[Jetrider79]

This morning, a co-worker of mine told me that he decided against a cold air intake for his Turbo Duramax Diesel because over time the Turbo(s) will be worn due to being "sand blasted". I have not heard this. Curious if anyone had any insight into this, and, for us that have an aftermarket cold air intake (like an AFE Stage 2) installed on our EcoBeasts, should we be worried?

He also told me that an oiled aftermarket air filter was a bad idea as it cloggs your sensor. Should this be addressed as well?

 

[Raiderfan1890]

I'm assuming he means that since the CAI breathes more, it will allow more debris in which could potentially cause the turbos to wear faster. And yes, an improperly (saturated) oiled filter can cause some sensor issues.

 

[Jetrider79]

Raiderfan I think you are right in what he was saying/thinking. But I do know the Borg-Warners are built to last. So after a duration of 4-5 years maybe one should consider a turbo upgrade if they have a CAI. When I went with my AFE CAI I chose the oiled filters. Perhaps I should switch to dry

 

[jonrjen]

I had a Powerstroke that I had a CAI on years ago. I had a problem where it wouldn't build boost and ran flat even though I could hear the turbo spinning fast.

I didn't have even 12K miles on it, put it in the shop and upon tearing down the turbo the blades were in fact dusted and one blade was broken way at the edge of a blade. The repair was made out of my wallet not warranty. This service was at a dealership where I had plenty of contact and could have pushed for warranty service. Which would have required having the turbo sent into Ford HQ for inspection and a warranty judgment call. The tech flat told me I would loose the claim from the looks of the blade.

As far as intake design goes, I'll stick with Ford engineers and their OEM design.

 

[Stage3Motorsports]

It takes alot to over oil a filter. If you do want to switch to dry you can always get the dry filter replacements.

 

[Jetrider79]

It takes alot to over oil a filter. If you do want to switch to dry you can always get the dry filter replacements.

Yes Bill one could switch. I googled dry vs oiled air filters and there are gripes pertaining to both. Might just be a matter of personal preference into what kind to get. I like my oiled filters just fine but perhaps I will make the switch to dry, just for kicks.

 

[Grim Reaper]

I used an oiled filter (K&N) on a custom intake where I could actually get cold air directed to the filter (and hot engine air kept out). I installed this in the early 1990s and drove the car for nearly 20 years with no problems and 300,000+ when I finally sold it. No problems.

I recall that K&N actually said a little "intake dust" aids in the filtration over a freshly cleaned & oiled filter. I still cleaned & oiled it on a regular basis. I also check my the air intake tube leading up to my throttle body and it was perfectly clean ... do "dust or anything".

I think people that may have problems may either improperly oil them or they didn't have a perfect seal in their intake. This is assuming they used a high quality filter and it wasn't damaged.

I would not have any hesitation to using a good quality oiled filter and I think K&N may have something with their claim that a "little dust" on the filter aids with filtration.

 

[Hi-Octane]

I installed the AFE 1 dry filter I don't like to tempt fate.Although I have used K&N insert filters on other trucks,With no problems.

 

[limited]

Common sense would tell you any thing that flows better reduces filtration. If you reduce the filtration you allow large particles to enter the intake system. It is really a crap shoot but on forced induction engine I would be particularly careful of the quality of the filter you use.

 

[scap99]

Common sense would tell you any thing that flows better reduces filtration. If you reduce the filtration you allow large particles to enter the intake system. It is really a crap shoot but on forced induction engine I would be particularly careful of the quality of the filter you use.

I disagree.
Filter media is designed to capture a fixed size particle, then it is pleated to increase the active surface area for a given size. The number of pleats, their depth, and their spacing is a function of required air flow at a specific pressure drop.



Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

 

[outlaw25]

I disagree.
Filter media is designed to capture a fixed size particle, then it is pleated to increase the active surface area for a given size. The number of pleats, their depth, and their spacing is a function of required air flow at a specific pressure drop.


Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

Yes, but what he says does make perfect sense. In increasing the amount of air you also increase the amount of particles going through the filter.
In laymen s terms say your filter is good down to say 100 microns. If you increase the air flow through the filter you increase the number of particles less then 100 microns that will pass through the filter and enter the engine. The fix would be to change to a filter that is good down to a smaller particle size, which also will decrease air flow.

 

[scap99]

Yes, but what he says does make perfect sense. In increasing the amount of air you also increase the amount of particles going through the filter.
In laymen s terms say your filter is good down to say 100 microns. If you increase the air flow through the filter you increase the number of particles less then 100 microns that will pass through the filter and enter the engine. The fix would be to change to a filter that is good down to a smaller particle size, which also will decrease air flow.

If your media is designed to filter at a 100 micron level, it will filter at a 100 micron level. You are only limited by CFM through the amount of negative static your system can generate. You'll either starve the system due to fan laws, or you'll pop the media with enough pressure drop.
The fix you called out above is EXACTLY what the aftermarket folks are doing. They ARE filtering to a smaller particle size, but they are also increasing the surface area of the media....deeper pleats and more pleats per inch.

If the surface area of the media did not change and all you did was swap the media for a better filter rating, you would still flow the same CFM, but at a greater static pressure drop.

Low static drop is the key to flow. The motor is going to pump what it needs, you just want it to be as unrestricted as possible. The only way to filter better and minimize static pressure drop across the filter is to increase the surface area of the media.

 

[outlaw25]

I do agree with you, but, when you increase the surface to allow for more air flow do you not also allow more of the particles through that are small enough to pass through?

 

[scap99]

I do agree with you, but, when you increase the surface to allow for more air flow do you not also allow more of the particles through that are small enough to pass through?

No, the media dictates the level of filtration. The surface area is adjusted to allow the desired flow rate at an acceptable static pressure drop.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Liketohavefun]

I have used k&n air filters on every car or truck I ever have had for 25 years some were turbo even and I never had even a dirty sensor problem. My long time buddy has done the same and never had any problems been running his dodge hemi with a full intake since new 2 yrs later all still good. Not sure how people have problems?

 

[scap99]

I have used k&n air filters on every car or truck I ever have had for 25 years some were turbo even and I never had even a dirty sensor problem. My long time buddy has done the same and never had any problems been running his dodge hemi with a full intake since new 2 yrs later all still good. Not sure how people have problems?

I've put over 100k miles each on two different trucks, both had oiled air filters.
Neither had even a hint of dust in the intake tubing. Also, neither blew oil onto the MAF sensor....

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

 

[limited]

I disagree.
Filter media is designed to capture a fixed size particle, then it is pleated to increase the active surface area for a given size. The number of pleats, their depth, and their spacing is a function of required air flow at a specific pressure drop.



Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

The micron filtration catch size is much less on aftermarket filters regardless of the number of "folds"...LOL. This reduced filtration greatly enhances flow through the filter. This is NOT rocket science.....regardless of what some people try to make it. I am simply astounded at how common sense can be turned around to make a scientific argument sound logical. If you want super performance you don't use a filter at all. You will notice an immediate performance improvement becaust "that" filter flows much better than anything else on the market!!!!!!!

 

[scap99]

The micron filtration catch size is much less on aftermarket filters regardless of the number of "folds"...LOL. This reduced filtration greatly enhances flow through the filter. This is NOT rocket science.....regardless of what some people try to make it. I am simply astounded at how common sense can be turned around to make a scientific argument sound logical. If you want super performance you don't use a filter at all. You will notice an immediate performance improvement becaust "that" filter flows much better than anything else on the market!!!!!!!

You are so mistaken. My logic works because I deal with hvac systems for a living...good grief, does nobody ever consider what someone may do in their careers?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk now Free

 

[limited]

You are so mistaken. My logic works because I deal with hvac systems for a living...good grief, does nobody ever consider what someone may do in their careers?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk now Free

HVAC system filtration is not automobile intake filters as your talking about a pressure forced air system versus a vaccum inducted system. Perhaps if you were a automotive mechanical engineer I think you would more logically see the difference. The total area of a filter, in this case multiple folds to increase the total filtration area does have a small impact; however to improve air flow, which after all is the goal of aftermarket filters, is done in only one way. You must REDUCE the filtration to improve the air flow. Will this impact the operation of the engine??? That is the 64,000 question. You better believe that Ford will use it against you should you have any issues with contaminents in your system or damage to internal parts. Use at your own risk. As a side note I have seen many folks use aftermarket filters with before and after dyno runs. Depending upon the filter there were small and I do mean small gains or in some cases no gain at all. Most of us and our "seat of the pants" dyno can not actually notice anything below about a 10 horsepower gain and what we saw was anywhere from 3 HP to about 16HP with aftermarket filters. Now here is the most interesting part. You do a dyno run with the hood up (open) with everything stock and we saw a much larger increase than we saw with any after market filter. Of course that is not an option but better air flow was seen in that configuration than with the super duper filters. Oh, and this issue of cold air intakes............forget it. There is no cold air intake unless you are pumping some type of super cold gas into the engine. Filtration of the air directly below and within the engine compartment is heated air. Your going to see improvement only when the outside temp is colder. Again, it's all really common sense. I understand folks concern and how any little gain is appreciated. You just have to weigh the benefit versus the potential out come.

 

[AKSilverboost]

I have never heard of this. So long as you take care of your system properly then it should not be an issue.