Poll: Knowing it might void your engine warranty, would you run an aftermarket air filter?

A professor from years back referred to piston ported 2-strokes as "reciprocating blow-torches"...

 

Anecdotal evidence from a single instance is not proof...

 

Nor is lack of evidence...

 

Can't vote. Choices are too limited.
I would have voted "factory filter" is superior to all after market units.

 

You saved more money than knock off filter and K&N filter buyers combined! Wait- wonder about your gas mileage? Poor mouse.

 

The risk is not worth the gain, Today's engines are not like the engines in the 70's and 80's These engines are not very forgiving and are full of sensors and computers even the resistance in coil packs can cause havoc. Paper filters are cheap warranty insurance.

 

Didn't the guy suck water through the intake? Whats this have to do with any fault of a aftermarket intake? Ill buy one when it comes with a water separator

 

Agreed. My Nissan's engine draws air from the fender just like a Tacoma. My filter takes forever to get dirty, even with thousands of kilometers offroad in dry dusty conditions. A good Bosch filter for it is $5.50 on Rockauto, why risk it.

 

The most air an n/a 3.5 L engine can possibly suck in, at 6000 rpm and 0.95 VE (probably too high a number), is around 350 cfm.

3.5 L * 0.0353 ft³/L * 0.5 ('cause it's a 4-stroke) * 6000 rpm * 0.95 VE = 352.12 cfm

This is about the same as an average run-of-the mill 5-gallon shop vac with a new filter--i.e. not a whole lot. If anything the stock intake is overkill...

 

I have a comped platinum warranty as a result of some issues I had with my truck. I put on a TRD performance intake and exhaust to keep it Toyota, and keep my warranty valid. I know some believe adding a performance intake and exhaust is snake oil, but my butt dyno tells me I get more pick up when starting off the line. I know others have felt the same about this combination.
Just my opinion but I try to stick with Toyota products with anything related to engine and drivetrain.
The consumer protection act also known as the Magnuson Moss act is specific that the dealership has the burden of proof that the aftermarket item is directly related to the cause of the breakdown.
If Toyota refuses to fix and you take them to court and prevail Toyota has to pay all your legal fees and fix the issue plus a significant fine for violating the act. I really have never heard of a case where the manufactures didn’t pay up unless it was obvious you did something or put something on that caused the failure. The law was created to fix problems as a result of manufacturers using disclaimers on warranties in an unfair or misleading manner. It also was created to prevent automotive manufacturers from having a monopoly on repairs. This law doesn’t just apply to car manufacturers. AFE can say all day they are not going to pay, but if it’s proven their product directly caused the failure as a result of manufacturing or design error, the judge will order them to pay appropriate compensation. I understand we all can’t afford to have an attorney in our pocket.

 

How does that equation work with 10 pounds of boost I'm curious what the difference would be

 

At 10 psi boost the cfm intake for a 3.5 L engine at 6000 rpm would be approximately 45% higher--510 cfm or so--about the same as an n/a 4.6 L engine at 6500 rpm (something I am intimately familiar with):

 

Excellent to know, my motor is a 3.4 so pretty close then to that number, 45 percent more air! that's actually ALOT more than I thought, thanks

 

Mine was parked in a garage. Mouse still found the air filter. Smart mouse...

 

I would not, in the least bit, ever consider an aftermarket filter as justifiable if it put the warranty at risk. I've also never seen a drop in filter replacement be considered as warranty concern, so if I found a replacement filter I liked, I wouldn't hesitate.

However, a replacement intake in part or whole, no way is justifiable on this truck. It would do absolutely nothing.

 

And....Toyota's statement of limitations:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/toyota.sit...18_owners_supplement_en.pdf?ck=12302017040931

This warranty does not cover damage or failures resulting directly or
indirectly from any of the following:

• Modification, alteration or tampering, disconnection, including
installation of non-Toyota Accessories.

• Installation of non-Toyota Parts

Too bad for Toyota that their statement of limitations violates the Magnuson-Moss act of 1975.

 

Wonder how many of you have removed your secondary riveted in non replaceable hydrocarbon filter under your stock filter? Wonder what warranty issues that will cause? Biting my tongue here....... restraint needed........
You really need to read the Magnuson-Moss act of 1975 & then run whatever filter you desire.

 

Well a lot of people (me included) were intrigued by a dry filter because of the ease of cleaning, not because of any HP gain.

The VE can be higher than 1 on an N/A engine, it just is indicative of some fancy VVT and a bit of fluid dynamic sorcery going on- extra air that's got some momentum to it coming in after BDC and before the valve shuts. Apparently both the Tacoma's engines, the 2.7 4 banger and the 3.5 V6 can hit pretty impressive VE numbers (1.05+), with the 2.7 edging out the 3.5 in terms of VE sorcery.

Anyways yes, in terms of pure theoretical potential intakes are generally quite oversized, to the point that I think both engines could support airflows north of 8,000 RPM with a paper filter.

Oh, and I went out for groceries today with my paper filter in. Couldn't tell a difference in noise or power. Butt dyno must be broken.
I almost want to see about actually dynoing my pokey little 4banger just for some scientific testing.

 

Toyota wipes their ass with the Magnuson-Moss Act.

 

I think the issue is if a defective aftermarket filter is proven to be the source of the engine damage. Not that that is altogether likely to occur, but was proven possible by some of the accusations we read about recently.

So......running an aftermarket air filter does not automatically void your overall warranty, as per “mag-Moss”, however if Toyota could prove your aftermarket filter was defective, and stuffed your engine, at that point it is between you and the filter maker, not Toyota.

In the case of aFe, you’ll get a new filter, that’s it. K&N will help if you can prove you have not gone off road, and Fram will support you in your court case against Toyota.

All sounds like a big hassle to me.