Air Filters

[Idaho Bassman]

I did a search of previous posts on this subject. I still have not come to any real conclusions. I just got my oil changed and they wanted to replace my air filter as well. I said how much? Thsy said $38.50 just for the filter. I said, No thanks, I will do it myself.

My question, if I decide to stay with paper, what are my choices?

GM $38.50
NAPA $27.00
Fram $17.00
any others?

Is there really that much difference in quality for that much price difference?

I have a '01 CC Dually, it has been raining all week here, but when the service tech showed me my filter it was dry and no signs it has ever been wet. I just hit 15K miles, most of the visible debris was bird feathers from a dove I hit last fall.

Anyway, seeking some advice on paper filters.

see ya,

[SDWA]

I get my oil & air filters thru gmpartsdirect.com; oil are $8.74 each (PN #97214983) and air are $15.33 each (PN 25332443). If you find the "sweet spot" for quantities (I order 6 oil & 2 air at a time, for $9.74 shipping) then you won't get jammed for shipping charges too bad.

Scott

[Idaho Bassman]

Yo SDWA,
Thank you. Now that is the type of info we can all use. I just paid $17.83 for the oil filter at the dealer because I didn't bring my own. I appreciate your time.

see ya, IB

[imported_]

Idaho Bassman

You can get a K&N Air Filter for around $50-60 dollars & then when it gets dirty you can clean & re-oil it & use it again. Ive had mine for 2 years now...

[thechevyhdman]

You can get a K&N from an advertiser at this site for 48 bucks with free delivery. Just ordered two for my brother. Bill PS I get great oil analysis's with the K&N

[hoot]

thechevyhdman,

Don't you like your brother? :eek:

[Heartbeat Hauler]

Hey Bassman,
I'm using the AMSOIL filter. It cost me 50 bucks, but I can clean and reuse it for almost the life of the truck. There is an article here on the Diesel Page describing tests of the leading filters, including paper and oil soaked(for lack of a better term). Turns out the oil soaked, AMSOIL in particular, removed more dirt while flowing as much or more air. The AMSOIL filter can pay for itself in two ways.
1. obvious benefits for more and cleaner air; reduced dirt, better fuel mileage and more power. 2. At 38 bucks each for the paper filter, the AMSOIL filter will pay for itself after the third replacement. At 15 bucks for the paper filter, the 5th replacement. K&N also makes one such filter (oil soaked) and provides similar benefits: however, as noted in the article, the AMSOIL came out on top.
Hope this helps.
JP

[Rebel_Horseman]

I've gotta agree. I absolutely love my AmSoil filter. Much better flow and moe filtering capacity, plus I never have to buy another filter. John Kennedy sold mine to me for $50 + shipping. I'm extremely satisfied and will definately go with that product instead of K&N.

Reb [><]

[Idaho Bassman]

Thanks guys for all the input.

The truck has more than enough power for my needs, so until I need more power, I think I will stay with the paper. Fact of the matter is that I am actually too lazy to clean and oil a filter, or change my own oil for that matter. Please don't hold that against me.

thanks again, see ya, IB

[afp]

I saw that article too. It did not address flow. You must know flow to accurately quantify the filteration results. In the test, the paper passed the most dirt, the K&N passed substantially less, and the Amsoil passed a little less than the K&N. If they all were flowing the same amount of air, then the test woul be an accurate comparision of filtering efficiency. However, we know the paper element flowed the least, which made it even worse than it looked. If the K&N flowed more air than the Amsoil--as I suspect--then the difference in filtering between the two would be even less than was shown.

Having said all that, both filters flow much better than stock and both have returned good oil analyis results. Which is better? I don't really know. My gut feel is the K&N flows a little more but the Amsoil filters a little better.

I wish someone would do a heads-up, fully controlled test comparing the two. I want to see amount of dirt filtered, amount of airflow each filter allowed, and then a filtering efficiency rating corrected for airflow. If one filter flows 50% better than the other, it will pass 50% more dirt if it has the same filtering efficiency.

Blaine

[britannic]

IDAHO BASSMAN: You can buy a reuseable filter and still be lazy - they don't need cleaning until 50,000 miles (25,000 if the conditions are harder). IMHO it's more work cleaning my guns or gutting a fish, than cleaning my filters ;) .

[JEBar]

I still have the original filter, a K&M and an Amsoil. Purchased the K&N based on past history and replaced it with an Amsoil based on reading numerous post on this forum. While volume of air which can be thoroughly filtered is important, I made my decision on which type filter apparently allows the least dirt to get into my engine. Have cleaned the Amsoil once and ran the stock filter for the two days it took me to get the K&N ready to go back in the truck. Unlike some drivers, I have not found any seat of the pants or numerical (ex: fuel mileage) differences in the three types....Jim

[CORVETTE]

THECHEVYHDMAN.
COULD YOU TELL ME WHO YOU ORDERED THE K&N AIR FILTER AND THE PART NUMBER FROM. THANK YOU.

[britannic]

I noticed a slight improvement in turbo spool up with a K&N over the paper. However, a reusable air filter, will continue to deliver high performance airflow many times longer than a disposable.

From past experience with my gas and diesel turbo engines, changing the exhaust system to a low back pressure system and adding a chip upgrade (like a Juice), will realize the full benefits of a higher flow air filter.

[CORVETTE]

THECHEVYHDMAN.
COULD YOU TELL ME WHO YOU ORDERED THE K&N AIR FILTER AND THE PART NUMBER FROM. THANK YOU.

[mackin]

Angie82

Thechevyhdman is not available at this time..... ;)

But as luck would have it,he told me he got them here=>http://www.usdieselparts.com/knfilters/category.cfm?Category=13
MAC

:D :D :D

[ 02-01-2003: Message edited by: mackin ]</p>

[TxDoc]

Although not a GM product, Josh shared this info after an oil analysis (not that I endorse oil analysis as an end all to prove anything). Just passing it along for the OA crowd for further informational purposes.

"I know this is a GM forum, but I think I may be able to shed a little light here. I put a K&N filter in my truck about 6 months/8k miles ago. Recently, I got my oil analysed by Blackstone Labs, here's what they had to say..."

"JOSH: No problems showed up in the initial sample from your Ford 4.6L. All wear read at or below averages for this type of engine, which is a very good indication of normal wearing parts and careful operation. The universal averages show normal wear after about 4,000 miles on the oil. Insolubles(oil oxidation due to heat, use and blow-by) were normal at 0.5%, showing good oil filtration. No fuel dilution or anti-freeze was found. Silicon was low at 11 ppm, so your air filtration is still getting the job done . At 74,400 total miles, this engine appears to be doing well."

As you can see by what I put in Bold, the K&N seems to be doing a great job at filtering.

MaineF2504x4(formerly MaineB3000) 1997 Ford F250LD 4x4, Regular cab, LWB, Dark Toreador Red, 4.6L (Romeo), auto,Plow prep. package, B&M Electronic shift improver, Rancho RS9000x shocks, K&N Air Filter, Mobil 1 synthetic, Wild Country Radial TXR off-road tires, . My new big baby

[thechevyhdman]

Hoot. Good one. Actually I owned a Amsoil and I own a K&N. When I got my Amsoil filter a year ago my brother and I took a look at it and was like WTF is this POS. Well make a long story short, He runs them(K&N) in the race car he sponsors(Dirt track...lotta dust...110 mph..short engine life) race cars doing fine, the 5 trucks we run them in are fine....Oil Analysis confirms that K&N is doing its job flawlessly. I dont want to start another ****ing match....but after all the Amsoil stuff thats been going on. I wouldnt trust their airfilter in a $300 weedwacker. Nor would my brother in a $6,000 racing engine, or 3 6.5TDs, and 2)Duramax's. I would like to see someone post bad results with a K&N filter because I have yet to see one. Ive only gotten 2 done so far.....Waiting for Mackin to mail in an Analysis to compare the 2 side by side. Of course Id have to change my oil after 3,000 miles rather than 7,000-7,500 miles. Didnt someone with a Amsoil get a 35+ PPM silicon count using the Amsoil.?

[hoot]

I'm sure he'd be runnin an Amsoil filter if Amsoil was sponsoring him. ;)

[thechevyhdman]

Pretty good Hoot :D :D :D . Actually its pretty much a bunch of drivers/teams sponsored through local businesses or motor shops. No affiliation with K&N at all. Its a a small "homegrown" I call race team. Bill