BMC :)
Have run K&N on everything I've had from family cars to race to bikes, carb to fuel injection with and without MAF. Checked Amazon, found "like new" K&N for $25 Took a chance, ordered them. Box was slightly damaged, filters were still in plastic wrap, sealed in the box! Best $25 I have ever spent on this F car!!
K and N and BMC are fine. Racers and daily drivers have been using them for years. Just don't over oil and forget about it.
I use K&N too and love the sound. That's the main reason I use them. There is one easy step you can do to prevent over oiling during the drying process. When you put them down to dry, place them on a couple layers of newspaper or paper towels and BLOT them. This has worked great for me for years and puts chemistry and fluid mechanic to work for you. The capillary action of all those fibers working together now will help wick off any extra oil while leaving plenty in the filter to do it's job. You can see the results of your care when you pick them up to install them. All those little circles of oil spots is proof of the excess oil prevented from entering your intake tract. Honestly, ingestion of oil from the disareator and the PCV system is more a problem but that's after your MAF. The sound is worth it
MAFS in these cars are sensitive to oil contamination, so even with proper oiling, I would not use anything but paper filters. The paper filters are not the bottleneck, AFAIK, so there's little if anything gained by using an alternative. Conversely, minute contamination will slowly erode performance without throwing any codes.
I use factory paper filters. No worries for oil, etc. Put them in and go. Easy and no overthinking it.
I put K & N's in my 430 a year ago. Couldn't really notice them being oily. Cleaning and re-oiling is in something like every 50k miles. I will probably let someone else do that, or I might just buy new ones if I can do that many miles. They have been great.
now $140 shipped, $250 new https://www.exoticcargear.com/product/ferrari-f430-green-dragon-high-performance-air-filter/
Green Dragon loses me because their ad is based on a "light test". "Note the difference in the amount of light that passes through each filter. The Green Dragon Filter clearly provides much more, indicating its superior air flow. Green Dragon Filters provide better air flow without sacrificing any filtration quality" Using their own logic a really good air filter should be manufactured out of plate glass as it will pass more light than their wonder product. Visible Light = air flow? No.
Because of this thread, I ordered a pair of new BMCs. 175 usd shipping included. Always used oem paper. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Here is a better idea on flow with our filter element, without the flashlight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXkif2ageW8 Yes our filter is a serviceable filter, our cleaner and filter treatment is silicone base not oil based. Correct most MAF sensor issues are from excess oiling of the filter. More info here: Green Dragon Filters David
That demonstration doesn't really mean anything. A minuscule difference in depression would change where that ball is floating. Before/after dyno results with pressure readings between the airbox and throttle body would be information that matters.
Performance air filters are always a hotly debated topic and I thought I'd give our input. We have been in the performance intake business for 15 years and have close technical relationships with most of the major filter manufacturers including K&N and BMC. We have been to the factories, been involved with the testing, and have created and sold tens of thousands of intake systems for several car brands over the years. With this experience we are well versed in the advantages and disadvantages of the various filter media out there. We should begin on the basic premise that with all things in life nothing comes for free. For this reason on a purely empirical basis a brand new OEM style filter lets the least amount of particulate matter to pass through. If you want the absolute highest filtration then the OEM filter is your choice. That said the extra bit of filtration an OEM filter gives comes at a disproportionately high level of restriction and the gap widens as the filters age. In other words the cleanable filter stays closer to its brand new performance over its life better than the OEM filter that gets more restrictive and looses filtration capability at a higher rate. Having studied the different filtration efficiencies and the effects of this on the long term wear rate of an engine, it is abundantly clear that fears of increased engine wear due to the use of quality aftermarket filters are based totally on fantasy and unfounded. It is even more ludicrous when you think of the mileage a Ferrari gets. Our tests look at 300K+ which is more that a dozen Ferraris often see in their lifetime. With all the data at our disposal, and being familiar with the details of the varied filter manufacturers we endorse and sell BMC filters for Ferrari. The quality of the BMC product is outstanding and they are sold in many Ferrari dealerships as a performance alternative to stock. The increased airflow offered by the BMC filters do increase performance and engine note under hard acceleration, while the filtration rates are well inside a zone that would not cause any long term accelerated engine wear.
If you are just going to replace a re-usable filter then based on the price OEM paper is a better deal. At less than 50% of the cost of BMC, paper could be replaced twice as often to mitigate any flow degradation while still costing less. Even vs K&N paper is 2/3rds the cost.
Intuitively this seems reasonable. The size of the filter feeding our 1.8L engine (4 cyl, 360 single bank) is about the same as found on >5L (8cyl) engines. Even considering rev differences the volumetric rate requirements are greater on the bigger engine (assuming other variables are constant).
Check out my Green Dragon air filters. Synthetic not petroleum based look at video under Green dragon air filter. BEST ON THE MARKET !! Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
And the company that makes these for us also makes them for major racing teams all over the world Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
mine in Ferrari ads http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/ferrari-parts-collectibles/551537-green-dragon-set-f430-air-filters.html
