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

You had to be there.

 

are you kidding me?
was he using a stock toyota filter?

 

No. He was using an aFe aftermarket filter that Toyota claimed failed and allowed dirt into his engine. Full details, and the full truth are not known, and the thread discussing it was deleted by mods after people got worked up over it.

I thought the situation was interesting, and had some good info, so I (somewhat regretfully now) created this poll to see what people thought of the warranty implications to new engines, based on the info I included on page one of this thread.

 

Yeah, just not worth it. I was hoping for a little mpg increase but I think today's vehicles are tuned to get the best MPG they can from the factory to the point that a simple filter just won't do anything.

 

This. Seriously folks.

 

That’s exactly what happened too. Toyota can blame the filter because it’s not what Toyota designed for the engine.

 

I get that. But they gave him the second engine....apparently with little trouble. But a 3rd engine and a trashed engine bay? Don't you think they were looking for a reason to send this guy packing? Enter the aftermarket filter.

 

Like "Enter Sandman"?

 

Point I'm trying to make is that they were going to deny this guy his 3rd engine no matter what. The filter was the easiest way out. Had he had an OEM filter in there....they would have found another reason.

 

I see you can't break away from this thread?

I try to get out, but they keep pulling me back in!
lmfao

 

Yeah. But I'm out for good this time. Too many tinfoil hats for me to deal with

 

This guy had the worst luck in the world or he was doing some crazy shit to that engine.

 

Judging by the pix of the engine bay, his Taco sitting on a rock in what looked like the middle of a pond or lake and I think a video of him riding on top of the topper of his truck while it was moving.....I'd go with the latter

 

I think every border of every page in this thread should have all the pic's & video's of numb nuts so everybody will really understand.

 

I would love to see those pics.

 

Although I have, I would NEVER run an oiled filter on an MAF sensored car*. I love entrepreneurial ventures but the amount of work that goes into testing and retesting prior to launch and then the 100's of thousands of vehicle applications where the OE has to deal with complaints and reliability issues can not realistically be replicated by companies like K&N and AFe. I love the people at those companies and I have lead a similar company (actually we were at one time under discussions to buy K&N). Companies that sell aftermarket parts may be tasked to make parts for OEs but they will never have access to all the data and all the proprietary 'secrets.' The company that I was responsible for provided oil and trans coolers to Ford, Chrysler, Caterpillar, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Mack, Volvo, John Deere, and many more. It was great to be associated with the big boys but having been a test tech/test driver for GM, our efforts, liability and data were not the same as what the OEMs get to see.

And remember this, most of these add-ons are more about look and sound (kinda like baseball cards placed in spokes).

Also remember that the warranty issue is really less of a concern... as long as you don't complain about CEL codes that relate to the intake... things like lean codes, MAF sensor codes, - all things that can be triggered by using intake plumbing that has not been proven by the OE.

One last thing, it's not just the idea of an oiled filter that enters the equation. The physical geometry of the system can and will influence the turbulence or lack of turbulence at the MAF sensor, and unless there is zero change in the cross-sectional geometry (like a straight tube), there will be changes in pressure and turbulence that can create erroneous MAF data being sent to the ECU.

All that being said, do what you will.

* I have used oiled filters on MAF sensored motors and have lived to regret it! ​

 

And forget the Dyno numbers. Use numerous ET's if you want to see if you REALLY gained HP. HP on a chart is somewhat meaningless in the real world. ...oh yeah, use earplugs and ear muffs when testing so that you don't interpret noise as HP gain.

 

The idea behind an aftermarket intake is that more air creates more power. Wonderful and true, BUT, if your mass air flow sensor isn't calling for more air, then it doesn't do anything for you. The only time an aftermarket intake actually provides the engine with the air that is restricted by a stock unit is at wide open throttle. I don't personally see the value in that. Also remember that not all aftermarket systems are created equal, some don't provide an ounce of improvement.

 

And if that was all that an aftermarket set up would do then there would never be an issue.