Air filter - turf the washable and go paper?

Me again. Didn't want to make 1 big monster post so thought I'd do few small ones. Doing more preliminary maintenance on my newly acquired 99 and pulled the airbox/filter last night and inspected the drive belt. Noticed a bit of wear on the inside rib of the belt (and a super small pebble wedged in the water pump pulley as the culprit which I pulled) so I'm getting a new one of those. However, when I pulled the filter it was fairly dirty, not awful, but I noticed it's a washable filter sort of like a K&N. I'm not a huge fan of them in general. Worthwhile to keep or should I just buy a $20 Mann? e: I vacuumed/blew filter out

Looks like a BMC. They seem to work pretty well. I'm not sure I'd pay $100 for one but I got one with a vehicle purchase also. I used my K&N cleaning kit to clean and oil it.

you should spray them with 409 or simple green and wash them out with a hose, hi pressure water, then let them dry in the sun for a day or so till they are dry. then spray them lightly with pam they are alot better and more expensive than stock

Thanks for the replies. I'll do that - I have my old K&N kit from my bike kicking around. I'll probably buy a paper as a back up but I'll clean it and reinstall.

Go easy on the re-oil or you will be chasing maf problems.

Go with paper and throw away the oil bath filters. The oil gets sucked into the induction system and traps dirt there. It takes five seconds to swap out a paper filter. Are you going to give up driving your car so the oil based filter can dry out for a full day after you clean it?

^ You do realize that oil from PCV or AOS is introduced constantly in most vehicle intakes, and the fraction of an ounce you might introduce from an oiled air filter is insignificant compared to the amount of vaporized oil that comes in by way of the crankcase breather? The only appreciable issue on the 996 is the potential of oiling the MAF... Why are you so damn negative and condescending about stuff you don't find worthy? OP, some of the newer reusable filters are oil-less, so it might be worth Googling the part number if there is one to see if it's actually necessary to oil after washing it. The oilless versions (and even the paper ones, if you're cheap) can be cleaned up with a blowgun attachment on your air compressor if you have one... *edit* Saw your edit that you already blew it out. Doh!

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Add one more moron to the list..this site is great for spotting morons

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High pressure water (and high pressure air for that matter) is NOT recommended - can damage the fiber pleats material.

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AOS hose connects quite a ways downstream from the MAF. I've had 3 AOS failures with my Boxster and the MAF was unaffected after every one. Oiling of the MAF from the AOS is not a problem. I'm not a fan of the filters that have to be cleaned. One has to keep on hand cleaning fluid and then let the filter drain and re-oil it and blah blah blah. I wonder how the cleaning affects the gaps between the filter fibers over time? Does it tend to open up small holes which lets bigger particles of dirt through? My preference is to stay with the stock paper filter and change it at appropriate intervals. The old filter element is removed and the new one installed and the car is ready to go in minutes while with other style one is still searching for where he put the can of cleaning solvent...

Fact oiled filters hands down pull more particulate out of the air, oiled filters are use exclusively in off road and desert racing. There are a couple of buggy guys that use dry paper, but y will not find a dirt bike on the planet that doesn't use an oiled filter Fact your street car will never see the amount of dust/dirt, those guys do. Fact a properly oiled filter does not send oil down your intake track contaminating any type of electronic do dad you have down stream. Fact paper filters are way easier and do a fine job filter the air your street car breaths. I like to run paper filters, only because they are easy. Cleaning and oiling is easy too, but if I don't have to, I don't want to.

I've oiled a MAF or 2 in my lifetime due to K&N etc. Mann or oem paper filter as original for me, thanks.

you drive a m3 and you call me a moron? m3 check your mail box, I left you a BM

I had a BMC but removed it. Looked around a fair bit and from what I read paper was the way to go. Its the cheapest and best option. The BMC did create a good induction noise though

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While that is true, you will also fine almost none that use oiled gauze like a K&N. Dirtbikes use a (usually dual density) foam filter that is oiled, with a very different type of oil from a gauze filter. Really not comparable. BTW I would never even consider a guaze filter in a dirtbike, but unless you plan to desert rally your car, gauze may be fine.

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Maybe I'm a moron, but I've always cleaned paper filters by dropping them on the ground a few times from about 4 feet. I'll change it out eventually, though. Decided to take a look this afternoon, and got a decent pile 'o crud. Part number is provided below. Also used the opportunity to do a little dusting in there and also get my red Fabspeed hose all spiffed up (it always looks orange in pix, no matter what camera I use). After all, it does add something like 57 hp. Schnelly should love my carbon-fiber-look air box cap. Shaves something like 82 pounds from the car.

FACT M3 probably thinks Mike's technique is a bad idea. FACT people who preface all of their points with FACT are douchenozzles. FACT I just proved point #2. FACT 100% of Tiptronic 996's that have experienced catastrophic engine failure while on a San Diego Region back-country tour were equipped with filters cleaned using the technique illustrated in comment #16. DON'T BE A STATISTIC! BUY A NICE K&N FILTER! WHY TF WOULD YOU WANT TO REUSE A STOCK FILTER WHEN YOU COULD INSTEAD PAY $100 FOR A FRIGGIN' AIR FILTER? Porsches are rich-people cars. Don't be a cheapass! Buy a K&N FILTER! ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! FACT The sticker that comes with your new K&N filter adds 200 WHP, makes all other bros completely jealous of your car, and is FACTUALLY PROVEN to make bras and panties fall off. Faux carbon fiber self-adhesive vinyl enhances this side effect! Panties have NO CHANCE in the presence of DiNoc. FACT Pedro will soon be posting a video presentation for the new TechnoFilt(TM). Using scientifically proven techniques and precision equipment such as a shop vac, a bowling pin, and a slightly obese house cat, Pedro will prove that the TechnoFilt (TM) is the most bestest filter, and when added to the rest of the TechnoStuff(TM), your 996 will make at least 50 more TechnoHP(TM)! It's TechnoRIFIC! (TM) FACT MB will soon be releasing a European-sourced horsehair filter under the ForscheFILT(TM) marque. STAY TUNED FOR MORE FILTER(TM) DEVELOPMENTS! FACT! FAAAAAACT! FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACT!!!!!!!!!

It's possible that I have had more than enough caffeine today.

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Fixed it for me. Dude! You are spot on! I spotted another one just as I noticed your post! FACT! Right. That's why I pointed out that the MAF would be the only component that might be affected by introducing an oiled filter...the intake further downstream is already being lubricated with crankcase oil vapor. All this talk about what a pain it is and how much driving time is lost due to filter maintenance is ridiculous. K&N recommends servicing their filters every 50K miles, not every 2 weeks. I use a paper filter because I can buy 5 paper filters @ $17 for the cost of one K&N filter for the 996's airbox ($85) - plus one more paper filter for the cost of the K&N recharge kit. This is more filters than I ever anticipate needing. A K&N makes sense for people putting a crap ton of miles on a vehicle and for a variety of special applications. Tools who are incapable of reading instructions WILL over-oil a filter. These folks should avoid oiled filters since a new MAF would need to be factored into the equation every 50K miles. These are generally the same people who would have to read the instructions on a condom wrapper...but will never really need to.

rule of thumb is K&N are oilest, BMC are less oily, Green are no oil. Ive had K&N and BMC in every car since the mid 80s and never any problem. and reoil with pam which is vegetable oil

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You forgot to say fact lol

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+996 It's all in operator error IMO. Some just don't know how to clean and reoil a filter properly. Many go overboard thinking that it will provide more protection. Some wrap it in a paper towel afterwards to soak up any residual or excess to be on the safe side. For those that can't follow instructions or can't reoil a filter properly, I recommend sticking with a car with a MAP system instead of a MAF system. FACT: M3driver is telling me I'm the biggest ***** so there. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...l#post12705933

You guys are such pansies! Do like the race car drivers and forget all that crap about air filters. Everybody knows it is just a racket to make you buy maintenance stuff for your car. Want to add some HP like the race car drivers - here:

^^^^ Why did you bolt a clarinet bell to your car? Why are there four bolts, and only two bolt holes?

I had an unusual failure of my BMC air filter. I had serviced the filter once using their cleaning kit. It was kind of a messy job, but went OK. This weekend I was replacing my fan belt when I noticed part of a leaf caught in the coarse wire filter leading to the throttle body. What was going on? I disassembled the air box and found the BMC filter's edge sealing gasket was disintegrating. Now, it get's really hot here in Texas, true, but the red plastic sealing gasket had literally begun to melt in certain places. My fingers got all covered with a red, sticky, goo. When the sealing gasket let go, the fan-fold filter contracted like a spring leaving a one inch gap on one side with no filter at all. That's how the piece of leaf got in. I just ordered a couple OEM paper filters. I think I'll give these "permanent" filters a pass.

Did you post an image of that awhile back? I recall someone posting an image of a BMC filter in an airbox where the red rubber had come off.

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This is one of the best posts I have read in a while

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That's hysterical. I assumed it was a typo the first time I read it.

M3 drivers are the biggest ****** in case anyone didn't know, especially ones with blue cars according to m3drivet himself. I sold one of my m3's and down to one so I must be less of a ***** these days.