AEM DryFlow filter review.

[Zinc03svt]

Well the AEM dry flow did not work out on my 18. Started having idle/stall issues soon after installing this filter. Chased my ass thinking it was tune/fuel etc.

It would not seal properly with the two flip licks. You could jiggle the top box locked down. The stock paper locks down tight with zero movement.

$35 shipped for 1000 mile used AEM dry flow for 15-19 Mustangs.

Sponsored

 

[TheLion70x77]

There are other ways to get both flow and filtration efficiency. Most people don't realize that the dust capacity of these re-usable filters is 1/2 to 1/3 as much as a paper filter. So if you only clean your air filter ever 30k miles, it will out flow the paper equivalent (pane to panel, or conical to conical) for the first 10k then become FAR more restrictive the last 20k. Don't assume they just flow the same throughout the usage interval because they DO NOT.

Also the reusable filters all have shown DECREASED dust capacity after subsequent re-uses. The worst being the dry filters, which clogged even sooner. Also the dry filters offered no flow advantages over their paper counter parts. Their selling point is you re-usability. If you want better flow without increasing the surface area of the filter, you need to go to oiled cotton. Problem is oiled cotton allows 3x to 4x the dust contamination of dry or paper. So I still remain steadfast to my statement that oiled cotton is best used for off-road applications.

If you go to the track, change out the filter. It's not hard...then swap it back. Same thing with oil. Change your oil to a higher viscosity for track day, then change it back after. There IS a way to get both better flow AND retain high filtration. BIGGER. The good old fashioned "bigger is better" apply s here. That is why the GT350 air box uses a Paper Conical Filter. It will out flow any of the panel filter equivalents while retaining the high filtration efficiency of cellulose filter media used in OE filters.

The GT350 air box is unique among all the CAI's and that's it's greatest attribute, it uses a conical paper filter and for a good reason. You get substantially better flow, higher dust capacity and retain high filtration efficiency. For track you could swap it out with an oiled cotton filter of the same size for even better flow, but I doubt you'll see and noticeable gains because it already flows more than the regular 5.0 can.

Piston ring wear is DIRECTLY proportion to dust particle contamination. Fine dust is like sand paper, it's very abrasive and can cause accelerated wear. The US army had issues with the fine dust in Afghanistan, especially with the M1A1 tanks. They had to have a new higher efficiency air and oil filters designed because the fine dust was cause sever wear issues in the 1,700 HP gas turbine engine pack that powers the M1A1's. There's a lot of things you can do to your car to make more power. The question 99% of us should be asking is "can I do this without significantly increasing wear rates and can this modification CONSISTENTLY make more power?".

You'll find that a car that is consistently making more power over it's life span is more fun to drive than a car that makes great power one day, but feels anemic the next or feels like it's quickly degrading, making you want to push it even harder to compensate.

Try the following:

1. Oil Catch Can - 5.0's are very prone to oil induced knock when running them in the upper RPM ranges frequently or when idling in hot traffic. The ECU is going to pull timing to protect the piston group. A catch can will keep most of the vapors OUT of the combustion chamber. While not harmful, they make your 5.0 feel less consistent and you WILL experience power fade as you keep pushing it or after driving off from sitting in hot traffic.

2. DLC Coatings - TirboTEX, CeraTek or Archoil. In Situ DLC coatings will substantially reduce the friction losses in the 5.0. Especially the 3rd gen which revs out to 7400 RPM stock. There is a good 15 to 20 hp to get back and cooler operating temperatures just from friction losses. In fact, the wrist pins in your piston group are factory coated with a vapor deposited DLC coating from the factory. More and more cars are using factory DLC coatings, however that doesn't help cars already manufactured without them, nor does it help once the factory coatings wear off. TriboTEX stands out as the top tier. I can provide some pretty intense R&D documentation if you want. Make sure you use the PROPER dosage, or you won't have ENOUGH material to coat all contact surfaces, thus you won't get the full benefits. The difference will be even more noticeable than your CAI. TirboTEX stands out as it is ONLY a surface reconditioner. It does not change your oil's properties as it has no chemical friction modifiers. It is the synthetic MSH, some Group V base oil as a carrier and the catalysts. Archoil and CeraTek do contain chemical friction modifiers along with the DLC coating materials (which is Hexagonal Boron Nitride in both of them). SO you do loose some benefit when you change your oil with Archoil and CeraTek, but they are also far cheaper. I use TriboTEX in my 2016 PP GT and my wife's 2012 Prius C.

3. High Quality Oil Formula - MC Semi-syn is a great oil, but it is not the best oil for this application. I'm a big fan of GTL base stocks as they have nearly double the Isoparafins of other hydrocracked group III's (Mobil 1, Valvoline etc.). GTL base stock oils rival PAO's temperature and shear performance but at far less cost. Any PAO or GTL based oil should provide a nice improvement over MC Semi-syn. Many of them have MODTC now as well, an organic Molybdenum compound that works very well with TriboTEX and ZDDP compounds. I do NOT recomend using any oil additives like ZDDP additives. The formulas are carefully balanced for wear, friction, seal compatibility and emissions system protection. Stick with oils that at a minimum meet the WSS-M2C945-B1 or WSS-M2C946-B1 specifications.

Often reliable power is made through a series of smaller changes that when combined make a substantial over all difference. If you combine all 3 of those, you will notice a very substantial difference in both the consistency and average power your 3rd gen 5.0 makes without touching the intake. I would focus more on reducing losses than "adding power". There's a lot of wasted energy in these cars that can be regained. And if you want a power adder, I HIGHLY recommend waiting for Ford Performance Power Packs. There is an immense level of R&D that goes into their warranty compliant, emissions legal calibrations. Even if after market tunes make a few more hp on pump gas, the difference is small and the level of quality is far better on the FP offerings. Cheers.

 

[TheLion70x77]

I run the VelossaTek Big Mouth with my Ford Performance Power Pack 2 that uses the GT350 CAI. I just had to use a little aluminum flashing and foil tape to close up the small gap between the GT350 air duct and the GT OE radiator ducting as the GT350 air ducting is just a bit smaller and leaves a 1 inch gap at the bottom. My IAT's are within 3-5 degrees of ambient while moving even at speeds as low as 30 mph. They stay low for short stops (within 10 to 15 degrees ambient), so unless I'm sitting in traffic for 5 to 10 minutes (stop and go), they stay low to the point your not going to do better.

Also I had an Air Aid closed box CAI with a conical filter AND the VelossaTek Big Mouth in my 2.3L EB Mustang before I traded it in. IAT's were not any better with the closed box CAI. The FP one seals very well for an open type, best on the market for open types seal wise. And the closed box CAI's don't use any gasket, so their "seal" really isn't as good as you think. A lexan sheet bolted to a plastic molded box isn't going to "seal" like the OE air box does on the paper filters with a rubber / silicone gasket between them. The lexan tops also tend to warp with heat and create even bigger gaps.

So IAT's aren't as different as you think. Ducting makes a far bigger difference than air box design at speed. At a stop, sealing will help reduce heat bleeding of hot air, but it won't do anything for absorbed heat (radiated heat) by the intake tube and sensor, so IAT's still rise with enough idling / stop and go no matter what setup you use.

When starting from a dead stop, your better off with a leaky air box than a 100% sealed one, flowing enough air is more importing than flowing cool air at low speeds. Once up to speed, with a ram air duct, your flowing plenty of air regardless of open or closed box as long as the filter element is low restriction. I'm a big fan of the GT350 conical paper filter. Offers OE efficiency with substantially increased flow (less restrictive) than the OE GT air box. It's a very balanced system between filtration efficiency and flow. And if you want ultimate flow, you can throw in a conical oiled cotton filter.

Dry filters do NOT flow any better than their paper counter parts in the same size. So if you upgrade the filter, unless your going to a bigger physical size, dry don't buy you any better flow over paper. They also have reduced dust capacity over paper, 1/2 to 1/3. And it is even LESS after re-use. Not all particulates are removed after washing them. So there's permanent capacity loss. But Dry filters DO filter as efficiently as paper filters (particle size and quantity let through).

Once clogged, a re-usable filter (both dry and oiled) will flow substantially less than a paper filter (far more linear loss of flow for paper). Unless you clean them every 5k to 10k, paper filters will have a better average flow over a 30k interval than ANY of the re-usable filters. There's a reason Ford chose to use a conical paper filter in the GT350 CAI and there's a reason it's open type. It's not because they wanted to be cheap or sub-par, it's because it provides the best over all balance between flow (filter element wise), filtration efficiency, service interval, low speed flow (air box) and high speed flow (air box design). Don't forget, oiled cotton does NOT filter as well as paper or dry. They do let through substantially more fine particles. Piston ring wear is directly correlated to dust contamination!

 

[TheLion70x77]

A large conical paper filter will out flow a drop in AFE panel filter AND has about 4x the dust capacity. Over 30k miles, no contest, the OE GT350 conical paper filter wins in the GT350 intake setup. The difference in flow between dry and paper is pretty meaningless. They are almost the same. Oiled cotton filters will flow better than both, but allow far higher dust contamination: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212017316301475

There's not going to be much of a meaningful difference in dry filters vs paper filters in pressure drop (aka flow), but they give up a lot of capacity. For dirt capacity, flow and filtration efficiency: https://nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

Specifically, look at the dust loading tests...remember 3 inH2O in a water column is only 0.11 psi. The best bet is to use paper filters for street applications and swap it out for an oiled cotton filter for track runs. Then switch back. Or step up to a large conical paper filter that has far more surface area. That way you can both increase flow and dust capacity simultaneously. Obviously the latter requires a whole new intake setup, but there are some good benefits without compromises.

 

[Condor1970]

A large conical paper filter will out flow a drop in AFE panel filter AND has about 4x the dust capacity. Over 30k miles, no contest, the OE GT350 conical paper filter wins in the GT350 intake setup. The difference in flow between dry and paper is pretty meaningless. They are almost the same. Oiled cotton filters will flow better than both, but allow far higher dust contamination: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212017316301475

There's not going to be much of a meaningful difference in dry filters vs paper filters in pressure drop (aka flow), but they give up a lot of capacity. For dirt capacity, flow and filtration efficiency: https://nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

Specifically, look at the dust loading tests...remember 3 inH2O in a water column is only 0.11 psi. The best bet is to use paper filters for street applications and swap it out for an oiled cotton filter for track runs. Then switch back. Or step up to a large conical paper filter that has far more surface area. That way you can both increase flow and dust capacity simultaneously. Obviously the latter requires a whole new intake setup, but there are some good benefits without compromises.

I've been worried about the AEM dry filter I installed. I come to find out, the micron filtration rating isn't as high as a paper filter. So I decided top pull it, and put the Motorcraft OEM back in.

So, in your view, what would be the best way to go? Get something like an AirAid sealed intake, and find a conical paper filter that will fit? Like a GT350 OEM filter from Napa or STP, and then get a tune to adjust for it?

Wouldn't the ignition system automatically learn over time what the proper air flow and fuel mix would be, as long as you don't drive it like a nut case? Or, is getting a tune absolutely necessary?

 

[TheLion70x77]

I've been worried about the AEM dry filter I installed. I come to find out, the filtration PPM rating isn't as high as a paper filter. So I decided top pull it, and put the Motorcraft OEM back in.

So, in your view, what would be the best way to go? Get something like an AirAid sealed intake, and find a conical paper filter that will fit? Like a GT350 OEM filter from Napa or STP, and then get a tune to adjust for it?

Wouldn't the ignition system automatically learn over time what the proper air flow and fuel mix would be, as long as you don't drive it like a nut case? Or, is getting a tune absolutely necessary?

If you change your intake tube and the tube wasn't designed to work with the stock ECU maps, you can lean out the air/fuel mixture. The air flow sensor will read one thing, but actual flow will be different, so the ECU will be working from bad information. The ECU is calibrated to assume certain measurements from the sensor correspond to the air flow tables. Those tables are under the assumption that the intake tube is of a certain size.

Changing the size alters the total flow. That is why the Ford Performance Power Packs are calibrated as a complete system. Some after market CAI's do not require a re-tune. You would have to check with them to see what their requirements are. You would also have to check to see if the GT350 paper air filter will fit their intake tube size. If it doesn't, you may be able to find an air filter adapter ring if the GT350 filter size is too large for the after market intake tube. If it's too small, then there's not much you can do.

Have you considered looking at alternatives to add power that are not tune related or intake related?

1. Oil Catch Can - 5.0's are very prone to oil induced knock. When runing at higher RPM, once it starts to heat up the oil a bit, the oil vapor causes fuel octane dilution as it passes through the intake and into the combustion chamber. Car and Driver even noted their 2015 PP GT (2nd Gen 5.0, yours is a 3rd gen) was the only car that day that experienced power fade despite nothing being over temp. Catch cans keep the oil vapors from getting into the combustion chamber, so your making peak power much more often, especially when driven hard for extended intervals. The 3rd Gen 5.0 makes significantly more power and over a broader RPM range. Heat is going to be even more of an issue despite DI.

2. PAO or GTL Based Motor Oil - these types of motor oils have higher viscosity index than their lower tier hydrocracked group III counter parts. Consequently they offer lower viscosity at 100C without compromising HTHS viscosity and they are highly resistant to shearing down permanently when exposed to heat. Most of them also have some MODTC compounds that are great at reducing friction losses. Higher quality base stocks produce more robust fluid films and have a higher heat capacity that keeps things running cooler.

3. In Situ DLC Coatings - Diamond Like Carbon coatings are already in the 5.0 from the factory on a few parts (wrist pins to name one). They are vapor deposited. Their purpose is to reduce both friction and wear. However once worn, you have to replace the component to regain the benefits of the factory coating (it will work fine without the coating, but with higher wear rates and friction). And most of the components in the 5.0 are NOT DLC coated from the factory (but it's becoming common in high end cars).

In Situ DLC coatings use your motor oil as a carrier, they form under the same conditions as ZDDP (zink) that's already in the motor oil. Heat and friction are their catalysts. Synthetic Magnesium Silicate Hydroxide (TriboTEX) has a friction coefficient of just 0.01. Hexagonal Boron Nitride is also ultra low friction at around 0.01 to 0.02. These coatings are highly resistant to wear as well and form a sacrificial film that wears away instead of the part surface it's protecting.

TriboTEX - 40k service interval. It is ONLY the DLC film suspended in a Group V carrier oil. There are no chemical friction modifiers, so it has no chemical interaction with your motor oils formula. MSH tribofilm remains after the oil is changed. Performance is enhanced even further is Organic MODTC (aka organic moly used in low quantities in many new oil formulas). Has no effect on oil color, viscosity etc.

CeraTek - 30k service interval. Combination of Hexagonal Boron Nitride and some (proprietary) chemical friction modifers that work with the HBN coatings that form. Suspended in a Group III carrier base oil. However you loose benefits of the chemical friction modifiers with the oil change, the HBN coatings remain for up to 30k miles. Turns your oil an orang color until it eventually gets dirty enough it turns dark brown / black like most motor oils. Chemical friction modifiers can also fall out of suspension on cars that aren't driven regularly and collect in the oil pan.

Archoil - 30k service interval. This is basically a slightly more expensive version of CeraTek, suspended in a Group V Ester base oil instead of a group III base oil along with other chemical friction modifiers (also proprietary). Also loose the chemical friction modifier benefits once the oil is changed unless you re-apply it. I have not seen any reports of the chemical friction modifiers falling out of suspension and collecting the oil pan, but it may be possible. I'm not aware of it causing and change in the color of your oil, but it will slightly alter your oil's properties due to the chemical friction modifiers.

Key to DLC coatings is using ENOUGH. If you don't have an adequate dosage, a full film will NOT form and you will see absolutely no benefits. For TriboTEX, you need to use the Diesel concentration. All three TriboTEX formulas are the exact same material, just higher concentration of it for applications where there is more surface area to form a film over. Standard concentration isn't adequate for the 5.0. Archoil and CeraTek go by mL of fluid per a quart of oil, so you buy more for bigger engines.

Combine all three and you will see better average and peak power than any CAI can provide. I'd highly recommend waiting until Ford Performance releases their Power Packs for 2018 GT's. It was worth the wait for my 2016, that much I can say!

 

[Zinc03svt]

The AEM did not play well with my car on E85. I’m sticking to motocraft until I do a JLT 120mm with dry conical filter.

 

[Burgo]

There are other ways to get both flow and filtration efficiency. Most people don't realize that the dust capacity of these re-usable filters is 1/2 to 1/3 as much as a paper filter. So if you only clean your air filter ever 30k miles, it will out flow the paper equivalent (pane to panel, or conical to conical) for the first 10k then become FAR more restrictive the last 20k. Don't assume they just flow the same throughout the usage interval because they DO NOT.

Also the reusable filters all have shown DECREASED dust capacity after subsequent re-uses. The worst being the dry filters, which clogged even sooner. Also the dry filters offered no flow advantages over their paper counter parts. Their selling point is you re-usability. If you want better flow without increasing the surface area of the filter, you need to go to oiled cotton. Problem is oiled cotton allows 3x to 4x the dust contamination of dry or paper. So I still remain steadfast to my statement that oiled cotton is best used for off-road applications.

If you go to the track, change out the filter. It's not hard...then swap it back. Same thing with oil. Change your oil to a higher viscosity for track day, then change it back after. There IS a way to get both better flow AND retain high filtration. BIGGER. The good old fashioned "bigger is better" apply s here. That is why the GT350 air box uses a Paper Conical Filter. It will out flow any of the panel filter equivalents while retaining the high filtration efficiency of cellulose filter media used in OE filters.

The GT350 air box is unique among all the CAI's and that's it's greatest attribute, it uses a conical paper filter and for a good reason. You get substantially better flow, higher dust capacity and retain high filtration efficiency. For track you could swap it out with an oiled cotton filter of the same size for even better flow, but I doubt you'll see and noticeable gains because it already flows more than the regular 5.0 can.

Piston ring wear is DIRECTLY proportion to dust particle contamination. Fine dust is like sand paper, it's very abrasive and can cause accelerated wear. The US army had issues with the fine dust in Afghanistan, especially with the M1A1 tanks. They had to have a new higher efficiency air and oil filters designed because the fine dust was cause sever wear issues in the 1,700 HP gas turbine engine pack that powers the M1A1's. There's a lot of things you can do to your car to make more power. The question 99% of us should be asking is "can I do this without significantly increasing wear rates and can this modification CONSISTENTLY make more power?".

You'll find that a car that is consistently making more power over it's life span is more fun to drive than a car that makes great power one day, but feels anemic the next or feels like it's quickly degrading, making you want to push it even harder to compensate.

Try the following:

1. Oil Catch Can - 5.0's are very prone to oil induced knock when running them in the upper RPM ranges frequently or when idling in hot traffic. The ECU is going to pull timing to protect the piston group. A catch can will keep most of the vapors OUT of the combustion chamber. While not harmful, they make your 5.0 feel less consistent and you WILL experience power fade as you keep pushing it or after driving off from sitting in hot traffic.

2. DLC Coatings - TirboTEX, CeraTek or Archoil. In Situ DLC coatings will substantially reduce the friction losses in the 5.0. Especially the 3rd gen which revs out to 7400 RPM stock. There is a good 15 to 20 hp to get back and cooler operating temperatures just from friction losses. In fact, the wrist pins in your piston group are factory coated with a vapor deposited DLC coating from the factory. More and more cars are using factory DLC coatings, however that doesn't help cars already manufactured without them, nor does it help once the factory coatings wear off. TriboTEX stands out as the top tier. I can provide some pretty intense R&D documentation if you want. Make sure you use the PROPER dosage, or you won't have ENOUGH material to coat all contact surfaces, thus you won't get the full benefits. The difference will be even more noticeable than your CAI. TirboTEX stands out as it is ONLY a surface reconditioner. It does not change your oil's properties as it has no chemical friction modifiers. It is the synthetic MSH, some Group V base oil as a carrier and the catalysts. Archoil and CeraTek do contain chemical friction modifiers along with the DLC coating materials (which is Hexagonal Boron Nitride in both of them). SO you do loose some benefit when you change your oil with Archoil and CeraTek, but they are also far cheaper. I use TriboTEX in my 2016 PP GT and my wife's 2012 Prius C.

3. High Quality Oil Formula - MC Semi-syn is a great oil, but it is not the best oil for this application. I'm a big fan of GTL base stocks as they have nearly double the Isoparafins of other hydrocracked group III's (Mobil 1, Valvoline etc.). GTL base stock oils rival PAO's temperature and shear performance but at far less cost. Any PAO or GTL based oil should provide a nice improvement over MC Semi-syn. Many of them have MODTC now as well, an organic Molybdenum compound that works very well with TriboTEX and ZDDP compounds. I do NOT recommend using any oil additives like ZDDP additives. The formulas are carefully balanced for wear, friction, seal compatibility and emissions system protection. Stick with oils that at a minimum meet the WSS-M2C945-B1 or WSS-M2C946-B1 specifications.

Often reliable power is made through a series of smaller changes that when combined make a substantial over all difference. If you combine all 3 of those, you will notice a very substantial difference in both the consistency and average power your 3rd gen 5.0 makes without touching the intake. I would focus more on reducing losses than "adding power". There's a lot of wasted energy in these cars that can be regained. And if you want a power adder, I HIGHLY recommend waiting for Ford Performance Power Packs. There is an immense level of R&D that goes into their warranty compliant, emissions legal calibrations. Even if after market tunes make a few more hp on pump gas, the difference is small and the level of quality is far better on the FP offerings. Cheers.

Great write up, I also agree, no oiled filter traps all of the dust. The problem is that we think it does because when we remove the filter there isn't any evidence of any dust passing through the inlet after the filter but this is because our cars don't see the volume of dust exposure that that gives us any evidence to clarify it.

My proof comes from decades of racing MX and Enduro's in the desert, I've tried every type of oiled filter and filter media and every single time at the end of the day when the filter get pulled you can wipe your finger on the inlet tract and remove dust, lots of super fine micron particles of dust.

 

[Mustang_Lou]

The comments about oiled filters NOT effectively capturing fine dust are exactly opposite of what I've thought all along. My thinking was that the oil is in fact what catches the dust.

The non-oiled filters, I'd have thought, would be the ones to allow the fine dust to more easily pass through.

Are we sure on this as it makes no sense to me?

 

[michail71]

A large conical paper filter will out flow a drop in AFE panel filter AND has about 4x the dust capacity. Over 30k miles, no contest, the OE GT350 conical paper filter wins in the GT350 intake setup. The difference in flow between dry and paper is pretty meaningless. They are almost the same. Oiled cotton filters will flow better than both, but allow far higher dust contamination: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212017316301475

There's not going to be much of a meaningful difference in dry filters vs paper filters in pressure drop (aka flow), but they give up a lot of capacity. For dirt capacity, flow and filtration efficiency: https://nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

Specifically, look at the dust loading tests...remember 3 inH2O in a water column is only 0.11 psi. The best bet is to use paper filters for street applications and swap it out for an oiled cotton filter for track runs. Then switch back. Or step up to a large conical paper filter that has far more surface area. That way you can both increase flow and dust capacity simultaneously. Obviously the latter requires a whole new intake setup, but there are some good benefits without compromises.

Interesting, K&N mentions they developed their oiled cotton filters specifically for desert racing in off-road, high dust environments. I think they also state they don't restrict flow when dirty as contaminants become absorbed into the media. I'm only going by memory.

 

[michail71]

Ok, was able to get a new log with AEM dry flow with cleaned up upper box (hydrocarbon trap attachment points removed) via sand paper to smooth mold lines etc. My best maf flow rate lb per minute stock oem paper filter was 49.62 and today cracked 51.27. Not bad for stock box and stock exhaust. Improvement for sure in flow. There you have it. .

It was on a different car but the Engineering Explained guy did some dyno testing between clean/dirty filters, he also removed the hydrocarbon trap which seemed to make the biggest difference (to his surprise).

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