I see a couple of owners here have used AEM DryFlow engine air filters and wondering how those have have held up, OEM Toyota filter in this car is about ready to replace and looking for an upgrade over paper, not interested in oiled type filters.
https://www.aemintakes.com/28-20443-...low-air-filter

 

How extreme is your driving environment that you are looking for something other than OEM?

Better filter is hard to pin down. There is always an issue with flow or trapping the particles. In most cases simply replace the filter more frequently.

Saliim

 

Potential upside for the AEM filter is washable and reusable for several years; not sure what 99% efficient measures but filter media is non-woven synthetic.

 

Not worth bothering. Feel free to spend the money but it won't really change anything either way.

 

Then you have to wash it and wait for it to dry before using it, or keep a spare air filter around so you can drive while the AEM dries out. Then hope it is actually protecting your engine. Not worth the effort.
Just get a normal replacement air filter every 10,000 miles.

 

Or you can just keep your old OEM air filter and swap it in while the AEM filter dries.

It is only a temporary use situation in which I assume the old dirty OEM filter can handle.

 

Donaldson, Tempest, K&N (Challenger) and several other companies supply reusable washable engine air filters for aircraft and helicopter use and have been prefered by pilots over cellulose filters since 1960's, Donaldson reusable filters are the OEM supplier for some Cessna models for example. I've ordered in an AEM (K&N) Dryflow filter for a bit over cost of OEM Toyota and will see how that works, some Bitog posters like them.

 

I mean.. I wouldn't wait for it to dry. A little extra humidity in the engine won't hurt anything. Shake it out and throw it back in there.

That being said (and I actually do have one of these dryflows on my swapped NA Miata because aftermarket intake/etc), I would never bother with this kind of thing on my daily and just replace the OE filters when they're due. No upside at all for this application.

 

I have run K&N's in my Corvette and probably over-oiled it and caused some MAF issues, so no more oiled filters for me. I ran AEM Dryflows in my Mercedes C300, but the Mercedes dealership tossed them despite the stickers telling them not to. I couldn't tell the difference in power with the AEM's. After doing some Gemini AI reading, it seems that to have the absolute best and most complete filtration, the Lexus OEM's are best. The AEM has very slightly enlarged air hole openings perhaps allowing less than 5 hp improvement, but at the risk of allowing microscopic dust in over an extended period of time, affecting the turbo charger and engine and, with my brand new NX, I just don't want to chance it. OEM's are made with deep-pleated paper designed to trap 99.9% of contaminants. The best after-market filters trap 98-99%, allowing cumulative contaminants in. OEM's have precision fit for the airbox where some after-markets are designed to fit possibly various engines.
There is, however, a Genuine Lexus Japan F SPORT High Performance Filter using a special dry fiber that improves throttle response while maintaining Lexus strict filtration standards. This one is not washable...change every 15,000 miles. You'll be unhappy to know this higher performance version is showing a price of $129.00 vs $22.09 for the OEM. I don't have a part number for the 6x priced one, but at least we know it supposedly exists.

 

This is a Motor Trend article of an independent study of AEM filters from a few years ago;
https://www.motortrend.com/features/...dryflow-filter

 

I will not debate if an performance filter is worth the effort or not.

Some owners will claim to get a bit more performance and fuel economy with an performance filter and some owners will claim that it is a waste of time.

I personally did not install an high flow performance filter in my RX350, but I will not say that it would be an waste of time if someone did.

 

Stay with OEM or reputable company. I use what ever is cheaper, no difference at all. Mine 2014 RX350 with 262k. Runs perfect.

 

Here's a real test of aftermarket washable filters, with DryFlow being one of them


They test paper filters in another one of their videos, you can watch that as a reference. But the AEM didn't catch more dust, nor flow more air, IIRC

 

Thanks N4TECguy, hadn't seen that series of videos and wondering if this is Mahle filter advert. Looks like AEM DryFlow did close in both flow and filtration to Denso cellulose in their tests, looking forward to feeling how the AEM filter does at WOT although main purpose here is to get a reusable air filter and not really concerned about maximizing filtration or increasing flow.

 

Would be interested to hear your results. I looked at this series because someone on the 5th gen forum claimed it really made a positive difference in noise on their turbo engine.