Holy dirty air filters, Batman!
06-19-2009, 06:26 PM
#52
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2003 E500 Benz & 2015 BMW M235ix
Here's some interesting information from the K&N Filters Website. There's lots of misinformation going around about air filters. It appears that K&N's filters that are the standard OEM replacement ones may be o.k. for our vehicles, i.e., the normal rectangular ones. The smaller special circular ones that have less surface might be more problamatic.
K&N AIR FILTERS WEBSITE
What are the air filtration requirements for a vehicle?
There is no published requirement for vehicle filtration. Car and truck owner's manuals are silent on the issue and you will find very few companies that even credibly discuss filtration efficiency. We believe this demonstrates that most air filters sold today provide adequate levels of filtration. Particularly when compared with the filtration provided by fuel and oil filters.
Some air filter companies tout their high filtration levels in the 99th percentile. Doesn't higher filtration mean a better air filter?
No. The quality of an air filter can only be judged by reviewing all four important characteristics. 1) Restriction while loading with dust; 2) Filtration efficiency as a percentage; 3) Dust holding capacity before the filter needs cleaning or replacement ; and 4) filter life. Any company designing an air filter must make choices about these four characteristics and how their filter will perform in each area. Generally speaking, each characteristic of an air filter has an inverse relationship to at least one of the others, meaning, as filtration efficiency goes up, restriction increases and capacity or service life decreases. So an air filter manufacturer can design an air filter to have ultra high filtration efficiency by compromising the filters restriction, capacity, and/or service life. We judge the quality of an air filter based upon the proper balance of these four essential criteria. Maximizing one at the expense of others sounds more like a marketing goal rather than an engineering goal. So the basic answer to the original question is that higher filtration is not necessarily a good thing when it comes at the expense of restriction, reusability and/or capacity. While the benefits of a filter with 99.9% filtration are unknown, the benefits of low restriction are measurable and clear. Low restriction helps an engine perform more efficiently generating more power and torque.
That would lead a reasonable person to ask what then is a safe level of filtration. This question is literally unanswered. Minimum air filter specifications are generally not called out in vehicle owners' manuals, nor will you find much published information on air filtration requirements from vehicle manufacturers. We have never seen a scientific study concluding what levels of filtration efficiency correspond to various levels of engine wear. Some large air filter companies do not even publish information on the efficiencies of the air filters they manufacture. It is K&N's opinion that both the Fine and Coarse Test Dust mixtures used in air filter testing contain such a high concentration of small particles that even filtration efficiency numbers as low as 90% may provide adequate engine protection. Remember that almost 11% of COARSE test dust is smaller than 5.5 microns (the size of a red blood cell). For a detailed explanation of our testing protocol, see our Website.
The fact is that an engine is not a pristine environment. Fuel enters after passing through a fuel filter, combines with air which is ignited to explode in a pressurized chamber. The combustion is not 100% efficient and leaves residues behind that must be flushed from the engine. Engines have tolerances or measured gaps between surface areas. While there are few if any studies on engine wear, it would seem reasonable to speculate that particles less than 5.5 microns create little engine wear unless ingested at very high levels of concentration. As support for this theory, consider the filtration levels provided by fuel filters and oil filters that sometimes tout their ability to filter particles above 10 or 20 microns.
If you really want to compare two air filters, you need to know all four characteristics mentioned above. Consumers can then choose what matters most to them. But comparing two air filters with only one piece of information is like saying a bicycle is better than a car based solely on a comparison of mileage. Yes the mileage is better, but a car has a few other benefits (speed, comfort, keeps you dry in wet weather) that just may offset the mileage disadvantage.
We design air filters to provide low restriction throughout the filter's service interval. We seek the best balance between airflow and filtration recognizing they are inversely related. After nearly 40 years in business with millions of air filters sold, we have a track record you can trust and the experience that can only be earned through years of focusing on just one thing. But even our experience is not enough. We operate a fully staffed air filtration lab that operates on a year round basis with two test stands. The lab was designed by Southwest Research and is calibrated regularly to ensure our test results are reliable. This testing is an essential ingredient in verifying our air filters meet our own high standards of excellence. Making a great air filter is no accident and we are confident our air filters provide outstanding engine protection with huge air flow advantages throughout the air filter's service interval. That's why we back up our replacement air filters with both a Million Mile Warranty and our Consumer Protection Pledge.
K&N's air filtration lab tests air filters according to ISO5011 test protocol. The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an international organization which establishes standards used by different industries worldwide. The ISO does not establish any standards for an air filter's effectiveness; they establish standards for the testing procedures used to find air filters' capacities and efficiencies only under the fixed and chosen parameters of the test being conducted. In the case of engine air filters, the ISO5011 test ensures consistency in the procedure used to test a filter's initial restriction, initial efficiency, cumulative (full-life) efficiency, and dust holding capacity. Using a standardized test procedure and disclosing the user selected variables ensures the same test can be run anywhere around the world. Some of the requirements of the ISO5011 test procedure are that the temperature of the test lab must be maintained at 23 degrees Celsius +/- 5 degrees Celsius, and the relative humidity of the test lab must be maintained at 55% +/- 15%, for the entire duration of the test. During the test at each weighing stage (when the mass of the filter is found) the humidity can only vary +/- 2%. Also, all test dust which is fed into the air filter must be "found" after the test is completed. That means if 10 grams of test dust is fed to the filter during the test, but only 8 grams of dust is found trapped in the filter after the test, part of the ISO5011 test procedure requires that the remaining 2 grams of dust must be found. The dust could be in the air filter housing, the air duct, or the absolute filter which traps any dust that passes through the air filter, but wherever it is it must be accounted for. If any of the requirements of the ISO test procedure are not met, the test is not valid. A company's participation in testing using ISO5011 test procedures is strictly voluntary. Conducting an ISO5011 test requires a considerable investment in both time and equipment, and many air filter companies simply do not have the resources to complete an ISO test in-house. K&N views this test procedure as a valuable part of our research and development process.
K&N AIR FILTERS WEBSITE
What are the air filtration requirements for a vehicle?
There is no published requirement for vehicle filtration. Car and truck owner's manuals are silent on the issue and you will find very few companies that even credibly discuss filtration efficiency. We believe this demonstrates that most air filters sold today provide adequate levels of filtration. Particularly when compared with the filtration provided by fuel and oil filters.
Some air filter companies tout their high filtration levels in the 99th percentile. Doesn't higher filtration mean a better air filter?
No. The quality of an air filter can only be judged by reviewing all four important characteristics. 1) Restriction while loading with dust; 2) Filtration efficiency as a percentage; 3) Dust holding capacity before the filter needs cleaning or replacement ; and 4) filter life. Any company designing an air filter must make choices about these four characteristics and how their filter will perform in each area. Generally speaking, each characteristic of an air filter has an inverse relationship to at least one of the others, meaning, as filtration efficiency goes up, restriction increases and capacity or service life decreases. So an air filter manufacturer can design an air filter to have ultra high filtration efficiency by compromising the filters restriction, capacity, and/or service life. We judge the quality of an air filter based upon the proper balance of these four essential criteria. Maximizing one at the expense of others sounds more like a marketing goal rather than an engineering goal. So the basic answer to the original question is that higher filtration is not necessarily a good thing when it comes at the expense of restriction, reusability and/or capacity. While the benefits of a filter with 99.9% filtration are unknown, the benefits of low restriction are measurable and clear. Low restriction helps an engine perform more efficiently generating more power and torque.
That would lead a reasonable person to ask what then is a safe level of filtration. This question is literally unanswered. Minimum air filter specifications are generally not called out in vehicle owners' manuals, nor will you find much published information on air filtration requirements from vehicle manufacturers. We have never seen a scientific study concluding what levels of filtration efficiency correspond to various levels of engine wear. Some large air filter companies do not even publish information on the efficiencies of the air filters they manufacture. It is K&N's opinion that both the Fine and Coarse Test Dust mixtures used in air filter testing contain such a high concentration of small particles that even filtration efficiency numbers as low as 90% may provide adequate engine protection. Remember that almost 11% of COARSE test dust is smaller than 5.5 microns (the size of a red blood cell). For a detailed explanation of our testing protocol, see our Website.
The fact is that an engine is not a pristine environment. Fuel enters after passing through a fuel filter, combines with air which is ignited to explode in a pressurized chamber. The combustion is not 100% efficient and leaves residues behind that must be flushed from the engine. Engines have tolerances or measured gaps between surface areas. While there are few if any studies on engine wear, it would seem reasonable to speculate that particles less than 5.5 microns create little engine wear unless ingested at very high levels of concentration. As support for this theory, consider the filtration levels provided by fuel filters and oil filters that sometimes tout their ability to filter particles above 10 or 20 microns.
If you really want to compare two air filters, you need to know all four characteristics mentioned above. Consumers can then choose what matters most to them. But comparing two air filters with only one piece of information is like saying a bicycle is better than a car based solely on a comparison of mileage. Yes the mileage is better, but a car has a few other benefits (speed, comfort, keeps you dry in wet weather) that just may offset the mileage disadvantage.
We design air filters to provide low restriction throughout the filter's service interval. We seek the best balance between airflow and filtration recognizing they are inversely related. After nearly 40 years in business with millions of air filters sold, we have a track record you can trust and the experience that can only be earned through years of focusing on just one thing. But even our experience is not enough. We operate a fully staffed air filtration lab that operates on a year round basis with two test stands. The lab was designed by Southwest Research and is calibrated regularly to ensure our test results are reliable. This testing is an essential ingredient in verifying our air filters meet our own high standards of excellence. Making a great air filter is no accident and we are confident our air filters provide outstanding engine protection with huge air flow advantages throughout the air filter's service interval. That's why we back up our replacement air filters with both a Million Mile Warranty and our Consumer Protection Pledge.
K&N's air filtration lab tests air filters according to ISO5011 test protocol. The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an international organization which establishes standards used by different industries worldwide. The ISO does not establish any standards for an air filter's effectiveness; they establish standards for the testing procedures used to find air filters' capacities and efficiencies only under the fixed and chosen parameters of the test being conducted. In the case of engine air filters, the ISO5011 test ensures consistency in the procedure used to test a filter's initial restriction, initial efficiency, cumulative (full-life) efficiency, and dust holding capacity. Using a standardized test procedure and disclosing the user selected variables ensures the same test can be run anywhere around the world. Some of the requirements of the ISO5011 test procedure are that the temperature of the test lab must be maintained at 23 degrees Celsius +/- 5 degrees Celsius, and the relative humidity of the test lab must be maintained at 55% +/- 15%, for the entire duration of the test. During the test at each weighing stage (when the mass of the filter is found) the humidity can only vary +/- 2%. Also, all test dust which is fed into the air filter must be "found" after the test is completed. That means if 10 grams of test dust is fed to the filter during the test, but only 8 grams of dust is found trapped in the filter after the test, part of the ISO5011 test procedure requires that the remaining 2 grams of dust must be found. The dust could be in the air filter housing, the air duct, or the absolute filter which traps any dust that passes through the air filter, but wherever it is it must be accounted for. If any of the requirements of the ISO test procedure are not met, the test is not valid. A company's participation in testing using ISO5011 test procedures is strictly voluntary. Conducting an ISO5011 test requires a considerable investment in both time and equipment, and many air filter companies simply do not have the resources to complete an ISO test in-house. K&N views this test procedure as a valuable part of our research and development process.
06-03-2010, 06:36 AM
#54
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"MURDERED OUT" 2005 E55 AMG
thanks for this info definitely a helpful thread since I was just about to purchase K&N filters...but has anyone tried the AFE High performance filters??
06-03-2010, 12:10 PM
#55
MBWorld Fanatic!
Lots of high school level car knowledge exhibited here.
Hasn't been a picture of a dirty filter posted.
It's quite a leap in logic (and an error) to assume that if some dirt shows on the outside of a filter it means the engine is breathing dirty air.
It appears surprising to some, but frankly if you could figure out a way to completely block the flow to, say, 1/2 of one of these filters and it would have ZERO affect on engine performance.
Conversely, there's no such thing as a "performance" air filter, as the OE configuration flows just fine. You can't force the engine to take more air by changing the filter (or deleting it completely) and, again, the OE filter will flow more than the engine will ever ask for.
Fact of the matter is, Mercedes engine intake airflow is electronically monitored and the system will tell you if you have a filter problem.
Hasn't been a picture of a dirty filter posted.
It's quite a leap in logic (and an error) to assume that if some dirt shows on the outside of a filter it means the engine is breathing dirty air.
It appears surprising to some, but frankly if you could figure out a way to completely block the flow to, say, 1/2 of one of these filters and it would have ZERO affect on engine performance.
Conversely, there's no such thing as a "performance" air filter, as the OE configuration flows just fine. You can't force the engine to take more air by changing the filter (or deleting it completely) and, again, the OE filter will flow more than the engine will ever ask for.
Fact of the matter is, Mercedes engine intake airflow is electronically monitored and the system will tell you if you have a filter problem.
06-03-2010, 01:18 PM
#56
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2008 ML350 4matic
"Conversely, there's no such thing as a "performance" air filter, as the OE configuration flows just fine. You can't force the engine to take more air by changing the filter (or deleting it completely) and, again, the OE filter will flow more than the engine will ever ask for."
so race cars could/should have a full exhaust and complete air intakes because allowing an engine to breath has no bearing on performance or mileage....?
"It appears surprising to some, but frankly if you could figure out a way to completely block the flow to, say, 1/2 of one of these filters and it would have ZERO affect on engine performance."
please expand on your research professor.....or are you assuming? Have you actually block a filter and logged your findings.?
Very simply put, the more air in equals more air out. That equals HP gains and allows the engine to work a little easier.
Kent try this....place a soda straw in your mouth and simply inhale and exhale through it. Not to hard, right?
Now with the same straw and technique, jump up and do 50 jumping jacks. Not so easy.
Now try it with say 6 or 8 straws in your mouth....same principle....easier air in, easier air out.
so race cars could/should have a full exhaust and complete air intakes because allowing an engine to breath has no bearing on performance or mileage....?
"It appears surprising to some, but frankly if you could figure out a way to completely block the flow to, say, 1/2 of one of these filters and it would have ZERO affect on engine performance."
please expand on your research professor.....or are you assuming? Have you actually block a filter and logged your findings.?
Very simply put, the more air in equals more air out. That equals HP gains and allows the engine to work a little easier.
Kent try this....place a soda straw in your mouth and simply inhale and exhale through it. Not to hard, right?
Now with the same straw and technique, jump up and do 50 jumping jacks. Not so easy.
Now try it with say 6 or 8 straws in your mouth....same principle....easier air in, easier air out.
10-08-2010, 08:57 PM
#58
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w211
It there any screws that I need to remove before pulling the back cover ?? I need to replace the air filters bad . Still unsure how to remove the back cover. Just want to be safe and not break anything. Plz help. Thankx all
10-09-2010, 12:38 AM
#60
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'71 Pinto
10-09-2010, 10:40 PM
#61
Air filters should not be cleaned and reused. When they are blown or vacuumed, the pores in the filtering element are opened and particles bigger that desired get into the engine messing up admission and combustion chamber mixes.
10-10-2010, 12:13 AM
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w211
so finally able to get to my air filters today, my look just like those pictures dirty > it was a easy 1o minutes jobs. thank u so much guys. any one know how to replace the wheel bearing hub ???
10-10-2010, 12:22 PM
#63
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04 Denali XL, 04 E500 4-matic wagon, 99' SL600,
15 minutes for me as i didn't have the benefit of looking online here first. our car has 45K miles and we had some serious dirt/bugs accumulated in there. put in the new hengst paper air filters and i expect to check again in 30K miles.
with this being an e500, i don't expect to need the k&N on this particular model being my wife's car and we don't typically carry a car over past 100K anyhow. nor are we racing it like mad. with stock exhaust/engine, i fail to see the huge need for K&N oiled filterchargers.
however, i used the oiled ones on my heavily modified TT rx7 (3rd gen) and because of the increased airflow requirements, the K&N did make a HUGE difference.
another interesting food for thought, if you have multiple vehicles, it may make sense to just swap out all the cars to K&N so you just buy the k&N oil once for many years of filtering...just a thought...
with this being an e500, i don't expect to need the k&N on this particular model being my wife's car and we don't typically carry a car over past 100K anyhow. nor are we racing it like mad. with stock exhaust/engine, i fail to see the huge need for K&N oiled filterchargers.
however, i used the oiled ones on my heavily modified TT rx7 (3rd gen) and because of the increased airflow requirements, the K&N did make a HUGE difference.
another interesting food for thought, if you have multiple vehicles, it may make sense to just swap out all the cars to K&N so you just buy the k&N oil once for many years of filtering...just a thought...
10-10-2010, 08:07 PM
#64
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2009 E350 Sport Black on Black
My filter after 10k miles looked like others in this thread i.e. brand new with some maple seeds, moth wings, bees, and other critters. Just banged it out, wiped the pollen off and put them back. I would not consider my filters or any others a saw in here very dirty, they all looked new with a little crud on them.
The filters are huge and it seems even if I never cleaned the crud off there would be plenty of air getting through for at least 40k. Guess it would depend where one lives, here in Charlotte I think the 2 months of pollen are the worst time of year, rest of year really it isn't very dusty.
10-26-2010, 01:55 AM
#65
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C240
air filters shouldn't worry you too much as long as ..
"common sense" - keeping your air filters clean. period!
I have had no problem with cleaning/vaccuming my air filters. You just have to make a judgement on how dirty it is to begin with, how it looks after you have vaccumed it, and try to not damage the filter while vaccuming - best if you can have a brush attached to your vaccum and not scrape the hard pastic of the vaccume against the paper wedges.
You will see a lot of dirt (more so than many other cars) on the outside of the air filters. The reason is two-fold. The position of the air intake ducts are right in front of the car, just behind your grille. Also the "mouth" of of the intake tubes are straight ie 180 degrees w/ front of the car, so that pushes the air more forcefully and directly in --> resulting in lots of big size dirt, even dry leaves, cigarette butts, bugs, and the like.
Also In my experience the MB air filter and Mann filters have good tolerance for cleaning/vaccuming.
I have had no problem with cleaning/vaccuming my air filters. You just have to make a judgement on how dirty it is to begin with, how it looks after you have vaccumed it, and try to not damage the filter while vaccuming - best if you can have a brush attached to your vaccum and not scrape the hard pastic of the vaccume against the paper wedges.
You will see a lot of dirt (more so than many other cars) on the outside of the air filters. The reason is two-fold. The position of the air intake ducts are right in front of the car, just behind your grille. Also the "mouth" of of the intake tubes are straight ie 180 degrees w/ front of the car, so that pushes the air more forcefully and directly in --> resulting in lots of big size dirt, even dry leaves, cigarette butts, bugs, and the like.
Also In my experience the MB air filter and Mann filters have good tolerance for cleaning/vaccuming.
12-03-2010, 11:03 PM
#67
So I decided to take a look at my engine air filters to see how they're going. I needed to order some filters for my C240 and I thought I might as well look at my E while I'm at it. I was not prepared for what I saw.
The car has 55K miles on it and this leads to me to the question of whether or not my dealer changed this thing during any of its scheduled maintenance visits. I have an 04 so I was one of the lucky ones that got free maintenance for 50K miles. I can't remember if the engine air filter was one of the items on it's previous A and B schedules. If it was, I need to ream my dealer a new one!
I mean there was crap between every one of the louvers. Luckily, the inside of air cleaner was clean as a whistle as was the exit hole that leads into the intake. But man, were these things filthy!
Check your air filters, boys.
The car has 55K miles on it and this leads to me to the question of whether or not my dealer changed this thing during any of its scheduled maintenance visits. I have an 04 so I was one of the lucky ones that got free maintenance for 50K miles. I can't remember if the engine air filter was one of the items on it's previous A and B schedules. If it was, I need to ream my dealer a new one!
I mean there was crap between every one of the louvers. Luckily, the inside of air cleaner was clean as a whistle as was the exit hole that leads into the intake. But man, were these things filthy!
Check your air filters, boys.
12-04-2010, 12:36 PM
#68
MBWorld Fanatic!
i changed my filters a couple weekends ago. Wasn't that bad looking w/42k on the clock. but once i did take off the whole assembly, lots of sand/gritty stuff came out of both filters. Hardly any leaves/bugs or anything else. Also changed the oil via mityvac and car runs alot better with both maintenance done to it.
07-11-2014, 11:17 PM
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Mercedes E329 / 4 drs
How to R/R Air filters on '05 / E320
Great information provided by members. It's amazing how much info. is been offered ande certain very valuable. One member stated thaqt he had posted a vidio for removing the plastic cover etc. to replace the air filters. And if we were unable to locate it he was willing to send via email. I amplacing my email address and hopefully he will see and send the vidio.
Thanks a lot for all the responses which have been very, very helpful. I'm 77 and planning to take the task on. And with all the info. that has beed provided feel more comfortable.
Thanks again to all the MBWorld members!
Manuel Ramirez
m.ramirez37@att.net
Thanks a lot for all the responses which have been very, very helpful. I'm 77 and planning to take the task on. And with all the info. that has beed provided feel more comfortable.
Thanks again to all the MBWorld members!
Manuel Ramirez
m.ramirez37@att.net
