If it is tripping the filter minder then you have TOO much restriction....worse than your stock filter that you were trying to improve on.

 

I am wondering if i got a bad filter. I can tell it is getting more air. i also wonder if i couldnt have messed up the filter minder when i changed it out.

 

How's the air flow compared to say the aFe PG7 with torque tube? I didn't see it listed.

 

Mine also trips the filter minder. I don't believe that it (Filter minder) is capable of monitoring the amount of flow that is rushing past it. Since I have the gauges I've been monitoring the AEM for a couple of months. Several weeks ago I switched back to the hollowed out stock tube, tag and my BHAF (Also with an outerwears prefilter). The numbers are still slightly better with the AEM. Just to make sure about the filter minder I'm gonna call AEM tech line to see what they have to say.

 

The filter minder is just measuring vacuum. If it is tripping then the filter isn't flowing well enough. It is calibrated to the engine's needs / designe parameters.

I have a BHAF installed and my filter minder has never budged. Also not, after LENGTHY discussions and investigations on the standard BHAF everyone uses, the general consensus is that it flows slightly to moderately better than the factory filter, and filters much better at the same time.

 

Well, I don't believe that it because of the lack of volume getting in. I spoke with AEM. They pointed out that the stock location (Filter minder) is in the air box it self. Now that it is mounted on the air tube leading down to the turbo the air flow itself is creating a suction which in turn will cause the airfilter minder to trip. It was never meant to be in the main stream of air. I imagine that turbo is sucking in some major air, causing quite a vacum in the AEM airtube.
Inside of the box the air flow vacum would not be nearly as strong unless the filter was starting to clog up.
I can tell that I'm getting major air flow with the gauges. My BHAF set up with the stock tube doesn't allow for the filterminder use. Most of this is IMO. Gauges tell the tale. I alos might want to point out that I currently own a Sotty Air III a AFE air tube,and a BHAF. So I'm not being bias. Good luck whatever you chose, it will be better than stock.

 

Well, I'm not a thermodynamic engineer or anything but I guess I don't understand why there would be a difference in readings based on where the gauge is placed, intake tube or filter housing. They should see the same vacuum I'd assume. And the factory location is actually just outside the main filter housing body on the 4" diameter connector piece that the intake tube attaches to. It can't be any different than the intake tubing itself just inches away and also 4" in diameter. It's always been in the main stream of air. I think the AEM engineer is just blowing smoke and rationalizing why their product is OK.

Anyway, I built my own splash guard and intake tube with IAT sensor mounting using a 4" short radius steel elbow. Pics in my gallery for anyone interested in using a BHAF and keeping the stock sensor in place.

 

I agree that if the filter minder is being tripped, it is from a lack of flow. A manufacturer can try to blow smoke all day long as how it isn't their product, but that thing is telling you something even if you choose not to believe it.

It is your truck so of course you have to be the one comfortable with what you are running. But if it were me, I would not run a filter that is reducing flow, that defeats the whole purpose don't you think?

 

Not sure where the filter minder is in relation to these setups you guys are speaking of, but it sounds like it's located on the tube down to the turbo. Which sounds like there's an orifice of sorts that comes off that tube that the filter minder is connected to (maybe with a small rubber hose or something). If this is the case, then what AEM said is correct. If the filter is allowing more air to be "sucked" by the turbo with greater efficiency, then that means the air is entering the tube at greater velocity. When the air passes the filter minder orifice at the greater velocity, it actually draws a greater than normal vacuum on the orifice. The faster the air goes by the orifice, the greater the vacuum will be, thus giving a false indication of the air filter having greater restriction via the filter minder. While in all actuality, the filter is doing what it's supposed to but "tricking" the filter minder in the process because of the filter minders new location. For the filter minder to read accurately, it would have to placed somewhere that it is not exposed to the velocity of the air rushing by the orifice it's mounted in. Could someone post a pic of the setup, that way I could tell you for sure if this is what's happening. This is along the same lines of how vacuum lines coming off a carburetor works. As the intake air rushes into the venturi, or throat, of the carburetor, it is accelerated and pressure is decreased (vacuum). This why vacuum lines are sometimes connected to the carburetor. This is also how airplane wings work. Not trying to get off subject, just trying to paint a picture. Basically, the filter is working.

 

In the stock configuration, the filter housing has a 4" (OD) round outlet that is part of the housing itself. This outlet is what the 4" (ID) intake tubing is attached to. On top of that is outlet is a simple mounting point for the IAT sensor. The IAT sensor tip sits DIRECTLY IN THE AIRSTREAM.

This 4" intake tubing is basically the same all the way to the turbo (at least for the AEM intake and most home made setups). There is no reason for large velocity differences anywhere in the intake tubing as for all practical purposes it's 4" tubing all the way.

What your saying doesn't make any sense. The greater the flow, the faster the intake air and the greater the vacuum? So if I remove the filter altogether and maximize my air flow, the filter minder should be set even quicker.

The filter minder measures the differential pressure from the outside to the inside, the greater the vacuum that is needed to get the required airflow, the more the minder will be set and therefore the greater the restriction that is being seen. It's as simple as that. Anything else is smoke and mirrors, tap dance and a show.

 

I'm not talking about airflow in general, I'm talking about airflow passing over an orifice. The faster airflow passes over an orifice, the greater the vacuum INSIDE the orifice will be. Like I said, I haven't seen any pics of how this aftermarket stuff is set up so I can't even say where the filter minder is located in relation to these new filters. I did, however, just look at mine (it's stock). My filter minder is about 3" forward (toward the grill of the truck) of the 4" tubing inlet. It's just sitting there on the side of the box. The velocity of the air in the box is slower than the air in the tube due to increased surface area inside the box vs. that inside the tube (compare blowing into a toilet paper roll [lips on the outside] vs. blowing into a straw...the air coming out is much faster with the straw). This is kind of the same thing with our air filter boxes. Inside the box, the air is moving slower than the air inside the tube, due to the reduction of area the air has to go through. IF, the filter minder is connected to the inlet tube on these aftermarket setups, where the air is traveling at it's fastest, then it MAY be creating more of a vacuum inside the filter minder as the air rushes over the little hole (the orifice) in the nipple of the filter minder itself.

 

Of course I'm no engineer either. But with this set up the filterminder is very close to the turbo. I don't believe that it was meant to be in the main air stream, where there is high vilocity air moving.I added a picture of this to my gallery. Just waiting for Approval. According to the web site it out flows a BHAF by quite a bit. I have no personal proof of course, just As I can not verify BHAF's claim or any other manufacturer. Like most of us we get our facts from other sources.
For the price of some of the setups AEM is bargin. The dryflow is nice, no oil. It comes with everything including two cleaning kits. Recommendation of cleaning every 30K miles or so, can't remember.

 

This is just my theory of course. However, I recently read a thread somewhere regarding this same issue but with an AFE pg7. The theory on that one is that the oil in the filter was creating the high differential pressure. But...yours is oil-less. This blows the oil-caused high dp theory out of the water. Being that the filter minder is in the flow path of the accelerated air flow path, (greater suction from the turbo= greater vacuum= higher dp) I believe this is why your filter minder is tripping...especially now that two different manufacturers are seeming to produce this same result.

 

I understand what you are saying and that makes sence to me. i was wondering if that was the cause. it only pulls the minder in during WOT. I just cant see that filter being more restrictive than the stock. But I also am not a Professor.

 

The minder does indicate peak differential pressure between atomospheric press. and some sort of vacuum inside the torque tube like Berak was saying. At WOT, the turbo is creating some serious suction I gotta think...I'd be curious to see just exactly how much vacuum. Anyway, if your minder is on the tube near the turbo where suction is greatest, it'll trip the minder I'd bet.

Edit: Yeah, NB64 I just looked at your pics of your setup. I definitely think that the high velocity of the airflow flowing past the little hole in the filter minder is creating a vacuum over the orifice which is vacuum dragging your minder down. The only real way to test this theory I guess, would be to run the stock setup but with the filter minder in the same spot as yours. But then again the two diff. filters aren't rated at the same flow rates. Maybe run no filter with the minder where it is and go WOT real quick and see what happens. That would take the potentially "faulty" filter out of the equation and allow almost zero restriction. Just thinkin' outloud now. Sorry for the novel.