Switched air filter (oiled to dry synthetic)

[TwizzleStix]

Closed cell foam is for sleeping bag pads not air filters. It’s the best filter because it’s literally closed and nothing, not even air passes through. I’m sure you meant something else.

Oops, you're right. Brain was closed at that moment... LOL

 

[KAH 24]

@smurfslayer for a lawnmower, IMHO oiled foam is ideal as lawnmower engines have relatively high tolerances (and are cheap, non-turbo, etc). 10 microns particles in dust load the heck out of an air filter.

I ran K&N in my Sierra - pain in the ass to clean and need drying time. I don’t think K&N filters as good as oem based on my experience.

Maybe someone here can answer - is the oem MC air filter lightly oiled?

I noticed an oily residue on the plastic bag it came in.

@JohnyPython I asked one of my engineering colleagues. She said some paper filters (including the OE ones we install) “have just enough oil/waxy coating to help repel slight amounts of moisture that can cause paper to swell”.

Obviously swelling of filter media would be undesirable.

I’d never thought about it previously. In theory driving at highway speed in a heavy rain, certain stock air boxes are set up in a way that a very small amount of moisture could get in (which is why there is a small hole at the bottom of some air boxes).

 

[JohnyPython]

@KAH24 That makes a lot of sense. I never thought of moisture and how it affects paper media. Thanks for the info.

 

[StraightSixM2C]

I’m betting that the oily residue inside the bag that the OE filter comes in is the release agent for the molds on the injection molding machine.

 

[JohnyPython]

I’m betting that the oily residue inside the bag that the OE filter comes in is the release agent for the molds on the injection molding machine.

Could be that too.

 

[jondle]

Oiled are fine for street cars, but when off-road I replace the filter as often as every day depending on whether I was stuck behind someone, trying to pass, it was windy, etc. Can't imagine trying to clean a K&N out in the desert; what a monumental effort for very little gain. I've been using Wix since I got my truck and have had no issues. Clean air is way more important that 2 or 3 hp.

 

[nikhsub1]

Not sure why anyone uses a K&N - they filter like absolute shit. As they say, there is no free lunch. It's either good filtration or more airflow, you can't have both.

 

[Dr Racecraft]

I have 0 issue with K&N, I don’t live anywhere near a desert though

 

[Bluto]

In our application, wix filters also have a taller media with about the same number of pleats compared to the Motorcraft filters. Good filtration and more surface area are what I like about them. They do not have the same glue at the top of the pleats to keep them spaced apart though and I wonder if the filter collapses on itself at high loads. There are some good comparison pics in the reviews of the Amazon page. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DRJO56/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

 

[jimmyjamm]

I have used K&N, AirRaid and now S&B for gauze oiled filters in various vehicles, currently running an S&B oil gauze filter in my SCREW, not issues with filtration, and i live and work in the high desert of Central Oregon, home to massive silt that has never been an issue with oiled filters. There is a reason that dirt bikes, quads, trophy trucks, etc. use oiled filters (both open-cell foam and gauze) they filter best, both fine dry and wet/mud. They are more intensive to maintain, but work better than dry element filters.
The point of the gauze and oil is that it attracts dirt, the gauze and oil have a slight positive charge, colloid materials (i.e. finer than silt) have a slight negative charge, so the filter encourages the particulates to be attracted to the filter, the oil entraps it, and the more dirt you get it filters even better.