air filter options

[codesertrat]

My 2012 Wrangler has spent time on some quite dusty backroads in Utah over the last few years. Everytime I check / replace the air filter, there is a very fine coating of dust on the clean side of the airbox and intake piping. It would appear that the OEM paper filter media just cant keep up with heavy dust desert conditions as all gaskets and clamps are tight.

Increased airflow for high rpm, wide open throttle performance really isnt a concern to me, and most of the expensive aftermarket intake options are actually poorer performance in regard to particulate filtering. I am not willing to hack up my nice new hood so a snorkel is not a route I wish to go.

I am considering the AEM Dryflow replacement filter element, as it reports to have better filter efficiency than OEM.

http://www.aemintakes.com/search/product.aspx?prod=28-20364

Has anyone used this product? What have others done to upgrade the air filter system to help with very dusty conditions?

 

[tarditi]

I used to use K&N and was very pleased with their performance in dusty areas.
I've not changed out the filter on my JKUR yet, though.

 

[LR Max]

Avoid K&Ns since the oil used on the filter is also great for destroying your MAF sensor.

If you are constantly in dusty conditions, a raise air intake is a very good solution and something to consider (you'd have to seal it to make it a snorkel).

Whatever you do, DO NOT take the filter out and slap it against the side of the vehicle. That warps it and can damage the seal if not the actual element. Then you dust the engine. Which is bad.

 

[Hilldweller]

Snorkel and a prefilter.
http://www.quadratec.com/showcases/aev/engine/?gclid=CKHvxZmgq8UCFQiqaQodlV8AqA

 

[azxr]

Although I don't have any persona experience, Rugged Ridge has a snorkel that has a pre-filter and doesn't require you to cut the hood. They have a high mount or low mount.

http://www.quadratec.com/products/product_search.php?mn=Rugged+Ridge&cn=Jeep+Air+Intakes&c=62

 

[Scoutn79]

Stay away from K&N in dusty conditions if you want your engine to survive.
I used to use them then started doing a test.
I smear white engine assembly lube on the filter housing on both sides of the air filter. The white, or any grease or oil really, will attract and hold any dust. K&N leaked lots of dust, the cheap paper filters do the same then I tried the NAPA gold paper filters and always have the downstream side of the filter clean while the outside area is caked with dust. This truck does spend a lot of time in dusty condition behind a group of trucks so there is a lot of dust in the air.
On this engine I always relube the housing to keep an eye on things plus it is amazing the amount of dust gets caked/trapped on the outside of the filter area that the filter never has to deal with. Centrifugal filter housings would be the best but not sure you could get one to fit your application.

I do not buy into the snorkel idea, If the dust stays below the level of the snorkel inlet it may work but when was the last time you were behind someone on a dirt road and the dust was no higher than your roof line? Some snorkels may have a centrifugal design and those would be great.

I would do this test and see where the dust is concentrating...you might have a leak around, not through, the filter...best to check

The engine I have done this on is TBI so no MAF sensor. This truck is not a daily driver...when it leaves the garage it is usually headed to the dirt.
You could do the test then clean the sensor and the housing once you are satisfied you have found a good filter/fixed warped housing.

Darrell

 

[4x4junkie]

Avoid K&Ns since the oil used on the filter is also great for destroying your MAF sensor.

Stay away from K&N in dusty conditions if you want your engine to survive.

Yep, oiled gauze air cleaners are bad news for EFI engines.

I used to run one myself and after a few years the problems began to mount. My MAF was fine, but it did get caked in dirt which I had to clean it off repeatedly with electronics cleaner (same for the idle control valve). The whole intake had a fine coating of black dust inside, and eventually it led to the O2 sensors giving out at 60K miles or so (they were clogged with dust). The engine seems to be OK overall, but I can't help thinking about all that dust having gone through it not doing it any good.

I'm not familiar with the newer "dry" performance filters, but I have my doubts that they too don't filter as well as the OEM paper type filters do, especially when there are claims of better airflow when the filter media surface area is far less (fewer pleats).

 

[1leglance]

The best setup I ever had was a toyota factory snorkel with Donaldson centrifigal pre-filter....ugly as sin but amazing.

Otherwise quality paper filter and use on board air to blow it out at night in camp.

Oiled filters are evil...plain and simple

 

[Scoutn79]

Oiled filters are evil...plain and simple

For modern EFI vehicles (not TBI) you may be right because of the electronics.
I have a oiled foam (not gauze ie: K&N) filter on my dirt bike and that is the way they all come AFAIK and it works very very well. However it doesn't have a MAF sensor. They are large filters for a given engine size.

Darrell

 

[rayra]

The best setup I ever had was a toyota factory snorkel with Donaldson centrifigal pre-filter....ugly as sin but amazing.

Otherwise quality paper filter and use on board air to blow it out at night in camp.

Oiled filters are evil...plain and simple

This. Use a better barrier and blow it out every day. Part of military daily preventative maintenance in desert conditions is blowing out the filters.

If you use oil use it VERY sparingly. It will work with a MAF but if you can squeeze the oiled element and get more than trace amounts of oil transferred then it is way too wet.

 

[codesertrat]

Chrysler vehicles don't use a hot-wire MAF sensor, instead they use a charge density calculation with intake manifold absolute pressure, temperature, and engine rpm, so that is not a concern with K&N filters. I have run K&N filters on a couple of previous vehicles (carbureted) and they treated me OK, but there are many independent tests that I have recently read which show the particulate filtering of the K&N to be less than 95%, and the plugging capacity to be low as well.

My reason for considering the AEM dryflow is some information citing excellent particulate filtering (99% or so) and high dust capacity:

http://autohifidiszkont.hu/bmw-tuning.hu/aemszuroteszt.pdf

Thanks to all for the input!

 

[rayra]

I dunno man, seems like marketing hype to me. You can't open up the airflow in a filter for 'more horsepower' and simultaneously trap fines / micro grit. That's what spawns all that oiled pre-filter crap anyway.

I think you could achieve your stated goal of preventing infiltration of micro-dust by blowing out your filter each day of hard use in the desert. It's being sucked thru the filter due to either excess buildup or wide open throttle airflow.
Doesn't seem like a concern that's worth spending 2x the price on air filters. But then again it's only a $20 difference.

But I'll bet that if you get the 'dryflow' filter you seem set on and put it in there and ignore it that you'll still find the fine dust later on.

 

[Stumpalump]

AFE makes some of the best dry filters you can get but if you want the best filter they make then...Are you ready for this?.. It's oiled just like K&N. Why? Because nothing beats oil in the fine silt and dust. I run their seven stage oiled filter with panty hose over it on the desert buggy/sand rail. The problem people have running a K&N filter that it may be too small sucking oil or cleaning them. Hint you don't clean them. You just spray more oil over the dirt until it's 1/4 in thick with gunk. The dirt covered with oil is your silt filter. I live in the dusty desert silt and run a oil over dirt K&N on the Jeeps. Do you want guess why my Ford tractor designed for plowing dusty fields uses an oil bath filter from the factory and not paper or dry?

 

[codesertrat]

I dunno man, seems like marketing hype to me. You can't open up the airflow in a filter for 'more horsepower' and simultaneously trap fines / micro grit. That's what spawns all that oiled pre-filter crap anyway.

I think you could achieve your stated goal of preventing infiltration of micro-dust by blowing out your filter each day of hard use in the desert. It's being sucked thru the filter due to either excess buildup or wide open throttle airflow.
Doesn't seem like a concern that's worth spending 2x the price on air filters. But then again it's only a $20 difference.

But I'll bet that if you get the 'dryflow' filter you seem set on and put it in there and ignore it that you'll still find the fine dust later on.

To be clear, I'm not 'set' on the AEM filter, I'm a skeptic, which is why I'm requesting input from those who are actually running the AEM dryflow filter media. The ISO 5011 engineering test results that I attached the link to show some promising filtering effectiveness (99+%) and capacity (240+g @ 10"H2O restriction) of the AEM dryflow media in comparison with other aftermarket filters. Maybe that is not any better than the OEM paper - I dont have ISO 5011 results for that filter.

I have not 'ignored' my filter at any time causing the dust to pass through the filter media. My maintenance habits on my vehicles have been described as 'OCD' by those who know me.:sombrero:

Blowing out an air filter extends the interval of 'plugging' of the filter, it doesn't really increase the filtering effectiveness. In fact, most air filter elements become more effective at filtering as the dirt builds up.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Hilldweller]

Start a regime of oil analysis and see if silicates increase. That will tell you more than any published data.