For what it is worth..

We did flow bench tests of H2 air filters through a 2003 and 2008 OEM intake.

The OEM filter is a Donaldson, they also make a blue core Donaldson High Flow, neither are impressive, although entirely adequate.

The two we recommend for use to customers that ask are the 1) the AFE Pro Dry-S #11-10088 which consistently flows 30% better that the Donaldson types, and 2) AirAid # 720-082 Synthaflow which flows 24-27% better. Oiled cotton gauze elements flow better over time, and our test filter did after 5K miles. A nice boost for use with our intakes.

Our tests pre-dated your 721-182 SynthMax version which uses dry synthetic filter element and we never tested that particular model so I got nothin there.

The puropse of our recommendation of #1 was for customers that wish to avoid the negative press associated with oiled filters, and #2 for those who find that irrelevant.

AFE 11-10088


AirAid 720-082


Ask yourself if you are suffering from new performance partitis?
That would be defined as he who adds a performance part changes their driving habit to repeatedly test said part by mashing the throttle to see what/how they can feel any benefit. Luckily, time usually cures this ailment when the newness where off.

 

HI Doc olds

Very informative post , is there a simple way to test air flow? .. I would like to stay away from oil filters but if can get the Mpg back to 11 then switch back to OE filter .
I didnt replace it cause the perform , most cause it is washable , it would paid itself over the time .

Question : the MPG drop could be due to a lack of air from the filter or cause there is more air flow which improve the HP so more power more gas .
If the reason for losing MPG is lack of air then would the airdoc helps ?

Thank you

... Next step .. Im cleaning the MAF , Drive for a few more days , if not improvement then switch back to OM

BTW I like the concept of new performance partitis
Pretty sure is not the case cause my wife who drives the h2 90 % got the vaccinated

 

No simple way to test airflow without the flow bench machine that I know of. I think you have something else going on. To compare apples to apples you have to use the same fuel (if not the same gas station, then certainly the same brand), you have to make sure outside temps and humidity are consistent (on hot very humid days, mpgs drop vs cool dry days), same tires and PSI, etc....

It would be interesting to see if the MPG went back up by swapping to the OEM filter again. I agree with a MAF cleaning. I would have expected basically no measurable change when you swapped filters, definitely not a drop in MPG.

I like the AFE Pro-Dry-S which has no oil, I've been running one on my truck for about a year now. The AirAids are quality units, I find your experience interesting, but then again I have not personally used/tested the newer SynthaMax drys. Maybe they dropped the ball?

I will be careful to distinguish the AirAid SynthFlow and SynthaMax for customers that ask.

Let us know what happens after a while and especially if you put the OEM back in.

 

Doc Olds .. The filter Im using is a dry ( 721-182) ... Which BTW Airaid dont have available on their website ( fishy )

Just clean the MAF .. take truck for a test drive and noticed the MPG drop another point as soon as I drive 2 blocks in traffic VS driving at night with almost no traffic when Mpg went up to 11

I will do a Hwy test to see how it reacts but so far the filter is no good at all for city driving ...

Next step switch to the OEm


Will keep reporting ..

So far here are the conditions for the test

OM filter Avg 10.5 Mpg VS 8.6 Mpg Airaid dry filter (721-182)

same weather cond BTW there are not cold dry days down here
same tires
same gas brand
same driving habits

No big gain in Hp .

 

Did the Highway test

results ..
drive 30 miles hwy , avg speed 60
initial MPG after a week of city drive 8.6
after 30 miles 9.6

Not the results I was hoping to see
I will do a longest trip ( 200miles) before completely removing the filter and send it back


here it is the info provided by Airaid .. notice this is a dry filter , the oiled has much better air flow

Thank you

 

Airaid dry filter back to Amazon ... Replaced for the OEM ..

After driving some miles on Hyw to get only 9.6 the mileage drop to 8.5 again after just a few city miles ... Contacted Airaid and their response was that people step on the gas to get the extra HP , wait for a few days till you get use to the new performance

Really ? ... First what performance , in fact the truck feels slower , second ,cant step on the gas while watching your Mpg sinking as a rock in water , in fact we driven slower than ever
The oiled one may be a fair addition but the dry filter is pure crap .

END OF THE STORY ...

 

Hey H2Miami did you ever get to the bottom of what was going on ? I mean did you just put everything back OEM, or did you try out a different filter/intake combo etc ?
I just put an airdoc in, and am happy with it, but i still have the oem box and oem filter, so i am looking to put a new aftermarket filter on. Will probably lean towards the recommendation from Doc (dry one) but just wondered if you had any more colour on what was going on in your wagon ?

thx

 

I put back the OEM filter and everything back to normal .
my main reason to replace expensive oem filter was cause the airaid was washable a however after finding tha Amazon sell It for $50 no sense in losing miles and risking engine to get dirt and dust .
Airaid looks well made however you can easily see trough the mesh . I wont recommended if doing Offroad or drivimg in dusty cond
before you spend money on a aftermarket filter contact Airdoc , they did a research nd can recommend the best for you ... The dry Airaid wont give you a lot of performance , check pic
In my case I would get the Airdoc and keep the Oem box and filter
btw would you take a video to check how the Airdoc change the engine sound while driving . I hear pp said sound nice while some other like the quiet oem intake .
thx