okay guys,was wondering, dealership mechanic working on my truck says my aftermarket quadzilla cold air intake, will destroy my engine, it lets dirt and such through to the engine, I just nodded my head and said hmmm, didnt realize that, hate to argue any point with out the true knowledge, so bit my lip, IMO, people have been running these for years, and never heard any problem, but so I can argue?if I can, what are the true comparisons, is the aftermarkest equal? better, worse, are they sized by microns like a fuel filter, if so, which are what micron, trying to find on the box of quad hwat it is, cant find the box, LOL , kicked back, mind open, ears ready, TEACH ME OH KNOWLEDGABLE ONES,

 

As long as you keep a clean filter (properly oiled if its an oiled filter) there should be no problems....

I know of several dealership tech (2 being Cummins techs) who run CAIs on their trucks....

I'd just take what he said with a grain of salt...and make sure they dont wanna void your warranty....

 

thanks for the reply redracer, no they arent, just wondered how they compared

 

I did lots of research about this and thats why I went with the S&B. Flows better than stock and filters slightly better (according to the ISO test). As long as the dirt testing has been done with that filter I would not worry about it. I would also talk with the dealer to make sure they don't void your warranty and get it in writing if possible. Since mine is so far off warranty, I don't have to worry about it....

 

If you monitor oil samples and watch your silicon levels you will be able to tell if contaminants are getting past your filter. You can also put a smear of grease in your intake tube and check it later to see if any dust is sticking to it. As far as ISO tests etc. every aftermarket air filter company will show you some graph or data that shows they are superior. Everyone that I have known that watches their oil will show the aftermarket air filters do not clean the air as well as the OEM filters do. I am not saying paper filters in general, but OEM filters. If you ever cut apart or just seen the materials that the OEM uses you know there is a difference between them and Fram. Performance air filters are a compromise between optimum air flow and filtration. Some do it better than others. If you google search there was a guy that paid on a D-max forum for a independent company to test filter flow vs. dirt removal and OEM style filters like AC Delco, Motorcraft, Mopar etc. by far out filtered all but had the most restriction.

There are a million opinions about which aftermarket air filters are better but if you just keep an eye on your filter appearance and make sure your intake clamps are secure, you should be OK with most. If you really want to know for sure, start pulling oil samples and check for trends. It also takes more that 1 sample to know whats going on in your engine.

 

The only way to verify filtering efficiency is by an oil sample report as stated above. Blackstone is the way to go. They personally review each sample and comment as to how your engine is doing...

I put 40k miles on my truck using AFE PG7 filters, and oil samples at 5k intervals came back at 5-6ppm usually. Pretty good in my book. As good as the OEM filter, even.

 

Good point. Never thought about the grease but I do check for dust behind the filter. I might give that trick a shot.

Not sure. There's a cost equation on that OEM filtration system. Increasing surface area will improve airflow without compromising filtration. Deeper pleats can achieve this. That said, I kept my OEM system just in case I run into a problem. I will say my aftermarket system seems to be of a much higher quality and tighter fit than the OEM I yanked was.

Fantastic advice. I check my clamps at every fillup and plan to sample my oil at every change (just got my truck in Feb.).

Great post.