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Do Foam Air Filters Kill Your Engine?

GR33 vous

By GR33 vous,
in Engines & Forced Induction

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GR33 vous Enthusiast

GR33 vous

Posted
Posted

Was thinking of getting one of those foam/mushroom air filters the ones made by HKS or Greddy but was speaking to someone and they said they don't filter well and sand will end up in the inake manifold and kill my engine. Anyone know if this is true?

Cheers.

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Wink Grand Master

Wink

Posted
Posted

Get a name-brand one, and maintain it (eg replace/oil filter as maintenance) and it'll perform great.

If they were that bad for the car you wouldn't see them on top end time attack cars as seen in BMI videos.

GR33 vous Enthusiast

GR33 vous

Posted
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Get a name-brand one, and maintain it (eg replace/oil filter as maintenance) and it'll perform great.

If they were that bad for the car you wouldn't see them on top end time attack cars as seen in BMI videos.

Yeah that's exactly what I said but the mechanic reckons they are on there because they make the outright most power, they flow the best but let the most debris throgh. I was reading on the forums and people with the hks pods say they are really loud so the part about them flowing the greatest must be true.

2BNVS Veteran

2BNVS

Posted
Posted (edited)

my old hks pod sounded the best by far, but after i got it tuned running 20+psi minimum, i did find that the foam was slowly being sucked in, clogging up my afm at the start, then once i removed afm i noticed it around my turbo mouth slightly... i now use K&N, although induction noise isnt "as" loud, its still noticible though, but filters alot better.

Edited by 2BNVS
swanny180 Proficient

swanny180

Posted
Posted

Cant remember which magazine, think it was Zoom, did a test on different pod filters and it turned out that the foam style filters were the worst filtering out of all of them.

On a timeattack car they are only really worried about making power, not the long term life of the engine.

Definitely not a good argument to say that because a purpose built race car uses one filter that it will therefore be a good choice for a road car.

Id steer clear if possible

abu Grand Master

abu

Posted
Posted (edited)

APEXi power intakes are probably one of the best quality filters I have seen.

Really strong design and very durable, where as the HKS foam style filters along with the TRUST ones need regular maintenance such as oiling and changing of the filament regularly.

Have seen a HKS filter at its worst, only had about 70% left what what should have been a full filter! Foam does tend to break away and get sucked in over time, especially when your running high boost.

Just play it safe and use a paper filter, they work very well and will last you a long time.

Edited by abu
abu Grand Master

abu

Posted
Posted (edited)
Whats wrong with a airbox and panel filter?

Sounds boring? Hehe

Cant always use standard air box that easily with after market turbo's either.

Easier to just throw a pipe and pod on.

Edited by abu
sh@un Grand Master

sh@un

Posted
Posted

AutoSalon mag tested all the popular pod filters a while back, and the best performer was a cheapo 3T Racing paper filter- can't remember the exact name. I'm sure someone will correct me.

But, yes: paper > foam

tridentt150v Grand Master

tridentt150v

Posted
Posted

The newest HKS foam filter is a triple layer dry unit, you don't oil it. The older style oil type is a twin layer and usually purple in colour [although I've seen other colours, green, blue, yellow etc]. The new triple layer dry foam filter is a light blue.

4drftn Experienced

4drftn

Posted
Posted
my old hks pod sounded the best by far, but after i got it tuned running 20+psi minimum, i did find that the foam was slowly being sucked in, clogging up my afm at the start, then once i removed afm i noticed it around my turbo mouth slightly... i now use K&N, although induction noise isnt "as" loud, its still noticible though, but filters alot better.

yeah i have a hks pod it is a bit worn out and dirty might change it actually. but yeah they make a mad! induction noise

4drftn Experienced

4drftn

Posted
Posted (edited)

im just looking for a new element now and was wondering is there a difference with yellow element and green? is one better than the other?

also i notice there is a blue and the packet says "3 layer dry element" take it thats a better one...

wouldnt the oiled elements filter better?

Edited by 4drftn
Richieb Collaborator

Richieb

Posted
Posted

Hmmmm..! I was/am running 2x HKS's, they seem ok to me(the Green multi-layer ones). Dyno said they were good, but thats all I can vouch for to be honest... oh, and they fit neatly under the hood too.

Anyway, they are for sale, as now got Z32's under hood.

Anyone got good, honest opinion on what to replace them with?

Sorry to Hi-jack this thread, but it is covering same subject.

tridentt150v Grand Master

tridentt150v

Posted
Posted
im just looking for a new element now and was wondering is there a difference with yellow element and green? is one better than the other?

also i notice there is a blue and the packet says "3 layer dry element" take it thats a better one...

wouldnt the oiled elements filter better?

Can't say about the colours, maybe genuine vs non HKS???

The light blue triple layer unit is a better thing. You don't have to oil it so no afm contamination, also the third layer has a very small cell size and [it looks like when compared to the purple dual layer units] it would definitely scrub the air better.

Oiled elements do a very good job, the oil traps the dust, unfortunately - esp. if you over oil - you can get oil on the afm sensor and affect performance. Any filter that uses a prelube or oil will do this.

The real secret to having a good air filter is to clean it often and replace it as per specs regularly. And we are all guilty of overclocking at some stage.

I thought about replacing my HKS mushroom pod with a K+N/Apexi pod, but when the dry triple layer elements came out I stayed with it and just replaced the filter.

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