So what's wrong with the Airhog filters? was: Airhog filters almost free after Fram's rebate

Other than a few derogatory comments abpout the price...

No one really told me why I should NOT buy an Airhog filter. Is there
a REAL reason????


At $11-16 for the standard filter for my 4.2L F150,
The $31.99 Airhog with $20 rebate costs me $11.99 (I'm assuming
shipping is similar


For my Taurus...$6 vs $38 = $12.

so why not??

==Don


Don Byrer
Commercial Pilot / CFI Student
Electronics Technician, RADAR/Data/Comm @ CLE
Amateur Radio KJ5KB

"I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..."
"I know what it sounds like....when doves cry" (Bird Strike 8/29/05)

Don Byrer wrote:
> Other than a few derogatory comments abpout the price...
>
> No one really told me why I should NOT buy an Airhog filter. Is there
> a REAL reason????
>
>
> At $11-16 for the standard filter for my 4.2L F150,
> The $31.99 Airhog with $20 rebate costs me $11.99 (I'm assuming
> shipping is similar
>
>
> For my Taurus...$6 vs $38 = $12.
>
> so why not??
>
> ==Don
>
>
> Don Byrer
> Commercial Pilot / CFI Student
> Electronics Technician, RADAR/Data/Comm @ CLE
> Amateur Radio KJ5KB
>
> "I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..."
> "I know what it sounds like....when doves cry" (Bird Strike 8/29/05)

Improved airflow comes at a price, generally reduced filtering ability.
The only way around that would be to increase the surface area of the
filtering media.

Plus, their commercials just rub me the wrong way.

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

Don Byrer wrote:
> Other than a few derogatory comments abpout the price...
>
> No one really told me why I should NOT buy an Airhog filter. Is there
> a REAL reason????
>
>
> At $11-16 for the standard filter for my 4.2L F150,
> The $31.99 Airhog with $20 rebate costs me $11.99 (I'm assuming
> shipping is similar
>
>
> For my Taurus...$6 vs $38 = $12.
>
> so why not??
>
> ==Don
>
>
> Don Byrer
> Commercial Pilot / CFI Student
> Electronics Technician, RADAR/Data/Comm @ CLE
> Amateur Radio KJ5KB
>
> "I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..."
> "I know what it sounds like....when doves cry" (Bird Strike 8/29/05)

Same reason as a K&N. They don't filter as well as the stock unit and
since they are also an oiled gauze item the oil can cause problems with
the MAF sensor.

--
Steve W.
Near Cooperstown, New York

In article >, Don Byrer wrote:
> Other than a few derogatory comments abpout the price...
>
> No one really told me why I should NOT buy an Airhog filter. Is there
> a REAL reason????

They are made by FRAM. all I need to know to avoid them.

The don't do a particularly good job of filtering air. Like K&N and
other high flow filters, the allegedly "higher" flow comes at the price
of a whole lot more grit passing through the filter.


Don Byrer wrote:

> Other than a few derogatory comments abpout the price...
>
> No one really told me why I should NOT buy an Airhog filter. Is there
> a REAL reason????
>
>
> At $11-16 for the standard filter for my 4.2L F150,
> The $31.99 Airhog with $20 rebate costs me $11.99 (I'm assuming
> shipping is similar
>
>
> For my Taurus...$6 vs $38 = $12.
>
> so why not??
>
> ==Don
>
>
> Don Byrer
> Commercial Pilot / CFI Student
> Electronics Technician, RADAR/Data/Comm @ CLE
> Amateur Radio KJ5KB
>
> "I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..."
> "I know what it sounds like....when doves cry" (Bird Strike 8/29/05)

Don Byrer wrote:
> Other than a few derogatory comments abpout the price...
>
> No one really told me why I should NOT buy an Airhog filter. Is there
> a REAL reason????
========================
I saved this old posting because I thought it answered this recurring
question well:
-----------
From: Matthew E. O'Toole )
Subject: K&N air filter?
View this article onlyNewsgroups: rec.autos.tech
Date: 1995/05/02

In > (GHAMMA01)
writes:
>
>I have had great luck with K&N filters. The number one main reason I like
>them is that they last forever (more or less) without cleaning (at least
>not very often). This is especially nice on fuel injected cars where the
>air filter is often buried under mass air sensors, etc. Instead of
>changing your filter every six months leave the K&N in for 50,000 miles.
>It actually works better dirty. As a bonus to the above, you may notice a
>performance increase. It seems to depend on the car. It made a
>noticeable difference on my 5.0 Mustang, and no apparent difference on my
>Firebird Formula 350. They normally cost about 2-4 times as much as an
>OEM filter.

I've used K&N filters over the years too, and while the results you
cite are not contrary to my experience, I am concerned about
recommending these for everyday use in a passenger vehicle. I have
done oil analysis on every car on which I've used a K&N. On all 6
cars, this showed many times the amount of silica particles (airborne
dust) in the oil than when a paper filter was used. This means that
the K&N does not do as good of a job filtering the air, allowing more
dirt into your engine. You may very well experience increased engine
wear due to this, as your oil filter will not catch it all.

Notice that K&N does not advertise their product as offering "better
filtration", only as offfering "better flow". The K&N is a good
product for it's intended use, which was not originally long term use
in a passenger vehicle.

Matt O.

Don Byrer wrote:
> Other than a few derogatory comments abpout the price...
>
> No one really told me why I should NOT buy an Airhog filter. Is there
> a REAL reason????

Turning your question upside down is there a reason you should buy a
filter from an unknown company that calls itself Airhog when you could
buy a perfecty good filter designed for your car from the dealer or
from a reputable parts house.

The difference in price is trivial, however the difference in quality
is likely significant. Unless you have tests performed by a nationally
recognized independent laboratory that show the Airhog filter performs
at least as well as the one from the manufacturer I would stay away
from an unknown.


>
>
> At $11-16 for the standard filter for my 4.2L F150,
> The $31.99 Airhog with $20 rebate costs me $11.99 (I'm assuming
> shipping is similar
>
>
> For my Taurus...$6 vs $38 = $12.
>
> so why not??
>
> ==Don
>
>
> Don Byrer
> Commercial Pilot / CFI Student
> Electronics Technician, RADAR/Data/Comm @ CLE
> Amateur Radio KJ5KB
>
> "I have slipped the surly bonds of earth; now if I can just land without bending the gear..."
> "I know what it sounds like....when doves cry" (Bird Strike 8/29/05)

John S. wrote:
> Don Byrer wrote:
> > Other than a few derogatory comments abpout the price...
> >
> > No one really told me why I should NOT buy an Airhog filter. Is there
> > a REAL reason????
>
> Turning your question upside down is there a reason you should buy a
> filter from an unknown company that calls itself Airhog when you could
> buy a perfecty good filter designed for your car from the dealer or
> from a reputable parts house.
>
> The difference in price is trivial, however the difference in quality
> is likely significant. Unless you have tests performed by a nationally
> recognized independent laboratory that show the Airhog filter performs
> at least as well as the one from the manufacturer I would stay away
> from an unknown.

Well, it's branded as a Fram filter, which is a well known brand, but
they're well known for not-so-high-quality oil filters, so that's not
necessarily a plus in my book.

nate

N8N wrote:
> John S. wrote:
> > Don Byrer wrote:
> > > Other than a few derogatory comments abpout the price...
> > >
> > > No one really told me why I should NOT buy an Airhog filter. Is there
> > > a REAL reason????
> >
> > Turning your question upside down is there a reason you should buy a
> > filter from an unknown company that calls itself Airhog when you could
> > buy a perfecty good filter designed for your car from the dealer or
> > from a reputable parts house.
> >
> > The difference in price is trivial, however the difference in quality
> > is likely significant. Unless you have tests performed by a nationally
> > recognized independent laboratory that show the Airhog filter performs
> > at least as well as the one from the manufacturer I would stay away
> > from an unknown.
>
> Well, it's branded as a Fram filter, which is a well known brand, but
> they're well known for not-so-high-quality oil filters, so that's not
> necessarily a plus in my book.

I was referring to quality filters including those from the car
manufacturer.


>
> nate

John S. wrote:

>
> I was referring to quality filters including those from the car
> manufacturer.


<eyeroll> here we go again.... still believe that car manufacturers also
build air and oil filters, do you?

For filters, the best brand names to buy on are Wix or Purolator.
Filters from a dealer and labelled with a car-maker's parts division
are truly of unknown origin in many cases. You can assume that they meet
the minimum specifications for the part, but that's all. QC/QA can be
all over the map.