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Oiled or Dry?- High Performance Air Filters






So, you’re trying to get a few more little horses to come out of that engine of yours and you finally come across one of the most easiest upgrades to do on your current vehicle by replacing your stock air filter with an aftermarket Performance Air Filters.


At this point you probably have heard about the BIG guys, K&N, Spectre, and AEM.

However the question is, “which one’s better for me?”


You could go with the most popular option which is your typical K&N “Pleated High-Flow oiled cotton.” On the other hand AEM sells performance air filters which are called “DryFlow” air filters. What’s the difference? Well from the names of both you can understand one is oiled and one isn’t.


But what is the reason for oiled filters? Which one is better?

Could oiled filters mess up the MAF sensor?

Stick around to find out!


 

Why Oil?



Before we get to the pro’s and con’s for each one, let’s understand why K&N and other manufacturers applies oil to their filters.


The reason is simple: To catch more contaminants and dust particles!


When these cotton air filters are lightly coated and allowed to soak in to the material, the oil acts as sort of a magnet for microscopic dust particles by allowing the dust particles to stick to the oil on the cotton.


Basically think of it in comparison to a wet vs dry tissue paper. If you hold both pieces of tissue and shoot dust unto each one, which one will hold more dust?


If you said the wet tissue then you're correct! In the same way each layer of the cotton air filter has a coating of oil to make sure that the dust particles can be captured in each layer of cotton coated with oil so it cannot pass through each layer and escape into the engine!




 


Can oiled filters mess up the MAF sensor?



  • It’s a yes and no answer….. basically, to make it short, when you re-apply the oil on the air filters make sure that you DO NOT add too much oil. The filter should only have a light coating! Then after coating it, make sure to give enough time for the oil to be completely absorbed in the cotton. If you do this then no it won’t mess up the MAF sensor!


  • However, if you add a heavy coating of oil, then yes the oil has a greater chance of clogging up the mass airflow sensor which in return will give your engine control unit inaccurate data, which therefore will leave you with flashing engine codes.

To sum it up, follow the air filter manufacturer directions and just add a little less than you think you need just to be safe.



 


But hey, even if it does get clogged up just clean it up yourself with some CRC MAF SENSOR CLEANER!






Here's a quick video showing how to clean the MAF sensor....




 


Let’s Sum It Up with Some Pro’s and Con’s!




Un-oiled (DryFlow AEM) Air Filter





Pro's:


  • Less money (than oiled filters) needed for cleanup since you only need to buy the cleaning solution and no oil

  • No need to re-oil or have to worry about adding too much oil

  • Allows more air to pass through than factory filters for added performance

  • Can increase horsepower and torque specs

  • Limited lifetime warranty (AEM)


Con's:


  • May not have as much filtration as oiled filters due to the lack of oil to catch some micro dust particles that could otherwise pass through.

  • Will not have the same filtration power as the original “paper” filters where even the smallest dust particles are caught.

  • Needs to be cleaned with special solution which you need to buy.



 

Oiled Air Filter (K&N)





Pro's:

  • May have more filtration ability than “dry” air filters since the oil acts as a means of filtration.

  • Has less air restriction than factory “paper” filters.

  • Can increase the horsepower and torque specs

  • Limited lifetime warranty (K&N)

Con's:

  • Costs a little more for maintenance with the filter oil

  • Needs to cleaned and oiled with a special solution

  • Can affect MAF sensor ONLY IF the filter is coated with too much oil!



 

Both performance air filter do capture a very good majority of micro dust particles however that being said, they obviously won’t be as good as OEM “paper” filters for filtration purposes, but I mean we’re only talking about the smallest microscopic dust particles.


IN MY OPINION, between the two types of performance air filters, I personally would go with the oiled K&N filters because of the added filtration properties that the oil provides on the filter! If you are going with a “dry” performance air filter I would recommend the AEM brand because it does come with a lifetime warranty just like K&N.


However either one you pick is great choice, I’ll let you decide for yourselves on which one is better!

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