FIND
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- December 27, 2009
- Messages
- 3,859
- Reaction score
- 16
- City, State
- Vermillion, SD
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 99 XLT V8 AWD
This is a point I have tried to make with people numerous times in the past, but unfortunately, just about everyone with $50 to spend on a part for their car that some advertising told them they needed to go faster thinks they have a degree in engineering.
Anyway, I'll put this up there for now
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/air-filtration-test/
Read the rest of the article to find out how much worse those filters are at keeping the crud out of your engine that you don't want in it. As for the pressure drop, I had been meaning to set up a water manometer for some time now to show the lack of difference on an explorer's intake, but this will work for now. To any of you who want to point out that that 0.07 psi is lost power, recall, even the foam filters added to the pressure drop over the air box with no filter, so the difference is much less, and that pressure drop is from atmospheric pressure, which is 14.7 psi on average, so the difference is miniscule. Also, this test was done on a Miata, and if any of you have ever seen their airbox, you know that there is much less filter surface area to cross-sectional area in the intake pipe than you see on an Explorer, so on an Explorer, the difference would be less pronounced.
I hope this helps some of you in the future when choosing an air filter to buy, or at least helps you decide to spend your fifty bucks on something you can at least enjoy. Remember, whenever you hear someone telling you about how much power and fuel economy their air filter gave them, the butt-dyno's calibration is directly related to the weight of your wallet after you buy parts.
:edit: I just realized, I should have probably put this in a different section, like Under the Hood, Need for Speed or Exploring Everything Under the Sun. Oh well, if some mod wants to move it, feel free. I just wanted to put this up so people could get this information instead of the stuff people keep repeating.
Anyway, I'll put this up there for now
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/air-filtration-test/
The differential pressure test was performed using a water manometer where one psi of pressure is equivalent to 27.7″ of water. The differential pressure was measured between atmospheric and the pressure drop after the air filter in the stock airbox. The max pressure drop in this test was seen at only 7.0 inches of water or 0.25 psi. The factory airbox and piping with no filter yielded a pressure drop of 5.0 inches of water or 0.18 psi. That means that the worst filter in this test only caused a pressure drop of 0.07 psi. In my opinion, this means that if you are picking an air filter based on performance, you probably aren’t doing your car any favors. For the record, the K&N was the best flowing filter. Of the 3 types of media tested, the cotton gauze type filters flow best. There are other brands besides K&N for sale, of which most are probably made by K&N for resellers. Foam air filters flowed marginally better than paper.
Read the rest of the article to find out how much worse those filters are at keeping the crud out of your engine that you don't want in it. As for the pressure drop, I had been meaning to set up a water manometer for some time now to show the lack of difference on an explorer's intake, but this will work for now. To any of you who want to point out that that 0.07 psi is lost power, recall, even the foam filters added to the pressure drop over the air box with no filter, so the difference is much less, and that pressure drop is from atmospheric pressure, which is 14.7 psi on average, so the difference is miniscule. Also, this test was done on a Miata, and if any of you have ever seen their airbox, you know that there is much less filter surface area to cross-sectional area in the intake pipe than you see on an Explorer, so on an Explorer, the difference would be less pronounced.
I hope this helps some of you in the future when choosing an air filter to buy, or at least helps you decide to spend your fifty bucks on something you can at least enjoy. Remember, whenever you hear someone telling you about how much power and fuel economy their air filter gave them, the butt-dyno's calibration is directly related to the weight of your wallet after you buy parts.
:edit: I just realized, I should have probably put this in a different section, like Under the Hood, Need for Speed or Exploring Everything Under the Sun. Oh well, if some mod wants to move it, feel free. I just wanted to put this up so people could get this information instead of the stuff people keep repeating.