Some interesting data (tests) on air filters

[Steve St.Laurent]

Got this off of a motorcycle website that I'm on:



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



"In the chart above it’s important to note the different test durations for each filter. The AC Delco filter test ran for 60 minutes before exceeding the restriction limit while the AMSOIL and K&N tests each ran for only 20 minutes before reaching max restriction. In 60 minutes the AC Filter accumulated 574gms of dirt and passed only 0. 4gms. After only 20 minutes the K&N had accumulated 221gms of dirt but passed 6. 0gms. Compared to the AC, the K&N “plugged up” 3 times faster, passed 15 times more dirt and captured 39% less dirt. See the data tables for a complete summary of these comparisons. "

 

[Grunt]

Steve... thanks for the link. It is indeed interesting reading.

 

[TPCDrafting]

Thanks Steve for the interesting read. So does AC Delco make a BHAF?

 

[SnoKing]

Thanks Steve for the interesting read. So does AC Delco make a BHAF?

I think the point is a good paper filter catches the most dirty. So if you install a BHAF to gain the extra filter area and the increased flow, you have the best of both worlds. I run the smaller NAPA 6637 BHAF (8. 5 dia x 10. 5 long), which fits on the fender better and I have an outwears on it. A Fleetguard or other high quality BHAF is going to test very well. SNOKING

 

[Bill Weber]

Interesting test but I am trouble adding the numbers.

They fed 9. 8 grams/min. untill the filter plugged.

AC Delco: 9. 8*60min = 588 grams Filter trapped 574 and passed 0. 4. What happened to the rest?

K&N: 9. 8*20min = 196 grams. Filter trapped 227 and passed 6 grams. Sounds pretty efficient - it caught more than there was!!



Didn't check the rest of the numbers but on it's face the test data looks like BS to me.

 

[mcoleman]

The K & N plugged in 20 minutes compared to the paper in 60.

 

[lcoblentz]

I guess my question is, who makes the AC Delco filter? Does AC actually manufacture it? Or is it made for them by someone else? Example would be our Mopar filters.

 

[Matt400]

I hate those K & N's... they ruin down stream air sensors, especially mass air flow sensors on gas rigs and on my motorcycle it captured so much junk it plugged and the engine quit. I had to pull it off to finish the ride! That was the last one I ever used.

 

[CGriffith]

This test may not be 100% perfect but I think the results are pretty plain. I'll pass on the K&N and buy a wix or Donaldson BHAF.



This test was put together by Arlen Spicer who is a memeber of the dieselplace.com. He has also signed up at BobIsTheOilGuy to take questions about the test. See this thread BITOG is free if you want to sign up. Very good discussions about oil, filters and such there. I'll post a link there so if Spicer wants to explain the discrepancies Bill Weber has brought up he can. Go easy on him. I don't think he has any angenda other than the truth. He has no stock in AC, just trying to bring the best info to light.

 

[BigEasy]

We figured this out on our Dirt Late Model about 10 years ago. A lot of the engine builders now require paper filters.



If you don't believe it and you're still running a K&N, smear a lil Vaseline lightly around the intake ducting just on the engine side of the air filter and drive it for a while... you'll be amazed at the amount of stuff getting through...

 

[jboehm]

We figured this out on our Dirt Late Model about 10 years ago. A lot of the engine builders now require paper filters.



If you don't believe it and you're still running a K&N, smear a lil Vaseline lightly around the intake ducting just on the engine side of the air filter and drive it for a while... you'll be amazed at the amount of stuff getting through...

Makes sense to me! Might have to try that , although seems the filters I normally use (Fram air) seem to have very light lube coating on the rubber seal. . never paid much attention to it.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Interesting test but I am trouble adding the numbers.

They fed 9. 8 grams/min. untill the filter plugged.

AC Delco: 9. 8*60min = 588 grams Filter trapped 574 and passed 0. 4. What happened to the rest?

K&N: 9. 8*20min = 196 grams. Filter trapped 227 and passed 6 grams. Sounds pretty efficient - it caught more than there was!!



Didn't check the rest of the numbers but on it's face the test data looks like BS to me.

Bill, I'm sure the "missing" dirt went past the filter and exited out of the test chamber. X amount of dirt per minute was fed into the air, some was pulled into the filter, a small amount through the filter into the 'engine,' and I'm assuming the rest went through and out the test setup. The test results look legit to me. Don't forget that as the filters plug, they're pulling less air through, and attracting less dirt in the process, and therefore more passes out the test setup. That's why the ones that plug up fast like the K&N tend to have less total volume of dirt. So on that premise the K&N doesn't look so good, especially considering the amount of dirt inhaled vs. trapped dirt.



I had a K&N on my '01 and it was very poor at stopping dirt. I just pulled the AFE off my '96 Ram and after 20k miles the intake tube didn't pass the "white glove test. " It did far better than the K&N but still not good enough for my tastes.



Vaughn

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"smear a lil Vaseline lightly around the intake ducting just on the engine side of the air filter and drive it for a while... you'll be amazed at the amount of stuff getting through... "





Stock OEM filters CAN have as much leakage problems at the seal edge as any of the rest...



Proof?



#ad




That tan looking stuff coating the lower edge of that filter is D-I-R-T!



And yes, I *have* done the "white glove test" - or at least a white napkin test over a significant period of time/mileage, comparing intake tract dust accumulation of an OEM paper filter against the K&N as used on my truck, and came up with THIS:



#ad




The above pictured comparison shows the accumulated dirt at similar mileage and driving, K&N on the left, OEM paper on the right, swabs done at the neck of the air cleaner housing where airflow enters the turbo intake hose...



An interesting observation from the test pointed to by Steve:



"The Flow Restriction response curves for each filter have the same basic shape. However, note how the AC Filter, which passed the smallest amount of dirt and had the highest dirt capacity and efficiency, also had the highest relative restriction to flow. The less efficient filters correspondingly had less restriction to flow. This illustrates the apparent trade-offs between optimizing a filter for dirt capturing ability and maximum airflow. "



Ya want HIGH restriction and LOW airflow efficiency - get a good paper filter - but for LOW restriction and MORE airflow efficiency, the K&N types will deliver it.



I'm interested in the BHAF eventually myself as a means to obtain best airflow WITH maximum efficiency - and certainly, SOME of the air cleaner models K&N sells for our trucks seem too small for the CFM they are exposed to - but the model I use on my truck appears to be doing a good job, both visually as shown above, and in the oil analysis results I regularly receive...



YMMV!

 

[BLACKRAM]

Like I've said for years, those K&N's are rock screens.

 

[KYLE4]

I hate those K & N's... they ruin down stream air sensors, especially mass air flow sensors on gas rigs and on my motorcycle it captured so much junk it plugged and the engine quit. I had to pull it off to finish the ride! That was the last one I ever used.

I had the same thing happen to me on a toyota 4 runner cost me 800 dollars to replace m. a. f. I was ****** and K&N just said oh well that is impossible oil cant get through filter so I've done everything in my power to steer people away from them ever since. I read these test all the time and I have a hard time believing them all this crap done in a laboratory how about some real time testing not some whitecoat rubber glove crap. just how I feel about it if you look at all the testing that has been done everytime their different results you would think the different labs would have similar results

 

[KevinO]

Matt400 you are exactly right my buddy has a MAC cold air intake on his 04 mustang and it has had to m. a. s. replaced and has 26k on it. It keeps getting coated with a fine mist of oil off the K&N pretty soon he won't have any oil on it then maybe it won't ruin the sensors

 

[Matt400]

I gotta do another F-150 Mass Air Flow sensor next week due to a K & N. Those flow meters ain't cheap either.

 

[Grayhackle]

Like K&N says the dirtier the filter the better the filter.

Doesn't that make you think? If it is dirtier, does it not let less air go into the part that we are most interested in? If you need more air, take the darn thing out. I am sticking with Geno's. Yes that is paper filter. I have more power than I can use anyway!

 

[macdaddy]

Do the people at AFE use the same type of filter as K&N? Geno's catalog said they had pulled the K&N from their sales due to poor filtration!.



Mac



05 3500 4X4 Laramie DRW 325/610 6spd 4:10's new on 10/30/04.

sold 99 3500 4X4 SLT laramie DRW ATS trans w/VB TC Comander AFE Auto Meter and yep 53 under the hood :{ thats why shes gone.

 

[CGriffith]

I don't run a K&N on anything anymore, but can't MAF sensors be cleaned? I washed one off a while back with brake cleaner and then electrical contact cleaner. It seems to work just fine to date. I'm just wondering why people replace them if they can be cleaned?



Vaughn your explanation of the discrepancies in the test data are off a bit. According to guys that ran the test the feed rate doesn't mean much other than the fact that all the dust wasn't thrown at the filter all at once. The test operators explain it completely here