. I've always wondered if it would look good to mount up a semi-truck style intake filter... you know, where it's mounted outside the hood? That would allow for a nice BHAF setup with very easy filter changes.



Nick, I'd also be interested in seeing a pic of your BHAF setup (couldn't find one in your webshots page).

 

[KBertetto]

I'm sticking with my AFE PG7, I feel it performed quite well for being a high flow filter. The AFE that was in the test (73-10062) is a PG7 stock replacement element for an 01-04 Duraslug, in case anyone was wondering.



Bert

 

[Gypsyman]

Thanks Bert. I'd been meaning to track down that part #. I'm working on a custom intake that uses the 6" outlet PG-7 from the 2nd gen Stage II kit that flows over 1200 cfm. I'm still proceeding as planned and I'll test the silica levels and prove for myself if the filtration is adequate. This was an excellent comparison though.



Richard

 

[Blakers]

I've always wondered if it would look good to mount up a semi-truck style intake filter... you know, where it's mounted outside the hood? That would allow for a nice BHAF setup with very easy filter changes.

I think it would be quite easy to do and look good too if one were to mount it to a roll bar or headache rack in the front of the bed. The intake pipe could pull air from above the cab. And it would not have to be a humungous semi filter housing - a good sized air cleaner from a farm tractor or medium duty truck would work fine too.



Blake

 

[Gypsyman]

One problem. I looked at doing this when I was installing my stacks and couldn't find a way to bring another 4" pipe into the engine compartment. If I could have this would be done already!

 

[Blakers]

One problem. I looked at doing this when I was installing my stacks and couldn't find a way to bring another 4" pipe into the engine compartment. If I could have this would be done already!

Couldn't you just run 4" PVC pipe under the cab and up along the exhaust to the turbo?

 

[rbattelle]

Ooooooh... now that sounds really good. I hadn't considered mounting to a headache rack. But I agree with Gypsyman that the trick is to find a robust, convenient, simple way of getting from the back of the cab to the engine compartment...