Pro's and Con's for 3rd party air cleaner ?

[Steve9R]

Hey all.. Im interested in who has a 3rd party (K&N / UniFilter etc) type washable air cleaner ?

Personally im sick of paying $60+ per cleaner every 10k (cause mine ends up so full of dirt i have to change it).. yes i blow them out with the compressor as well, and extend their lives a bit this way, but they still clog up.

Ive got K&N's in all my bikes, but have heard not to use them in the lux..

whats everyone elses' opinion ?

[oldrev]

steve,
i've had two k&n filters in my truck and neither of them impressed me.
they now live in the roof in boxes
the first one i purchased for a hundred, something dollars long time back
after the 1st coffs forum trip i inspected it at the next service only to find some dust coating on the wrong side of things in the hose to engine from filter box.
i remove the hose each time to make easier to get filter out.
i complained to k&n in california us. as they are our regions head office sent photos etc.
the lady to spoke to via email asked if i'd try another filter if she sent me one free of charge which i did.
looking around brother inlaws GU 4.2 we removed his k&n to find a very fine coat in the wrong place.
we immediately checked my new filter that was straight out of the box from factory never been washed and reoiled by me to find the same thing.
i now lives in the roof.
not sure how fine a particle the engine will handle but anything cant be good.
i dont do a lot of dirt driving and i haven't fitted a snorkel yet either
just my personal experiance
ken

[seanr72]

i get mine washed twice then i replace it, big savings and they test them to make sure there ok before washing them, if there no good, in the bin it goes

[Dluxv6]

I am running K & N love it , in a V6 though
but i think there was a thread about it being no good for diesels , interferes with air flow sensor wire i think (clogs the wire)

Drew

[Gulfstream8]

Sorry to disappoint anyone but the only way a replacement of the standard airlifter can possibly increase horsepower is to let more air through the filter element. If you are letting more air through the same surface area you subsequently will let larger particles through i.e.: dirt and dust. Another major problem with the oil type filters being talked about is our Toyotas are running a “Hot wire” air flow meter for the ECU, this “Hot wire” meter or sensor is very delicate and any oil from the “oiled” filter will coat the sensor causing over time inaccurate readings. I have seen sensors coated with oil in the work shop that have in turn been giving the ECU erratic readings and the customer inconsistent fuel consumption. Be very careful because I have also seen the opposite where it has caused an engine to run lean. Just use the genuine filter and replace it more often.

[GreenHilux Guy]

I ran a finer oil filter that almost cost me $700 to fix after the oil clogged the air flow sensor.

I think Ill stick with the air filter for now.

Luckily Toyota fixed it with a q-tip and some metho. Turns out they didn't need to replace it after all, one month after warranty expired.

[HiruxHijinx]

I had a Uni-Filter foam two layer filter on my diesel. No dramas at all, really easy to wash, and nothing got past it. Only paid about a hundred for it I think from memory. Washed it atleast 10 times (and reoiled).
Never had any dramas with the air flow sensor, but these can be cleaned with contact cleaner. In fact, they should be regularly cleaned with contact cleaner. I always clean them, makes a huge difference in power.
Sam.

[Dluxv6]

No issues here either although fitted to V6

Cheers Drew

[Gulfstream8]

Sorry I forgot to add this to my last post but if anyone is still unsure of using an aftermarket air filter after I have mentioned the risk of particles getting trough the filter please check out this link. http://autospeed.com/cms/A_111486/article.html

Auto speed and Zoom magazine have done some pretty exhaustive tests with aftermarket filters and they have found almost no improvement to HP at all. Zoom conducted tests with high powered engines and found only small improvements when the entire air filter and canister was replaced with a “Ram Tube” style filter element, and even then the improvement was small. They also went on to say that the only way you can make more power with an aftermarket air filter is to let more air through the same surface area therefore risking particles getting through to your engine. I hope this helps you make a decision.

[Shaker]

Don't use any heavy compressed air to blow out your filter elements! If you must, tap the element very gently (even tapping not recommended) and/or use a very low air pressure on an angle to the outside of the filter only, never blow from the inside out. Heavy knocking or banging or using high pressure air to clean the element moves fine contaminants further into the filter medium and then the engine. For the cost of a new filter, I wouldn't suggest heavy cleaning methods which contribute to engine damage, rings and cylinder sleeves in particular. Same for all filters, even drinking water filters cannot be reversed flushed. Look after you engines and don't skimp on this stuff. Also, how good do you think a washable filter medium is if you and wash the dust out of them and how much actually gets dislodged and washed out, in fact how good are they if you can actually wash them? I'd be thinking about it

Edit: As a suggestion I would sit well back front any leading vehicles and allow cross breezes to carry the dust away or wait for any dust to clear rather than driving in it. This will reduce the dust intake and in turn prolong the life of the filter. I don't think anyone could avoid driving in conditions where wind is whipping up dust and it's everywhere.