K & N panel filters ?

[loner]

Why don\'t you try going for a drive without a filter... if you can\'t feel a difference, save your money for something else.

[lunchie]

I believe the HKS one made for subies is the ONLY one HKS make that is a dry type filter, this suggests that even HKS know that some subies do not react well to the oil particles

[rex-leggy]

no way that dosent sugest anything like that

dont get caught up on a myth

[loner]

It\'s not a myth or some mysterious phenomenon that you can deny like global warming. It\'s REAL.

[rex-leggy]

because the internet says so? Its bollocks fella

weres is your proof of this other than you saing you went through how ever many afms.

of which I bet they were seccond hand?

[Guest]

 loner said:

Anyone with eyes will be able to see a whole lot of dirt is going to go through a K&N filter.

I had a K&N on my v6 STi... went through 3 AFMs... none before or after... actually a couple were with an Apexi pod filter... but the same thing applies... oil.

hes basing it on his own experiences as you are Im guessing. Sometimes agreeing to disagree is a great thing.

[loner]

Yes actual experience. Anyway, no one has any proof... so I win.

[rex-leggy]

wow. so just to put it out there were they 2nd hand afm\'s ?

[loner]

no... they were new, from Subaru.

Maybe I just had bad luck... but my mechanic at the time said not to use one, and I just thought he was being a dick

[rex-leggy]

you went throught 3 brand new afm\'s . holy s*** ! that some bad luck!

so the 4th afm had no problem after changing the air filter to a non oiled.

am I the only one that finds this to be impossible

[hijacka]

I\'ve run k&n for years no problem I like the cotton panel filter they make for our factory box as it works well. I\'m not fond of the oily foam pods as they do oil up the afm but nothing abit of contact cleaner can\'t fix, I do like the weaponR secret pods though as they are lightweight and come in many sizes, with ducting on the end for cold intake and they can be cleaned with alittle soapy water so you don\'t inherit the extra cost of cleaning solution and oil/fuck around. Lets face it AFM just randomly give up specially the higher km ones.. If there was any truth to afm failing because of a oiled filter then they shouldn\'t fail when a paper one is used and i\'ve had enough subarus to know that is simply not true, some people drive there car around without even knowing there afm is fucked lol

Edit: just thought i would add a link to weaponR filters for you to have a look at, they also do a few subaru kits.. would be good to box one up and can also duct the end out as well as having the box ducted. not a bad alternative:)

http://www.weapon-r.com/products/404-2002-07-turbo-subaru-wrx-secret-weapon-intake

[loner]

 rex-leggy said:

you went throught 3 brand new afm\'s . holy s*** ! that some bad luck!

so the 4th afm had no problem after changing the air filter to a non oiled.

am I the only one that finds this to be impossible

Yeah, over 4 years though... and they didn\'t crap out completely... just degraded... kinda like they had crap all over them... and I had an Apexi pod filter for most of the time, not a K&N panel filter... but it was secured properly.

The v5/v6 AFM use optics to measure the air, so it\'s hardly surprising that a sub-standard filter will muddy them up.

[Roo]

How does a bit of filter oil on the afm matter if you\'re regularly cleaning the afm?

[loner]

Can you effectively clean all AFMs? I think it\'s more a hit and miss type exercise... and not really worth the risk of a blown motor... to save $220.

[chappell943]

Have had a k&n panel filter on my V7 Sti for the past 60,000kms, I clean and re oil it every 10-15 and have had no issues with it. I have heard running a pod filter can damage afms due to the increase in vibrations which the afm has to deal with though.

[GorGasmSpecB]

If you absolutely must spend money get one of the HKS panels.

If you want price/performance then stick with the OEM paper panel.

If you want noise and want to spend money then get any pod filter.

[newsuba]

 loner said:

Can you effectively clean all AFMs? I think it\'s more a hit and miss type exercise... and not really worth the risk of a blown motor... to save $220.

Agreed.

The v5/6 hotwire AFM literally bakes on any foreign substance like oil, cleaning it completely is nigh impossible, even using ultrasonic techniques as a local tuner did.

At the end of the day, a cleaned AFM will still be subpar compared to a new one.

As to regular cleaning, why would you if the car felt fine ?

By the time you do notice a lack of performance it\'s too late.

[Guest]

 newsuba']

[quote name='loner said:

Can you effectively clean all AFMs? I think it\'s more a hit and miss type exercise... and not really worth the risk of a blown motor... to save $220.

/quote]

Agreed.

The v5/6 hotwire AFM literally bakes on any foreign substance like oil, cleaning it completely is nigh impossible, even using ultrasonic techniques as a local tuner did.

At the end of the day, a cleaned AFM will still be subpar compared to a new one.

As to regular cleaning, why would you if the car felt fine ?

By the time you do notice a lack of performance it\'s too late.

$126+GST trade iirc. Cheaper genuine as aftermarket is gen bought bulk.

Anyways I went through 6-7 I think over 12 months or so and a couple worked fine in other cars. I swapped them in at intervals they wouldnt work again in mine tho. All dry pod filters k&n pleated and cheap foam braced/not.

[loner]

When all said and done, I will take reliability over the power gain you MAY get from merely changing the air filter.

To make up for the lost time due to no gaining that power, I\'ll just brake a tenth of a second later into every corner

[Guest]

Put it to a poll I say. Someone give me poll powars.

[loganrasti]

Meh everyone should just get a link so you don\'t need a shitty afm

[KiwiJoe]

I just ordered an Apexi panel filter (http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/performance/air-filters/auction-664833711.htm) after spending some time researching online. I\'ve had K&N before, but not with an AFM and I don\'t feel like taking the risk if I don\'t have to. Not expecting a difference, but curiosity won out.

[lunchie]

The only fact here is that some subaru AFM\'s do not react well to oiled filters. That is a fact because there is simply too many examples of failures in the same situation to deny it

[boon]

 lunchie said:

The only fact here is that some subaru AFM\'s do not react well to oiled filters. That is a fact because there is simply too many examples of failures in the same situation to deny it

Wat.

Actually what we have here is a bunch of random failures that people attributed to oiled filters while other people (such as myself) have run an oiled K&N pod for ages with an AFM without a single issue. That is barely grounds for establishing "fact"

Has anyone considered that a pretty large number of pods are completely unmounted or very poorly mounted... perhaps vibration has something to do with it.

[Guest]

 boon']

[quote name='lunchie said:

The only fact here is that some subaru AFM\'s do not react well to oiled filters. That is a fact because there is simply too many examples of failures in the same situation to deny it

/quote]

Wat.

Actually what we have here is a bunch of random failures that people attributed to oiled filters while other people (such as myself) have run an oiled K&N pod for ages with an AFM without a single issue. That is barely grounds for establishing "fact"

Has anyone considered that a pretty large number of pods are completely unmounted or very poorly mounted... perhaps vibration has something to do with it.

Considered it here. Failed both braced and not. G4 is all win so anyway to justify it works imo.