Aftermarket air filters on modern engines?

[8thTon]

Isn't that what the MAF is for? The PCM should compensate and adjust trims based on the MAF readings. I'm relatively certain that when I install the M90, I'll be pulling more air than the stock system alone ever could, but, according to ModBoxx, the base setup does not require any tuning. It does require a better fuel pump though.

In closed loop it is only looking at the O2 sensor, the MAFS is just for open loop.

 

[19Walt93]

We sold reman diesel engines to people running aftermarket air filters who dusted their engines. Some don't fit the filter housing well enough to seal and K&N's don't filter anything if they aren't cleaned and re oiled periodically. Look at a Motorcraft air filter beside one from Jiffy Lube- the real filter has way more pleats then the Jiffy filter- more pleats= more filtering surface= better breathing. With the current emphasis on gas mileage, do you think the factory filter wouldn't be bigger if flow was restricted?

 

[91stranger]

Have you tried asking it nicely? Have you tried yelling at it?

If you answered either of those questions then you agreed to put a 2.9 in it. HAHA.

Honestly, I think you are over thinking this..... No CEL so it's like checking your tires at every stop light to make sure you didn't run over a nail.... In other words, it's useless until the CEL tells you more, since there is no CEL you are guessing and making minute adjustments for nothing....

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[cbxer55]

Here goes the CAI argument again. Same with the colder thermostat argument. I'm not going to get involved in any pissing contest here. First thing I do, any vehicle I buy, change the intake to a CAI and add hoses to route cold outside air to the vicinity of the air filter. Some CAI kits, such as the WeaponR on my Mustang, actually come with them these days. It also came with a very nice velocity stack that mounts in the grill that the hose attaches to. And the end of the filter, open as it is, has a fitting that the hose can attach to if there is room. I bought the Mustang on November 15th last year and ordered the intake as soon as I got home. I've always done it, always will. The Ranger has had a MAC intake on it for 20 years, never taken the MAF off to clean it. Not one truck that is featured on LightningRodder.com has the stock filter and airbox. Everyone there readily admits that in dyno tests, it's just not adequate if you really want to make power. On my Lightning, the filter is 12 inches long, 7.5 at the MAF and 5.5 at the end, which is also open and points directly at the fender opening. The only guys that still have stock boxes are those are want to keep their Lightning bone stock and they are few and far between. I drove my Lightning down to Lawton one fine day, a 100 mile drive. Opened the hood when I got to my destination, filter was cold. Not even warm. It was January.

 

[ericbphoto]

Nobody mentioned CAI. This discussion is more about airflow and filter efficiencies, comparing OEM style dry paper filters with oiled filters which normally have a more open weave and can potentially allow more dirt through to the engine. And what effect the filter might have on fuel trims.

 

[cbxer55]

There are fixes for that too. They are called Pre-Filters. Easily obtained, K & N makes them to fit the entire range of filters they sell. Use one of them, you don't need to remove the filter and clean / oil it near as often. Take the pre-filter off, run water through it from the inside, let it dry, put it back on. Can even get in different colors.

AFE, Air Flow Engineering also offers a large selection of them in various colors. This one is supposedly red, but looks more orange to my eyes.

 

[snoranger]

There are fixes for that too. They are called Pre-Filters. Easily obtained, K & N makes them to fit the entire range of filters they sell. Use one of them, you don't need to remove the filter and clean / oil it near as often. Take the pre-filter off, run water through it from the inside, let it dry, put it back on. Can even get in different colors.

AFE, Air Flow Engineering also offers a large selection of them in various colors. This one is supposedly red, but looks more orange to my eyes.

So now we have to filter the air going to the filter?
This is just getting to be too much... put a stock filter in your 2.3l Ranger and be done with it.

 

[cbxer55]

So now we have to filter the air going to the filter?
This is just getting to be too much... put a stock filter in your 2.3l Ranger and be done with it.

My Ranger is a 3.0 and I threw the stock box and filter in the trash 20 years ago. I don't have any of those pre-filters any more. The Ranger never had one, only the Lightning and it was more of a style thing than anything else. As I said, the Ranger, I've never removed the MAF to clean it. And the truck doesn't burn any appreciable amount of oil in a 3000 mile change. It has a very small nuisance leak that accounts for the oil I have to replace. It's getting near 170,000 miles. Soon, real soon.

 

[cbxer55]

And this motorcycle has had two giant K & N filters, one per side, hanging off it's side for 14 years. Various versions, Never had a single issue with it. Airbox under the tank has never been removed in 40,000 miles and 14 years. My B-King has a modified airbox for ram air and a K&N drop in filter in the stock box. Can't alter it due to the ram air set up, which is not stock.

 

[snoranger]

My Ranger is a 3.0 and I threw the stock box and filter in the trash 20 years ago. I don't have any of those pre-filters any more. The Ranger never had one, only the Lightning and it was more of a style thing than anything else. As I said, the Ranger, I've never removed the MAF to clean it. And the truck doesn't burn any appreciable amount of oil in a 3000 mile change. It has a very small nuisance leak that accounts for the oil I have to replace. It's getting near 170,000 miles. Soon, real soon.

The 2.3l comment was directed towards the OP... he has a 2.3l Duratec. But since you decided to respond:

Every single CAI post, you respond with “I don’t want to start an argument” or something to that effect. LIAR... it always starts an argument and you know it. If you know it starts an argument, and you keep doing it, then you actually DO want to start an argument.

 

[sgtsandman]

The discussion is about oiled gauze filters. CAI intakes more often than not use those as part of the system, so is related to the subject.

Up until now, the discussion has been based on preferences and opinion. Not a bashing or condemnation of such filters or CAI systems.

Opinions and discussion are certainly welcome. Turning the discussion into an argument is not.

Being an advocate and believer is not a fault and discussion toward that end is also welcome. Being confrontational is not.

Placing the pros and cons out there for others to base that decision on is a good thing. In the end, it will be a personal decision that one will have to make. After all, it is their money and vehicle. And any potential problems or benefits will also be on the decision maker.

 

[8thTon]

I put a vampire repeller on the grill of every car I have, and I’ve yet to hit a vampire. It really works!

 

[cbxer55]

Yes, I don't feel I was being argumentative. I feel I just put out there my experiences. Take it for what it is. I've been driving since 1976. Every vehicle I've owned has ended up with a K & N oiled filter. Usually pretty quickly after purchase. And yet, I've never had an oil burning engine, except the few two-strokes I've owned throughout the years. I've never had to remove a MAF and clean it due to being dirty. Never had carburetor problems.

That's it. That's my experience with them, nothing negative at all.

 

[Dirtman]

I guess lightning guy must have chimed in, I have him blocked so the conversation started making no sense lol.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

*insane nonsense rant warning*

Ok I'm fully against "cold air intakes" but I have been a fan of using k&n filters (direct replacements, not cone filters or nonsense). I am well aware that if you don't know how to oil them properly they can mess up your maf sensor. But I don't drive in dusty conditions so I like being able to take it out and clean it whenever and throw it back in.

Been using K&N filters in everything for 20 years. Recently I'm fighting with my truck over fuel trims being high. I said lemme try something and stuck a motorcraft paper filter in it. (It's had a K&N since 2009). Fuel trims came down and evened out across the throttle range.

So... here's my thought here. Given positive fuel trims, the k&n filter obviously flowed more air than the ford filter. BUT do those numbers equate to a power increase or just reduced fuel consumption when dealing with a modern sophisticated efi system?

The problem is you started out with a warning about insane nonsense, and then you went all logical and rational and posted a real question.....