DIY: Secondary Air Filter Removal

I've always disliked the manual trans drive by wire lag characteristic and this thing certainly wasn't helping matters. Now that I've seen how it's made, out it comes and plenty happy it's gone.

Apologies if there are pics of the charcoal filter previously in this post... but have ya seen this restrictive device in person? (V6 model) Sorry for the cellphone quality pics, but you'll get the idea.



Let's cut it apart and have a peek. Looking inward at one side showing cylinder shaped charcoal held by a layer of nylon looking webbing. The charcoal was displaced during removal but otherwise was equally and uniformly suspended by the webbing. There is a second later of this same construction on the other half of the filter! A mirror image of this same restrictive crap on the flip side. Hava looky see -



That ain't all either... have a peek at the outer most material, appears to be similar to fire retardant fiberglass cloth... yep that'll flow well. NOT -



Keep in mind that's just one side. It's built in two sections, with two layers of webbing, two layers of charcoal and two layers of fiberglass like cloth. That's unreal. Pretty much like driving with a pre-clogged main filter. I can see why people commented on improved throttle response.

Hell, you can't see the grass in my yard below this thing, let alone barely any light through it. I'll agree your butt dyno might not register any HP gains, but it sure ain't doing your engine any good performance wise built like. No, it sure ain't.

 

I just did this yesterday after reading up on it a bit. Made no difference AT ALL even after driving 100 miles, noticed absolutely nothing different. In fact, I wish I hadn't taken it out because it broke coming out. If you think it did make a difference, it is mostly just in your head...just sayin'

 

took mine out really couldnt tell much of of a power difference on my little four banger but it did get me a lil bit of my gas mileage back from the mud grips

 

cant argue with the numbers

 

Just finished pulling this "filter" out. Just stuck a small flathead in there and pried it out and made sure to wipe any debris out before closing it up. We'll see what happens w/ my MPG. Woump!!

 

According to the other 2 qouted posts you can and this argument has been going on since 2005. Nothing new and everyone has their own opinion about it. Personal preference. Do it or don't. It matters not one way or the other. It freshens the air going into the TB while the engine is running and it freshens the fumes that might come out when the truck is not running. It's what charcoal does.

My take is if you live in and/or drive in mostly wet climate then it's a secondary moisture removal tool for the air entering the TB. If you live/drive in mostly dry climate then it's totally useless placebo decoration. May help 4 cyl microscopically on flow, probably doesn't do shit for the 6. What does it do in stock air box that they didn't see fit to put it in TRD intakes? It is unimportant. Do with it what you will.

 

so im guessing everyone is recommending a afe over a k&n i just got a k&n drop in cause it was right there in stead of ordering the afe of line, im a little impatient

 

Just don't over oil your K&N or you'll kill your MAF.

And out of curiosity, send used oil samples to Blackstone. Guarantee your silicon levels will jump by a large margin with the K&N. I run one on my bike because it's a semi-open element and I don't like the idea of rain water soaking a paper filter and my silicon levels are double what they are with paper.

That's not a good thing. Scores cylinder walls and increases ring wear.

 

i do no the dangers of over oiling the suckers, i also run a k&n open air filter with my ltr 450 and iv made the mistake of over oiling it and found that the intake house was covered in oil and dirt, so from then on out i kept it quite low on the oil side.

 

I'm not saying it was or wasn't the removal of the charcoal filter, but I filled my tank the same day I removed it and just filled up lastnight. That tank got me the best MPG I have had since I've been keeping track in January. Pretty much the same drives as previous tanks, just back and forth to work.

 

Same here. I removed mine a little over a week ago and on the first tank saw a jump from 17.6 mpg to 19.27. My last tank I averaged over 20 mpg. Some folks may see no change, and that's fine. Maybe it does nothing for performance, that's fine too. But you can't tell me that removing this thing doesn't help your engine breathe better. And, in MY case, it seems as though it helped my mpg. That's a fact that MY calculator had determined. It may not be the same for everyone.

 

I just did this over the weekend. Some butt dunno gains have been perceived, but the real benefit seems to be fuel mileage. I have a scan gauge and it's reading between 26-30 mpg. That, of course, is trip by trip and not over a whole tank, but it's been pretty accurate up to this point. I'll check back in after the next tank.

 

And winter gas is out, temperatures are up, my mpg is up 4 mpg from 26 to 30 without changing anything, secondary filter still intact.

 

I know that too but I've gotten 21 mpg consistently summer and winter, pretty much without fail.

 

I jus did this mod and don't see anything in the horsepower or fuel difference, but I can see a difference in throttle response just a bit. Since its a free mod, I thought what the heck, might as well, and I can always put it back if I want.

 

My last two tanks have been 23.4 and 23.7, up over 2mpg. Power was dismal at best.

 

Took mine out this evening. 9/64 drill bit seems a bit small, but WTF, the concept still works.
I have to do some towing tomorrow, but I will fill up afterward and get serious about fuel economy tracking.

 

Use Fuelly. Haven't found anything better for tracking....

 

Worse yet, CARB has been notified and police have been dispatched, put that thing back in.

 

I just ordered an afe cold air intake two stage with the dry filter. That replaces the whole assembly right so this mod wont even matter when i install the cai right? just trying to clarify this. IM only now starting to mod my 07 reg cab tacoma after i bought it in the beginning of 08. CUZ ITS PAYED OFF!