Anyone have any opinions/dyno numbers/etc for an air filter on a 97 sc? I know the stock lexus one and K&N of coarse, but what about Tom's or TRD from l-tunedparts.com? I know all about the BFI and the ghetto version with the hole through your frame but those don't interest me so I'm just looking for the best air filter.

 

The best filter is the oem one. FOR GOD'S SAKE WHEN IS EVERYONE GONNA REALIZE THAT!!!???

btw, the price of those has risen quite a bit... $20 up from around 12 a year ago.

 

Well, everyone will ALWAYS be divided on this issue. But I agree. OEM wins hands down. My feeling is that filters like the K&N are in the same vein as Bose speakers - Very Clever marketing, very questionable product.

 

So OEM filter is the best way to go? The SRT looks real good but for the GS not the SC cause they don't offer it. They way I understand it we can attach a snorkel on the roof of the damn car but the MAF will only let x-amount of air come in anyway so what's the point right? Or...? So the BFI doesn't provide more air but rather cooler air right? Simply sucks in less air which is more dense as opposed to more air which is less dense

 

The bfi will let in a little more air, and every bit helps.
For true, high performance, the panel filter just doesn't have the area needed, but is fine for most it seems.
A ram air scheme will only work at very, very high speeds.

 

I agree with that. On the subject of bose... ive heard some outstanding bose systems... the one in a buick park ave for example... and also some mediocre ones... a home theater system.

 

stock intake is about as good as it will get with the bfi mod, but the filters are no where close to being equal. Any cotton filter will out-flow the stock paper filter any day of the week. foam ones are useless as they dont trap much dirt nor do they flow very well. Oil cotton filters are the best bet for the simple facts that they can filter much smaller particles while still giving a huge improvement on air flow versus the stock unit. There have been a million tests on this subject all over the internet just do a google search on cotton air filters vs. paper and you will see.

from there once you decide that the cottong is the better choice just pick up any one out there, they are all the same design and will all perform the same with negligable differences in filtering and flow comparisons in the group. I personally like "green filter" brand as they are the easiest to see when the filter element is dirty and needs to be washed, another benefit over the paper.

 

I don't know about other cars, but there was an extensive dyno research on different filters for SC. Stock filter outperformed every other brands including K&N, HKS, Apexi, etc.

 

I have used a stock filter, K&N Filter, and now I am have a Rod Millen cone filter - I dont feel ANY difference. Only difference is the sucking sound when I mash the throttle. Save your money and go buy a cool air freshner.

 

Ghetto version?? How long have you been modding a car kid? You might think its ghetto because no company makes a cold air intake for our cars because they cant. I read up online about a series of test conducted on all the top filters used for high performance cars such as the A'pex i, Blitz, K&N, HKS, and all those other filters. They did numerous test under different conditions and the one that turned to be the best was the A'pex i Filter which I must say is pretty expensive for just a filter. Im currently using the HKS metal flow which was about $100 which I think is ok but not as good as the A'pex i filters. One thing I had noticed in the test results was that all the metal filters had a low rating. I read up on this about a year ago. If I could find the site I'll post up the link. But yeah. A'pex i takes the cake.

 

your not going to feel much since your gaining barely any power. 5hp at the motor translates into like 4 hp at the wheels max and that isnt enough to really feel.

remember guys that a high performance filter may not give a ton of power but in conjunction with other parts it helps efficiency and will be a multiplier for any and all power parts put on a car. the main purpose of a filter is to filter the air of impurities that may cause damage to the internals and also to allow the most air to flow through through the element at all rpm increments. i too saw the filter review on supraforums, the one they had in superstreet a few years ago along with one on honda-tech.com and the apex'i did win, yet for this he wants to go bfi so all the cone filters are out of the question. i say go k&n since in 2 years it pays for itself by being able to be reused and is proven to flow very well while also filtering very well.

 

When the car was stock, a filter swap alone wouldn't make that much difference on it's own, however after some work, the car was hitting a wall after 4,000rpm that tuning just wouldn't touch, after a much larger filter as added things changed.
I then put the K&N panel replacement into the 4runner/family truckster for a slight boost.

 

air filter is an air filter. Get something fancy like a cone filter and krome pipe if you want hot looks.... but you wont see any difference between that and the stocker. HP comes from real mods.

 

This might interest you Link

 

[QUOTE=JspecSC3]Ghetto version?? How long have you been modding a car kid? You might think its ghetto because no company makes a cold air intake for our cars because they cant.

The BFI is cool. I was refering to the guy that drilled a hole in his frame and put a cone filter in his front grill just hangin there sucking up everything including water. I have moded my car 100% so far without any companie's help. Mounted all my own mechanical and electrical parts as well as fabrication on CNC machines. Keep an eye out for pics of the completed proj, thanks for all the advice from everyone!