Air Filter Calculations

[WJBertrand]

I recently had the Ford Racing Performance ProCal tune installed in my 2013 GT. The package included a K&N drop-in filter replacement and I decided to try and compare the filtering surface area between it and a Purolator paper filter for my car.

First I measured the frame around the area of exposed filter media. This is the size of the opening if the filter media was removed. The K&N measured 6.6875" wide by 7.75" long for an opening area of 51.82 inches squared. For the Purolator paper filter, the frame was a bit more open measuring 7.25" x 8.25" for an opening area of 59.81 inches square.

Next I turned to the media itself which is mounted in a pleated arrangement in both cases. For the K&N the depth of each pleat was about 1.375" and the length was again 7.75" from above. There are twenty peaks. So 40 panels if you will, of the depth and length measured above. This results in a total surface are for air passage and filtering of 426.25 square inches.

For the Purolator the pleats were deeper, 2" in depth and longer at 8.25". The big difference is the number of panels, I counted 50 peaks or 100 panels of the above measured area for a total area of 1,650 square inches. That's almost 4 times the filtering surface of the K&N.

I have to conclude that either the K&N filter is actually more restrictive or it is 4 times more open than the paper one, to equal it's restriction, let alone best it.

I put the Purolator one back in.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Some people have done testing and made more power on the paper filter than on an aftermarket filter.

 

[WJBertrand]

Some people have done testing and made more power on the paper filter than on an aftermarket filter.

That would not surprise me at all based on my geometrical analysis. It might be all in my head but I swear the car ran a bit better swapping the paper filter back in.

Anyone want to buy a brand new K&N filter? Only has 3-4 40 mile drives on it.

 

[JAJ]

Some people have done testing and made more power on the paper filter than on an aftermarket filter.

I did datalogs on my supercharged 5.0 and the OEM paper filter delivered better airflow than the K&N. Having said that, the difference was so small that there was no way to know without the datalog - it was about a tenth of a percent at WOT at 6500RPM with a TVS blower on the engine pulling 50% more air through the filter than a stock 5.0.

The flow restriction is so small from any of the choices for filter that there will be no measurable difference with a naturally aspirated engine.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Lol id never run an oiled filter on a car with a maf. Thats just me though. I have an airaid on my car and it has the dry filter.

 

[FIVE-OH]

Lol id never run an oiled filter on a car with a maf. Thats just me though. I have an airaid on my car and it has the dry filter.

^ This. I ran one back in the day on my LS1 before we knew better and it drove me nuts until I figured out the issue. The only time a K&N will have an advantage over a OEM paper filter is if the latter is filthy.

 

[FIVE-OH]

I recently had the Ford Racing Performance ProCal tune installed in my 2013 GT.

Mind if I ask why you went with that tune? Soooooo many better options out there and from what I recall the ProCal can have issues with pinging.

 

[WJBertrand]

Mind if I ask why you went with that tune? Soooooo many better options out there and from what I recall the ProCal can have issues with pinging.

I am still under warranty. No pinging so far.


-Jeff

 

[Grabber Blue 5.0]

I am still under warranty.


-Jeff

Not exactly. Your Ford powertrain warranty was replaced with a Ford Racing warranty. Two different companies. And your powertrain warranty went from 5/60 to 3/36.

 

[WJBertrand]

Not exactly. Your Ford powertrain warranty was replaced with a Ford Racing warranty. Two different companies. And your powertrain warranty went from 5/60 to 3/36.

Only in the case that the tune can be shown to have caused the failure. The other reason to go with ProCal tune is that it's California emissions legal. Not sure about the others.

But we are hijacking an air filter thread...

 

[FIVE-OH]

Only in the case that the tune can be shown to have caused the failure. The other reason to go with ProCal tune is that it's California emissions legal. Not sure about the others.

But we are hijacking an air filter thread...

Incorrect. No matter what, once you load that ProCal, all you get is a 3/36 from original date of sale. The fine print on the ProCal is terrible and many think they have much more warranty then they really do.

 

[WJBertrand]

Actually, it doesn't matter what the fine print says, by federal law, the Magneson-Moss Warranty Act requires that the modification or aftermarket part be shown to have been the cause of the failure, before warranty coverage can be denied.

Quote From the law:

"The federal minimum standards for full warranties are waived if the warrantor can show that the problem associated with a warranted consumer product was caused by damage while in the possession of the consumer, or by unreasonable use, including a failure to provide reasonable and necessary maintenance."

The warrantor in this case is Ford

With the Ford ProCal, Ford Racing will warranty failures caused directly by their products, whereas the remainder of the power train warrany, not affected by the tune (e.g. the differential seal starts leaking, or a transmission problem), remains under the factory warranty. Yes, I loose the 60,000 mile thing if the tune directly causes a failure to the engine, but I am still covered to 36,000 miles by Ford Racing. I don't think any of the other tune suppliers will go that far.

For example, I believe the warrantor would have tough time proving a mild tune such as this one, still making less power than a stock Boss 302, could be responsible for blowing the transmission, given that said Boss 302 uses the same transmission.

 

[terry5357]

I am curious about the performance gains from the Pro-Cal tune. What did you notice most after installing the tune? I saw where it claims 60 ft lbs of tq at 1500 rpm, that is a significant increase in tq with only minimal increase in hp. Still on the fence about the Pro-Cal or another aftermarket tune. I would be good with a 60 ft lb increase in tq.

 

[WJBertrand]

I am curious about the performance gains from the Pro-Cal tune. What did you notice most after installing the tune? I saw where it claims 60 ft lbs of tq at 1500 rpm, that is a significant increase in tq with only minimal increase in hp. Still on the fence about the Pro-Cal or another aftermarket tune. I would be good with a 60 ft lb increase in tq.

The tune supposedly does add 60 ft. lb. of torque at that RPM, but peak torque is only 8-9 ft.lb. higher. The tune is redistributing the torque to an RPM range where I think it's more accessible. This makes the impression of power increase, from the seat of the pants, feel like a lot more than the difference in peak dyno numbers would suggest. It also adds 16 peak horsepower, so that is actually a larger measurable difference, but it's the torque that you feel. I compared some dyno curves I found on-line and it looks like torque & HP stay slightly above stock all the way across the range. Differences are small other than in that 1500 RPM range.

You can really feel that increase in low end torque in daily driving without having the thrash the RPMs. Throttle response is more immediate and the idle seems more stable (I used to find it ridiculously easy to stall this thing in reverse without careful throttle control). The car just feels more responsive and lighter if that makes any sense. Others have reported a 2-3 MPG improvement, but I don't think I've put enough tanks of fuel through it since the tune to confirm that yet.

 

[Grabber Blue 5.0]

Actually, it doesn't matter what the fine print says, by federal law, the Magneson-Moss Warranty Act requires that the modification or aftermarket part be shown to have been the cause of the failure, before warranty coverage can be denied.

Quote From the law:

"The federal minimum standards for full warranties are waived if the warrantor can show that the problem associated with a warranted consumer product was caused by damage while in the possession of the consumer, or by unreasonable use, including a failure to provide reasonable and necessary maintenance."

The warrantor in this case is Ford

With the Ford ProCal, Ford Racing will warranty failures caused directly by their products, whereas the remainder of the power train warrany, not affected by the tune (e.g. the differential seal starts leaking, or a transmission problem), remains under the factory warranty. Yes, I loose the 60,000 mile thing if the tune directly causes a failure to the engine, but I am still covered to 36,000 miles by Ford Racing. I don't think any of the other tune suppliers will go that far.

For example, I believe the warrantor would have tough time proving a mild tune such as this one, still making less power than a stock Boss 302, could be responsible for blowing the transmission, given that said Boss 302 uses the same transmission.

That MM act is worthless and was never put in place for changing parameters in a computer.
http://www.speedsportlife.com/2011/...y-voiding-tsb-really-isnt-that-big-of-a-deal/

 

[WJBertrand]

That MM act is worthless and was never put in place for changing parameters in a computer.
http://www.speedsportlife.com/2011/...y-voiding-tsb-really-isnt-that-big-of-a-deal/

Thanks, that's an interesting article, no surprises in there. I think we are saying the same thing with respect to the engine itself. If mine goes pop before 36K Ford Racine covers it. If it goes pop at 37K I cover it. I've accepted that.

What I am arguing is that I don't think it necessarily voids the rest of the power train warranty. I can see where that would be the case with 25% and 50% power increases, as mentioned in that article, but the 3.8% horse power increase that the ProCal tune represents would not over stress the rest of the power train. The Boss 302 makes 444 horsepower stock, and except for the engine internals, uses the same power train components

 

[SNKPWR]

Biggest thing I noticed with the procal tune was 100% better throttle response. Other than that the elimination of skip shift was the only useful things I noticed. Went with a dyno tune a couple months later and night and day difference.

If anyone has the same ecu code as me I'll sell them my Procal pretty cheap

 

[FIVE-OH]

What I am arguing is that I don't think it necessarily voids the rest of the power train warranty.

It does. As I said, you only get 3/36 from original date of sale. So if you put your ProCal in at 2 years and 24,000 miles you have 1 year and 12,000 miles left. At 3 years or 36,000 miles your entire powertrain warranty is done. No more 6/60...

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

It does. As I said, you only get 3/36 from original date of sale. So if you put your ProCal in at 2 years and 24,000 miles you have 1 year and 12,000 miles left. At 3 years or 36,000 miles your entire powertrain warranty is done. No more 6/60...

You are wrong on that. He still has his powertrain warranty. The warranty ford racing offers is exactly what you said but it doesnt replace the factory warranty. Its in addition to.

 

[WJBertrand]

You are wrong on that. He still has his powertrain warranty. The warranty ford racing offers is exactly what you said but it doesnt replace the factory warranty. Its in addition to.

Thanks for the confirmation. One can read the Ford Racing Products warranty for themselves (attached) but this is the relevant section:

"Installation of these select Ford Racing and mountune LLC warranted performance packs and components by an authorized dealer will NOT void your New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Engine, driveline and suspension concerns not caused by Ford Racing Performance Parts remain eligible for warranty coverage according to the terms of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. "

On the second page it specifically calls out which kits are covered. In my case, M-FR1-MGTB (2011-14), is listed as warranted. It's a pretty straight forward document and there's no "fine print". The only stipulations are that you purchase it and have it installed by a Ford Dealer and that you use 91+ octane fuel.