Air Filter Replacement

[freebird_78]

I finally got around to replacing the Cobb air filter (just the filter, not the intake) with an Amsoil EAU4560 unit. You would not believe the difference, visually, between the two. These pics were taken under the exact same conditions and show the Cobb and Amsoil filters with backlighting, as well as a Volant air filter that I replaced on my truck (just to assuage you diehard Cobb fans who will accuse me of "hating") which was just as bad.

As you can see, there is actually pinholes of light coming through the two cotton gauze type filters, and therefore places for dirt to get in. The Amsoil unit is completely opaque.

[freebird_78]

Here is my best attempt at a "macro" shot closeup of the filtering media.

Here, you can clearly see the rather corse filtering media on the Cobb filter, whereas the Amsoil filter looks like paper. I guess it's supposed to be some sort of syntheic nano-fiber stuff. I also like it because it's a dry filter type, no oil.

[freebird_78]

And here's a side by side pic and the before/after install pics.

Here, you can see that I decided to go with a slightly bigger filter which fits perfectly, no rubbing/touching anywhere. I figured that the increased surface area of a larger filter would help offset the slight decrease in flow due to the better filtration.

[subparpunk03]

Just curious, which amsoil filter did you use?

Amsoil is the bomb... i'm gonna be switching the filter once th cobb filter gets a few more miles on it.

[freebird_78]

Bottom line, it's a reusable, dry type filter that at least appears to greatly outperform cotton gauze type filters, based on the fact that I can see light through one, but not the other. I can see why sites like BobIsTheOilGuy knock the cotton gauze filters quite a bit.

For $38.50, I'll take the negligable hit on flow for greatly increased filtration, and probably longer engine life.

[freebird_78]

Originally Posted by subparpunk03 Just curious, which amsoil filter did you use? Amsoil is the bomb... i'm gonna be switching the filter once th cobb filter gets a few more miles on it.

From my first post ()... Amsoil EAU4560.

[Haltech]

Freebird, i just want to make you aware of something... lol.. the gauze is supposed to have pinholes... that is why the filter itself, requires to be oiled and out flows dry filters.

[freebird_78]

Originally Posted by Haltech Freebird, i just want to make you aware of something... lol.. the gauze is supposed to have pinholes... that is why the filter itself, requires to be oiled and out flows dry filters.

Those pics were of filters that were oiled and had several thousand miles on them, plently of time to collect the dirt/oil "crust". Personally, I don't like seeing clear paths for dirt to flow in from.

[freebird_78]

Here's a good read...
Performance Versus Protection: Seeking a Happy Medium in Automotive Air Filtration | Auto Newswire Article from Motor Trend

"In tests on medium-duty diesel pickup trucks, the NAPAGold composite filter captured more than three times the amount of dust than a cotton filter while providing almost identical final efficiency."

Now, this isn't a Napa filter, but it demonstrates a point.