NHDiesel

I wasn't saying that they would let the dirt through...they most definately won't. I just meant that if someone doesn't want to clean them when they get too dirty, then airflow will start getting reduced. For someone who needs to drive in very nasty conditions day in, day out, then a paper filter might be easier to deal with...just throw it away and put another in. On the other hand, some people leave the K&Ns until there is a 1/4" of dirt buildup, to the point that you can't even tell what kind of filter is in there, just because they don't want to clean the filter.

Jim

infidel

Over servicing is also a major problem with K&Ns or any air filter for that matter. People think that when they look dirty they need to be cleaned/replaced when in fact all they are doing is decreasing the filtering ability. Just peaking in the airbox is counter productive, use the filter minder, it's there for a reason.
I have over 200k on my airbox K&N in dusty agricultural Montana, it has been cleaned twice.
In fact the air box has only been opened twice in 200k. Turbo blades and intake hose have remained spotless the entire time.
I probably wouldn't buy another K&N since there are so many other brands out there that seem better but since they were the only free flowing filter available ten years ago and have served me well I see no reason to change.

rattle_rattle

I paid, what I would consider to be high bucks for a K&N drop-in replacement. The fit was so poor that the top of the air box sucked air around the rubber seal. I don't know if it was the air box or the filter's fault but it was bad either way. I trashed the air box an put on a BHAF and an Outerwears pre-filter and no more dirty air.

rattle_rattle

This filter minder is a little suspect to me. I had a stock filter that was packed with dirt and the filter minder never moved. If it didn't move with a stock filter, I can't imagine how dirty a BHAF would have to get to make it move.

Lil Dog

Yup, thats the truth. I ran a BHAF for about 20K miles and it was OK. The exposure of the filter to all the elements and heat was my major beef, but getting rid of the brick filter was the best move. Those brick filters just don't belong on Turbocharged engines.

Having the air drawn in from either the cowl or the fender keeps the dirt suction to a minimum on the gravel roads instead of the dust under the hood..

I like the solid build of the UNI, nice filter...

J-eh

Patrick Campbell

I ended up getting a Proguard 7 PN 72-90009 and a 90 degree and 45 degree elbow. I want to angle it down just a little bit more but there's about 1" of metal tube between the last elbow and the filter (there's a sticker on the pipe I have to take off so I can slide it down to rubber against rubber...), other than that it seems pretty good. And yes there was 1 more clamp that went on there.

killfast1

I noticed my filter minder never moved until I put a load on it. Running empty and hotrodding it never showed that it was dirty. But the moment I put a large load on it went right straight to 100% in just 2 miles.

99 cummins

If you want to check your filter minder just put some saran wrap around it at idle and see if it moves. Through this form is it just the stock replacement K&N that people are complaining about or does this also include the Air Cannon cone filters. I have the Air Cannon and have never seen any residue on the turbo or had any other problems associated with it.

infidel

The filter minder is so simple that it would be highly unusual for it to fail. A lot of people think they don't work but the fact is they don't need the amount of intake air they think they do. The vast majority of people can get by with a filthy stock paper filter.
On my tractors with electronic filter clog warning lights I've seen the all the pleats filled and over a half inch of dust covering the entire filter before the light came on. Cleaning or replacing a filter this clogged made absolutely no difference in engine performance.

NHDiesel

The filter minder is a joke. My last filter was absolutely FILTHY. I'm talking 1/4" of black crud covering it. It was so bad that some of the dirt was being pulled through the paper to the INSIDE of the filter! But the filter minder said it was fine...it was only pulled down like 2 lines. I put a brand new quality filter in it, and after my first hard run (no load, just typical uphills, etc.), the filterminder was pulled down 3 lines with the same driving I was doing with the filthy old filter. It proves to me the filter minder isn't anywhere near accurate.

Jim

Timmay2

The stock airbox pulls cooler air from the fender anyways..

No idea why someone would want to change it with the bigger is better mentality, and pull in air that is 60 degrees hotter from the engine bay instead.

greenworks

Timmay2
The stock box is good for just that stock which probably works great for you being your sig has no power add ons but as for the rest of the guys that run power, you need more air when you start to to push fuel and a cheap way to do it is BHAF the problem is even though you probably amolst triple the cfm your pulling in most of it is hot air which isn't as dense and thus won't burn/cool as well. Sooooo the Scotty solves both problems of the lack of air and the hot underhood air.

Hope that helps

J

Walt L

If you haven't read this filter test thats been out for a while, please do so, you will find it interesting on how a profesional out fit tests air filters. Once in a while GM actualy gets their R&D right. My truck had a Napa gold in it when I bought it and I found a corner wasn't sealing completely so after thinking it all over I decided to get a AC Delco air filter for it from www.rockauto.com . The seal on the filter is VERY spongy and a full 1/8th thicker than the rather hard seal on the Napa gold. I have no dout I'm getting a perfect seal now. The only other thing I'v done to the stock air system is I fabed up a air scoop that forces fresh air directly into the fender. The rubber connector that goes into the fender got 3 screws to keep it tight in the air box. I also aluminum taped the big hole in the fender channel that would steel my forced air to the battery. I posted a picture of this scoop in my gallery. My primary concern in a filter is absolutely the cleanest air I can feed the engine for compression longevity, NOT air flow, that comes second. I WAS a K&N owner once, no more since thedieselpage tested them and found a brown spot on the white cotton test target from the discharge of the K&N. Factory Paper faired much better.
http://home.usadatanet.net/~jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm Before I would ever think about swaping out the OEM box for a biger unit I would gauge the vac behind the filter with a 100KPA gauge. I have one of these gauges and modifyed the linkage inside so it measures as little as 1/4 " of vac. All this chit chat is gona get me to hook it up and see what I have at 29lbs boost WOT top O the tac!!! Stock except for CaTCHER ECM for now

WildBill

filter minders are a joke, and I have proof A customer came back from vacation with his family and said his exhaust temps were way higer than normal and he had to keep backing out of the throttle due to this. Also his boost was lower than normal. His filter minder showed no restriction, pulled the filter out and it was caked with dirt, worse than any I had ever seen. I cleaned the filter and voila! problem solved. Filter minders are like gun control laws, they are feelgood measures that don't do crap

infidel

I trust the minders fully, just as I have for the past forty years they've been around. Until the new electronic minders where introduced you saw the exact same filter minder on almost every diesel powered piece of equipment and truck.
Seems like they would be out of business by now if their device didn't work.
Certainly Dodge wouldn't install them if not necessary in their constant quest to save a dime.
Most times people think they don't work because the filter isn't clogged to the point that it restricts. Most aren't running high hp, they don't need as much airflow as they think they do. There is no way anyone in the world can tell by just looking if a filter is clogged. I can remember seeing over an inch of Mt St Helens ash on some on my tractor filters before the minder moved. Cleaning or replacing the filter when the minder said so made absolutely no difference in tractor pulling ability.
Many of the fallacies about filter minders are answered here
http://www.filterminder.com/faq.asp