test by an old friend of mine AK RAM


Air Filtration Results with Various Aftermarket Filters - A

I've tried several different filters on this truck over the years and have been doing an oil analysis every 3K miles to check silicone levels (that is dirt let in by the air filter for the newbies) to see how well they filter. Just for info's sake, here are my results.

The location specific silicone average, meaning what they see on average from all of the samples done from different people living in my area and is considered "normal", is 7 parts per million (PPM) silicon:

Stock Filter: Averaged 6 ppm

AFE Standard Media Filter: Averaged 15 ppm

AFE PG7 Media Filter: Averaged 10 ppm

Uni Foam Filter: Averaged 10 ppm

BHAF: Averaged 4 ppm

It looks like the stock filter is a decent filter. Not surprising I guess. What is surprising is how much better the BHAF did over the rest. I used a Donaldson G110119 BHAF and it just plain ROCKED!

The AFE standard media filter was terrible, to the point of "dusting" the motor in less than 3,000 miles. Avoid that one at all costs.

The AFE PG7 media filter and the Uni Foam filter did about the same as far as filtration. Although not bad, neither had stellar performance and neither would lend itself to extended oil drain intervals. With these samples taken at just 3,000 miles, expect the numbers to go up at least a couple ppm at 5,000 miles. Also, the Uni filter was half the size and didn’t flow nearly as much air as the AFE. I suspect that if Uni had a better selection of cone filters (I used the biggest one they make) and they had one that flowed adequately for me (could support my twins), I wouldn’t have put nearly the suction stress on it and it may have done quite a bit better. Just guessing there.

All of these filters, except the stock filter, was used with either an AFE or an Outerwears pre-filter.

If your going aftermarket and good air filtration is your biggest concern, or if your looking for extended oil drain intervals, a BHAF is definitely the way to go. I just found it interesting when comparing the numbers this morning and thought I would share it

 

Don't gain much power, if any between the stock and an aftermarket anyway. More turbo noise than anything.