VAamg

Hey guys (gals?) I need new air filters and since I am without job right now figured it is as good at time as any to start tackling a few DIY jobs I need to learn to do. Who has the best prices/reliablility going right now for Green Filters for our cars?

TIA

hangup

i got OEM filters a while ago for 16 or 18 bucks a pop (you'll need two of them). they were made by the same manufacturer as the old dirty ones i pulled out of there - mann filter.
cheap parts, very, very easy and pleasant DIY, especially if this is your first DIY.
just take it slow, make sure not to overtorque anything. search this forum there are details on the DIY with pictures, etc. somewhere.
that said i know nothing about green filters and any other kind of "enhanced" or "cleanable" filter.
i heard people had issues with oil residue from some filters that were supposed to be "cleanable" hurting the MAF sensor. that is expensive. i know because i screwed mine up by trying to clean it
so, if you have to put oil you'll most likely have to let it sit for a while before putting this in.
this means you now have to have 2 sets of these to be able to (later) clean a set and replace it. unless you are willing to let the car sit in the garage for a few days waiting for those things to dry.
so now instead of 16 bucks a pop you spent a lot more + you can still have problems (if you screw up with the oil). now consider this . . . even though DIY is easy, it still takes 15-45 minutes depending on how many beers you have in the process. it is still a good idea to wash the housing, lube the rubber gasket, etc. so given time=money you are spending 16x2 + time + beers. depending on how you value your time $32 for fiters might turn out to be a minor component in that. stealership would charge you something like $160-200 for the job+parts. also consider how many times in your car's lifetime are you likely to do this.
so my point is you are not saving much by going with washable filters.
that being said i don't know if green filters have anything to do with that ))
i also don't know much about performance enhancing aspect of going with non-OEM filters.
I get way more HP out of the car than i need anyways. two filters are large, so i believe there is plenty of air getting thru as it is. could the airflow be better? maybe it could, but i don't think it would depend on a filter as much as it would on how much dirt and leaves and stuff you get in there
so if you believe that green is better than OEM for you based on performance - go for it.
if you want to save money because they are washable, don't bother IMHO. when i took my old filters out i really didn't want to wash them even if they were washable. it's nasty. it smells funny. what would you rather use: toiler paper or washable toilet towel? maybe not a 100% fair analogy but you get the idea . . .

SDR

Not to step on your post, but what's this about "drying" a filter after oiling it? The whole point of oil is that it doesn't dry and helps trap the particles. I've used K&N filters on every motorized vehicle I've owned - motorcycles, cars (MBZ's, Corvette, Toyota's) jet skis - and never had to dry anything. The key is to not over oil the filters. Paper filters are fine and very safe, but some people want the motor to breathe a little more freely. Filters such as the Green and K&N provide this and are extremely reliable provided proper maintenance routines and practices are utilized. This includes NOT over oiling them which is a common mistake.

clsamg

some people says it's not good for the engine but I think it's great K&N or Green filter

Vardar

I just put K&Ns on mine, it took me about less than 10 minutes, car runs strong. I heard some people had problems with K&N, i don't know why? I dont oil them they came that way, all I did was installing them, and there is absolutely NO warning lights......

Yeah becareful about overtorqing.

VAamg

correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding was, as VARDAR indicated, they come from the factory oiled for first use, the problems come when DIYers start to reoil them and apply too much, hence getting excess oil into the MAF. Is the working lifetime of a K and N or Green Filter going to be the same as OEM? Or am I going to have to be reoiling/replacing every 5k? I know there are lots of posts in here with varying opinions on performance gains, but from what I studied it appears most were happy with the Green filters and agreed it gave you a moderate gain (which could also be explained by simply having a new clean filter in there).

As for install, I believe you just pop the plastic contraption that holds the filters off, turn it over, unscrew those hex nuts, careful not to get anything in the vent, replace filters, replace cover and hex nuts and live happy ever after?

vraa

Green Filters from Euroteck.

E-mail : info@euroteckmotorsports.com

hangup

right, overoiling. so some folks were saying that it was a good idea to let them sit for a wile after oiling on a sheet of paper to make sure any excess oil drips off. that's not really drying but that's what i was talking about.
about breathing a little more freely. i agree it is quite possible that some filters provide better airflow as compared to OEM but i *think* every time the question comes up about doing a dyno before and after owners who like "sooped up filters" are kind of reluctant to do it . . . they mostly just "like those filters" from what i understand and they don't have to see real numbers to back that up. am i wrong? have anyone seen any actual dyno numbers OEM filter vs green or K&N on the same vehicle?
it would be very interesting to have a look. maybe it's worth it after all, especially if K&N comes pre-oiled for the first use. might as well just throw it away and get a new one after 50K miles (or whatever your favorite filter changing interval is).

SDR

That conjurs up a scary image to me. I couldn't imagine EVER applying so much oil that it would drip off, but I suppose that's partially because I've used these for so long.
True about the dyno, but I can tell you that my old Yamaha FZR750 pulled a helluva lot harder at low RPMs with them. My Expedition now gets about 5-8% better fuel consumption (important when it averages 13 MPG!) after the K&N CAI. Anytime you allow an engine to breathe more freely it will improve performance - even if that translates to fuel economy more than raw HP.

hangup

good point on the fuel economy.
but 5-8% could just be due to changing the filter. i mean, the old filter was probably just dirty, so if you change a dirty filter to a new one it will be better, but to measure K&N advantage you'd have to first try new OEM and then new K&M and then new OEM again and then new K&N again, etc, etc
about the oil dripping off. when i screwed up my MAF i opened it up and i must say it's a very delicate piece of electronics. it's working element is kind of like a microchip without a case, if you know what i mean. mine had a weird discoloration in one corner. it almost seemed like perhaps it got hot at some point and something was burning on it and left a mark. in my case it was not the oil because i didn't have K&N, but it was a degreeser i was trying to use to "clean" it. that attempt to clean it was really dumb of me btw it was kind of an expensive but needed lesson

SDR

Could be, but wasn't/isn't. When you get 13MPG and drive 400 miles to the ski slopes and back every weekend you become very careful about the minor tune-up items It may look grubby on the outside, but under the hood the Expedition is as good as new.