Hey guys,
I was talking to a mechanic friend of mine the other day and he was telling me that any oil based air filters such as K&N and Volant aren't good for the ls1 motors because the oil screws up the maf sensor. He was saying that the best air filter for these motors is the stock one. Has anyone experienced this?


Adam

 

If you don't know how to oil a filter you should not be modding these cars anyways

The oil is bad though...so thats about right....

 

GM relesed a TSB warning against using them for what your mechanic friend said. I have seen oil analysis of cars with these cotton based filters and they had higher rates of silicon in the engine oil. This means grit is getting into the combustion chamber past the air filter. The gains if any are not worth it IMO. You can get LS1 fram air filters at wal-mart for $7.99, so if you change it every year it would take several years to equal the price of those reusable filters and it's a lot less wear and potential MAF problems. Plus you don't have to clean it. In other words listen to your mechanic.

 

a lot of guys on the board claim to see no HP gains with oiled vs. paper filters.

i run a k&n filter. have not had any problems with oil getting on the MAF wires. just gotta make sure you don't over-oil the filter.

i keep mine because i bought it back when i didn't know too much about these cars. it's just easy for me to clean/re-oil and put back in.

if i was starting from stock, i probably wouldn't use an oiled filter. i'd just stick with the paper filter.

 

paper is best..

I dont understand how its easier to keep an K&N filter.
From what I remember when I had to oil them for my other cars:

Remove filter
Add Cleaning solution
Use WATER to rinse clean
LET AIR DRY for what seems an eternity
Add the Oil evenly
Reinstall filter


paper filters are tons easier..

Remove
Replace

You can be on the road about 30min sooner at least!


not to mention that on the dyno repeatedly I would lose 3rwhp with an aftermarket filter as compared to a stock paper filter.

 

so i'm thinking of adding a cai... anybody rigged up a paper filter with one of these? the oil messed with the maf in my ford , so i'm not putting it in my chevy

 

i used to have one on my stang, no problems.....and i haven't seen any problems with it on my Lt1

 

If you have the stock airbox, stick with a paper filter. They flow almost as well as K&N and filter better. For proof look at http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

 

I found some really good stuff that works and is not a oil. go to a motrcycle dealer and ask for pj1 foam filter spray its like 6 bucks. When you spray you filter you let it set for 10 min then what you spary turns in to a really sticky film then dries stick and there is no oil to suck in the maf. Best of all when you go to clean it all you need is soap and water. It also seemed to trap dirt alot better the the crappy oil.

 

I seen a display at a motorcycle shop for K & N Filters same material as a cars and it was a night and day difference, the K & N flowed alot more.

 

Actually for foam filters, I would use No-Toil Oil and Cleaner. I use this on my CR250 and what is really nice is using the kitchen sink to clean my Filter and then use a plastic bag to oil my filter. Plus the best part is the oil dries to be extremely Sticky and the cleaner is Bio Degradable.

Charlie