Best Air Filter

[lucidexp]

Ok... so I cranked my tires up to 45 PSI, slowed down, learned to glide and follow the road less traveled. My trusty 2.3l Ford Ranger gas mileage has jumped from the pre-eco days of 22 MPG to 30.5.

My last oil change I switch to slick 50 (it has 100K on it) and will be asking about the best oil probably in another month or two, but currently I am looking at swapping out my air filter. I have heard a lot about K&N and was leaning to that, but then I heard about Green Filters and True Flow. So now I am confused as to which would be best. I am looking at driving my little truck into the ground so I dont have a problem buying a "forever" filter. I found this website -->Air Filters Research Guide Compare Performance Replacement Filters but I always get nervous reading reviews from retailers, so I am open to what others might have experienced.

As always thanks for the quality advice!

[Johnny Mullet]

I have to disagree with not cleaning a K&N filter. I have seen these plug solid from dirt trapped by the oil and even set off lean codes and MAF codes.

In my professional experience, Baldwin makes the best filter (air/oil/fuel) in the market.

[Will]

One of the members here has a website called MetroMPG.com. He did some actual testing on performance filters when used with our driving style. These tests were VERY well done. Check theses out.

Testing a 'performance' air filter for MPG - Part 1 - MetroMPG.com
Testing a 'performance' air filter for MPG - Part 2 - MetroMPG.com

In short it seems to be likely that during our style of driving we do not "suck" enough air, so what filter you use makes no difference.

[Johnny Mullet]

Sucking clean air keeps a clean engine.

I've seen K&Ns totally covered in sand & mud. Kick them a couple of times with your boot until some clumps fall off - and keep on trucking...

Imagine that. This also works on a clogged standard air filter element.

[nascarnation]

Props to metrompg for a great study.

Here's another good study (IMHO) done with precision pressure measurements that indicates the actual filter media is a relatively small percentage of the total inlet restriction.

http://autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=0646

[lucidexp]

Fellow Eco's... thanks for the feedback. It doesnt look as though the air-filter will change my MPG at all, but it might reduce the amount going into a landfill. I will probably get a K&N just so I can take care of doing all the filtration methods in my truck myself; and reduce waste.

Again, thanks for the insights.

[tjts1]

K&N air filters are a scam.
BMW E30 air filter tests
Air Filtration Test
The best filter is the one that filters out the most dust particles out of the air. There is no fuel economy to be gained here.

[bikin' Ed]

It's been mentioned on this site countless times that the engine is really just an air pump. I'm no scientist, but I have to belive that the less restriction of the air going in, the less the pump has to pull. That being said, keeping the tach at 2000 or less doesn't require too much air. My conclusion a high flo air filter may help minimally, unless you keep putting your foot into it because you like how it sounds.

[tasdrouille]

ISO 5011 Duramax Air Filter Test Report

That's one very good study.

K&N filters flow more when new, have less accumulative capacity and saturate rapidly at which point they start to flow less than good paper filters with the same amount of accumulated dirt, and let 7+ times more dirt through than a good paper filter.

I don't want all that dirt in my engine.

[Bullockracing]

I run a K&N, despite the tests listed by the diesel guy. My car does not operate on dusty roads, and I do not expect 500K miles out of my engine like an OTR trucker might. More flow = more air = more power. I just cleaned mine, so pics are useless for me...

I do like the AEM Trueflow Dry Synthetic filter, though. Looking at one of those for the wife's truck...