[PutMeInTheSky]

Since I was all excited about doing my first mod to my truck the other night (airbox mod), I was showing/talking to a friend of mine about it yesterday.

This guy has had his head under the hood of just about everything on the street. In HS he had an old a$$ Impala ('64?) that EVERYONE wanted.

He now mods his little pocket rocket of a civic like crazy. He said that if I really want to let my girl breath, I need to lose the K&N wet air filter and use a combo of two layers of the smallest hole size window screen with two layers of pantyhose. He says that this is plenty of protection from elements and lets way more air in.

I told him he was crazy and that this may work well for guys in street only cars, but that I like to go get dirty. I said that I just don't want to run the risk of sucking a ton of dirt & dust into my engine.

Thoughts on this?

 

[chainsaw]

Im with you, as much dust as a 4x4 see's Ill live with a little less power. Ive seen first hand what dust can do to an engine.

 

[Irongrave]

run a good filter if you play off pavement

 

[4floored]

are dry filters or wet\oiled filters better for dusty conditions?

 

[Zero Six LE]

Let's just say that the air filter is the most important filter on your vehicle. I think he is crazy as well.

 

[shakedownstreet]

proper air filtration is one of the bigger reasons engines last so much longer than in the past.

take it for what it's worth

 

[Mathster]

depending on how much dust you play in, you might also consider a foam pre-filter.
pantyhose and screen might be ok in clean damp areas where there isn't much dust.

 

[PutMeInTheSky]

are dry filters or wet\oiled filters better for dusty conditions?

I'd like to know this also. What are the pros/cons of dry/wet filters?

 

[upcominZ]

I don't know many dry/wet filters. All I know is there are 4 basic types of filters. K&N fabric type filters that use oil to make dirt stick to the fibers. Sponge type filters that also use oil to make dust stick to the filter. Paper OEM type filters that basically like screens. And the SS mesh filters.

Paper filters are the best filters for dirt/dust and have the best flow and filtration at saturated conditions. Sponge are second best and come OEM on all ATVS and dirtbikes. They keep out the most dust and won't be damaged by water like paper filters will.

Last type of filter out there that I know of is the Stainless Steel mesh filter. I don't know much about them and doubt they will be better than the K&N.

Also, about the K&N, they let by alot of dust when they are dirty. The website even states something about not using their car filters for offroad use. In the dirtbike world, not many use the k&n filters for the same reason, they let by too much dust too often. The double layer sponge type filter is the best for off road dusty conditions, or paper.

 

[1fstmax]

get an amsoil air filter with a pre filter sock..

 

[roastbeef]

slap a k&n on it an call it a day. don't bother making a home made contraption, you aren't going to produce any more power, the 3.3 isn't a high power motor.

 

[mustard23]

If your worried about prefillters, I have 2 for my K&N one is a dust fillter I run offroad in the desert that is a foam, you oil up, the 2nd is a bad you put over that keep watter out, so I run it when I'm in wet muddy conditions. I just swap them out depending on condition and for normal street driving I just run the air filter.


Why no love for the K&N guys? Offroad racers have been running them for years. So I don't know why you guys are hating on them.

 

[PutMeInTheSky]

I don't know many dry/wet filters.

That was just shorthand typing for dry or wet filters. Dry meaning the paper kind without the oil or the kind that does have oil.

I figured that for what I've been getting into, and what I will be getting into, the K&N drop in will work. It's what was recommended on the airbox mod write up that I read.

If your worried about prefillters, I have 2 for my K&N one is a dust fillter I run offroad in the desert that is a foam, you oil up, the 2nd is a bad you put over that keep watter out, so I run it when I'm in wet muddy conditions. I just swap them out depending on condition and for normal street driving I just run the air filter.

Is this a recommendation? I'm assuming I can find these on the interwebs? I'll be a searchin'.

This is the one concern I have about the airbox mod. Now there's just a big hole (where the fender resonator was attached) that looks like it could suck water/mud/whatever in there! Do I need to be concerned??

 

[roastbeef]

theres a big debate that explodes about the quality of k&n filters whenever someone asks about them on the bmw forums i'm on. the guys who are legit seem to agree that they are adequate filters.

i'm running a k&n unprotected cone for a couple years now, and it has been fine. my truck has seen some pretty nasty conditions and it has been fine. just get a k&n and call it a day.

 

[mustard23]

yeah that what I'm running an one stream crossing I made t with my K&N and Nizmuts AFE filled with water.. Every Pro-truck in SCORE and BITD have to run them.. No I did have mine get covered in mud and lock me down. but a lot of that had to do with my fiberglass fenders.. I called and talk to them and they have cover the decresses air flow by 15% but fillters out 90% of the moisture in the air. So they said run that when it's muddy..

 

[PutMeInTheSky]

yeah that what I'm running an one stream crossing I made t with my K&N and Nizmuts AFE filled with water.. Every Pro-truck in SCORE and BITD have to run them.. No I did have mine get covered in mud and lock me down. but a lot of that had to do with my fiberglass fenders.. I called and talk to them and they have cover the decresses air flow by 15% but fillters out 90% of the moisture in the air. So they said run that when it's muddy..

Every truck in SCORE and BITD have to run what? The extra foam filter insert?

 

[roastbeef]

Every truck in SCORE and BITD have to run what? The extra foam filter insert?

it goes over your existing filter.

K&N Airforce Foam Pre-Cleaners for Extending the Service Life of a K&N Air Filter in Extreme Dust

 

[mustard23]

Every truck in SCORE and BITD have to run what? The extra foam filter insert?

Pro-truck is a spec class so all the truck are set up the same, one of the specs is they have to run K&N filters.