I've tried several different filters on this truck over the years and
have been doing an oil analysis every 3K miles to check silicone levels
(that is dirt let in by the air filter for the newbies) to see how well
they filter. Just for info's sake, here are my results.
The location specific silicone average, meaning what they see on
average from all of the samples done from different people living in my
area and is considered "normal", is 7 parts per million (PPM) silicon:
Stock Filter: Averaged 6 ppm
AFE Standard Media Filter: Averaged 15 ppm
AFE PG7 Media Filter: Averaged 10 ppm
Uni Foam Filter: Averaged 10 ppm
BHAF: Averaged 4 ppm
It looks like the stock filter is a decent filter. Not surprising I
guess. What is surprising is how much better the BHAF did over the
rest. I used a Donaldson G110119 BHAF and it just plain ROCKED!
The AFE standard media filter was terrible, to the point of "dusting"
the motor in less than 3,000 miles. Avoid that one at all costs.
The AFE PG7 media filter and the Uni Foam filter did about the same as
far as filtration. Although not bad, neither had stellar performance
and neither would lend itself to extended oil drain intervals. With
these samples taken at just 3,000 miles, expect the numbers to go up at
least a couple ppm at 5,000 miles. Also, the Uni filter was half the
size and didn’t flow nearly as much air as the AFE. I suspect that if
Uni had a better selection of cone filters (I used the biggest one they
make) and they had one that flowed adequately for me (could support my
twins), I wouldn’t have put nearly the suction stress on it and it may
have done quite a bit better. Just guessing there.
All of these filters, except the stock filter, was used with either an AFE or an Outerwears pre-filter.
If your going aftermarket and good air filtration is your biggest
concern, or if your looking for extended oil drain intervals, a BHAF is
definitely the way to go. I just found it interesting when comparing
the numbers this morning and thought I would share it.