Technical Homemade air cleaner.

Found some stainless mesh on amazon. I doubled it up so you can’t see the filter as much.

 

Heck yeah that’s what I am thinking also!

 

Very nice. I know K&N is expensive, but I think it's worth the money. I got a " high inlet air flow" check engine light on my OT HD pickup pulling a 37' RV and the only non original equipment on the truck was the K&N filter.

 

Too bad they're not so good at capturing damaging dirt particles; and then once they do start to collect particulate matter the enhanced flow capacity drops off sharply, below that of paper elements.

 

So that's why they are pretty much the only filters used at Baja?
From what I know, even a totally dirt encrusted K&N flows still better, than a new paper filter.

Frank

 

A motor used for racing at baja has to live for 1000 miles; most of us want our engines to live a little longer than that. Cummins did a test to prove that the flow capacity of K&N filters drops off substantially once they start accumulating particulate matter. They also showed how inefficient they are at capturing particles. The paper used to be available on their website for download; may still be if you search for it.

 

Kinda like opinions on oils I guess. Me? Firm believer in K&N filters on race vehicles and street.

Dave

 

Anything that collects particles won’t flow as it did when new.
I’d always thought the appeal to KN style was clean, oil and keep using it as opposed to buying a new filter twice a year.

 

i went to my local Napa and my parts guy found an element that fits in less than five minutes. Napa filter=$8.00, k&n= $68. I’ll change out Napa filters for $8.00

 

I have used quite a bit of UNI foam filter material. It's available in a lot of different thicknesses, foam densities, and colors. Plus they have "two stage" laminated sheets that have a coarse outer foam and a more dense interior foam. Cut out a length, glue the ends together with upholstery foam adhesive, and you have a nice cylinder shaped air filter. And they are washable and reuseable.

 

To find small size filters, look in the motorcycle part of the filter manufacturer's catalog.

 

Re K&N filters, you might find this information helpful. This isn't the Cummins service bulletin that I mentioned above, but this article is very informative on several different air filter brands including K&N.
https://www.nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

And there is also this video. A lot of guys out there like the way this guy does his tests, I have to say that in comparison to the other article I posted above his methods are rather crude, but check out his test results.

 

I never read any unbiased testing on K&N that said it was the one to get. Never impressed me.

On those bitchin double throw down fabbed air cleaners? Yes, black. Yes stainless screen. Here's a gotta-have-it idea, and you wanna search the resto supply folk for it. Copper wool. I think it will be a crowning touch to a job well done. 2 layers with an inside n outside mesh to hold it in. Class act.

 

And that NAPA filter was made by Wix

 

I'm watching that channel on a regular basis. and I really like it.
But this time, he made the same mistake, like most folks testing K&N.

 

At this point in time I'm just looking to stop large dust, flies, birds and other things getting in the intake.

If the filter is fine enough to stop a mosquito then it's good. Better if it prevents a dirt dauber getting in and making a nest.

My engine will be worn from running much sooner than from dirt ingress, I think. My filter consists of coarse oiled aluminum wool. Carburetor is still nice and clean on the inside.

Perhaps as the guys suggested above, create a cage inside to hold a similar mesh? Looks right, also.

 

Thanks @FishFry for that video; it's very interesting. I knew they worked but didn't know why.

 

I know pictures are the best; but what's the part number on the NAPA filter? Part numbers are second best!

 

Haha, that's good. Obviously David Vizard has his bonified's, the guy is a legend. But what should be just as obvious is that he has a personal, emotional investment in this topic. The guy at K&N is a close friend for what, 40+ years? He helped the guy develop the product. We all have our biases and Vizard has an obvious bias here. It's an interesting theory that he has, but as far as I know it's just his personal theory of what is happening. I didn't hear him tell about the testing he did to confirm his theory, and if had done any he surely would've mentioned it. Besides that, how much turbulence do you think there is through a carburetor throat? Do you think it's that much different than a steady state air stream in an ASTM test?

I think the Project Farm tests are interesting and the videos are fun to watch, but his control methods aren't very tight and I don't put too much on most of his results.

I remember when the K&N filters were new on the market. In those days I was doing a lot of dirt bike riding and we all used K&N filters, because it was the thing to do. They weren't the first or the only oiled foam air filter, but they had the best quality, and the best reputation. I continued using K&N for years, and I believe I still have a K&N on my street bike out in the garage that hasn't been fired up since 1999. But just like others I know who will tell you, I've found the dirt and sand inside the air cleaner housing that got past the oiled K&N. Still I remained a K&N user until I saw the information from Cummin's testing. But other's will tell you the same experience of finding visible dirt inside the intake tract that got past a K&N filter. Or having an engine dusted because of it.

Use what you like, but experience and tightly controlled industry best testing practices (and losely controlled testing too) are enough to convince me not to use them. Though, as always, if David Vizard could devise a tightly controlled test to verify his theory of waving fibers attracting and collecting dust particles and holding them against the pressure of the air movement trying to fill a vacuum, OK, I can be persuaded.

 

R-R, not going to tell you how to finish them nor get in a pissing match over filters. Those are down right the snazziest homemade air cleaners Ive seen in a long time. I hope you dont mind if I "borrow" your design.

 

I would say you're wrong, the engine will wear far faster from microscopic dirt particles than from larger particles, or just from running. Small particles, say 5 - 20 micron range (too small to be seen with the naked eye), are the most damaging to an engine, with some saying even smaller 3 - 5 micron are even worse, because they are clearance size, small enough to get in between the tightest clearances in an engine where they cause the most damage.

https://www.extendoil.com/2018/06/08/what-causes-engine-damage/

 

Very cool ;reminds me of a railroad lantern!

 

once you get it all together and on the road you have to make up a tall tale to tell anyone who asks about them. make up some obscure car name from the 20's

 

Tell General Motors that, they designed this air filter...

 

I don't even know what filter you're talking about, I was just responding to your comment about an engine wearing out from running rather than from small particle ingestion. However, if it's a mid 50's Pontiac, I would say air filter technology has changed a little since then. Is GM still putting oil bath air cleaners on their cars?

 

It it were cheaper? Sure.

Metallurgy has changed, lubricants too.
So yes, you may want the absolute best filtration you can get. Any dirt, micron on up is abrasive, yes. The environment and mileage covered may factor in a decision too.

 

I’ll get that when I get home from work tonight.

 

Please do! That’s why I post it. Cheap, different and homebuilt!

 

S&B Filters makes very high-quality (pricy of course) filters. I favor them over K&N simply because they don't dish out the marketing hype anywhere near what K&N does.
https://www.sbfilters.com/replacement-filters/universal-filters/custom

None of that is true. A fresh K&N starts out rather inefficient at filtering compared to a new paper filter and then gradually peaks at efficient filtering and then continues on toward plugging. The only way to claim a higher flowing filter is to filter less. You can't have it both ways. A paper filter starts out filtering at a high-ish efficiency with very little restriction for a while and gradually loads up and restricts like any other filter, including K&N.
It's true that you will see a lot of K&N stickers at "Baja" but every one of those stickers came with a fat check from K&N so yea, there's no reason to pass up a payday. So the question is, are the race teams choosing that particular filter first and then getting contingency money because of their choice? Or are they being handed a box with a filter and a check inside? To paraphrase, It's the old "which came first, the sticker or the check?"

 

Napa gold#2362