At the risk of starting a "tastes great, less filling" argument, which of these two materials makes the better filter element?

A survey of prices I did resulted in the cotton ones in general being more expensive. The web site of a foam filter touted its superiority over paper and cotton and one selling cotton filters lauded their advantages over foam and paper elements. (From that, I'm at least able to gather that paper loses - or am I?!)

My gut feel is that foam would flow better and cotton would filter better, but I'd appreciate any thoughtful, knowledgeable opinions on the subject (with the preference toward the knowledgeable!).

 

I have been told that the foam filter will be more thorough (smaller particles) than an oiled (K&N type) element.

 

>>I have been told that the foam filter will be more thorough (smaller particles) than an oiled (K&N type) element.

I tend to agree with that, but I think that the durabilty and life span of the foam is much shorter

 

There is great debate about foam vs paper so you will get opinions supporting either side.
I would agree with the above statements.
In your car it wouldn't make that much difference I would think-maybe a little louder sound in a MCS with the foam- depends on how restrictive the air flow is to the filter. I guess another consideration is how do they each do over time and with repeated washings. How do they tolerate the stresses of the engine bay and the heat. I would think that since many racing teams have experience and endorse foam filters- that would indicate that performance is good and short term durability at least is satisfactory. I've always used paper/oil filters with good results-I clean them and re-oil once a year. The foam filter seems lighter in weight. :smile:

 

none of the above, actually! Running no filter provides the least restriction, but you do tend to get leaves and debris into your combustion chambers, a BIG no-no!

 

The impression I've got is that foam is the best. Strictly from Googling on the subject and reading comparisons people have written.

I recall the Neuspeed folks doing a good one (flow rates, and a test of filtration ability.) I say good because it was independent, and seemed least likely to be slanted.

K&N has the wildest variance of feedback. I've heard a number of people say both "it's the best" or "I'll never use one again because..."

Jeff

 

Choosy moms choose FOAM.

If the question is which is a better filter, the answer is paper, foam, cotton. Paper does the best job of filtering. The issue gets murky once you start to factor in new versus used, airflow, etc...

Foam requires a bit more maintainence then cotton, but in my opinion its a superior filter.


--
Cheese

 

I bought a foam filter for $25 and decided it was cheap enough to replace regularly, rather than risk re-oiling and re-using it too often.