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I've bad luck with the specter small filter in a hot heat soaked engine bay. Had the center come off one and was lucky it didn't destroy the turbo.
I've been running one now towards the bottom like a cold air intake style with better luck although it still hasn't seen a true summer since re routing.
I personally run a custom bell inlet with triangle cuts down the sides, with two criss-crossed layers of screen on mine merely out of necessity due to space limitations not allowing ANY filter to fit. my inlet I designed specifically to allow enough surface area for the screens to not be a restriction to airflow. I tell everyone ALWAYS use a filter though.
Yes my engine sees negative effects from not running a filter, all sorts of issues, though for the 10 years I've been doing it they all have been minor issues. So far.
-zero cyl wall scoring, 50k+ miles in 3 different motors
-zero loss of compression, 50k+ miles in 3 different motors *due to piston, wall, and/or ring wear* *see below for *other*
but:
-dust buildup in the intake manifold within only a few thousand miles
-after 100k miles or so on the same compressor wheel, it is blasted enough to where the fins are starting to chip on the leading edges
-all of my heads have had at least a couple specs of debris embedded in 1 or more of the valve seats after 10k+ miles. sometimes intake, sometimes exhaust. once it was large enough it held an exhaust valve open a hair just big enough to cause a minor loss in compression test numbers and just small enough for me to say F it and drive it til it breaks. well, it burned the exhaust valve pretty good over the course of the next 6 months to where I had no choice but to tear it down and rebuild the whole head
-most recent issue: debris buildup around the bore and plate of the throttlebody, which for about a week now was causing rare but random throttle sticking issues from 1%-6%, then yesterday it got bad enough that it would only close to about 3%-4% throttle no matter what. pulled the charge pipe off, and sure enough there was clumps of debris built up mainly on the bottom center, holding the plate open. a rag and brake cleaner and some careful handiwork got it looking brand new again.
I should add; I rebuild my motors or build new motors every 12-24 months, and frequently have them apart to different extents in between and always clean when apart.
I also ALWAYS let off the throttle anytime I see ANYTHING floating in the air, and I avoid construction or any other known source of dust like the plague.
screens are better than nothing, as it keeps out the large debris that will cause instant catastrophic damage. but even with screens, you WILL get damage and/or negative consequences, whether you know it's happening or not!
So take it from me, do NOT do what what I do; DO NOT run screens or open turbo. USE A FILTER AT ALL TIMES FOR STREET DRIVING.
I personally run a custom bell inlet with triangle cuts down the sides, with two criss-crossed layers of screen on mine merely out of necessity due to space limitations not allowing ANY filter to fit. my inlet I designed specifically to allow enough surface area for the screens to not be a restriction to airflow. I tell everyone ALWAYS use a filter though.
Yes my engine sees negative effects from not running a filter, all sorts of issues, though for the 10 years I've been doing it they all have been minor issues. So far.
-zero cyl wall scoring, 50k+ miles in 3 different motors
-zero loss of compression, 50k+ miles in 3 different motors *due to piston, wall, and/or ring wear* *see below for *other*
but:
-dust buildup in the intake manifold within only a few thousand miles
-after 100k miles or so on the same compressor wheel, it is blasted enough to where the fins are starting to chip on the leading edges
-all of my heads have had at least a couple specs of debris embedded in 1 or more of the valve seats after 10k+ miles. sometimes intake, sometimes exhaust. once it was large enough it held an exhaust valve open a hair just big enough to cause a minor loss in compression test numbers and just small enough for me to say F it and drive it til it breaks. well, it burned the exhaust valve pretty good over the course of the next 6 months to where I had no choice but to tear it down and rebuild the whole head
-most recent issue: debris buildup around the bore and plate of the throttlebody, which for about a week now was causing rare but random throttle sticking issues from 1%-6%, then yesterday it got bad enough that it would only close to about 3%-4% throttle no matter what. pulled the charge pipe off, and sure enough there was clumps of debris built up mainly on the bottom center, holding the plate open. a rag and brake cleaner and some careful handiwork got it looking brand new again.
I should add; I rebuild my motors or build new motors every 12-24 months, and frequently have them apart to different extents in between and always clean when apart.
I also ALWAYS let off the throttle anytime I see ANYTHING floating in the air, and I avoid construction or any other known source of dust like the plague.
screens are better than nothing, as it keeps out the large debris that will cause instant catastrophic damage. but even with screens, you WILL get damage and/or negative consequences, whether you know it's happening or not!
So take it from me, do NOT do what what I do; DO NOT run screens or open turbo. USE A FILTER AT ALL TIMES FOR STREET DRIVING.
03-13-2016, 09:21 AM
Re: turbo filters/screens
