aFe Air Filters Technical Specifications

Pleated Material

The aFe air filter uses deeper pleats than the competition. Using deeper pleats means more pleated media, resulting in more surface area for air to flow through while reducing its restriction. The aFe air filter is able to achieve this without choking airflow using a precision crafted pleat pitch, allowing smoother airflow into the engine. Competitive products, while attempting to increase surface area, over pack the filter with excess pleats, thus resulting in the unfortunate side effect of choking airflow. The aFe filter media, with its uniquely designed pleat depth, pitch and media material, prevents air velocities at the filter face from reaching critical speeds. Exceeding critical speeds result in increased backpressure and reduced engine performance. It also improves filter longevity by allowing for better dust retention.

The pleated media sandwiches multiple layers of high quality surgical cotton gauze between two layers of aluminum wire mesh. The special oil-treated surgical gauze filters out contaminating particles with less physical obstruction than typical paper elements. The oil is absorbed and wicked through micro fibers of the surgical gauze. Suspended particles are filtered out of the air stream through static charge attraction with the gauze/oil media. The aluminum wire mesh serves two purposes: first, it removes and prevents large solid particles from entering or damaging filtration media; and second, it provides a lifetime structural skeleton for the filter.

The aFe air filter is simply more efficient than competitive products. Multiple discrete layers facilitate depth filtration, which contributes to efficiency and promotes longevity over paper filters, which depend on quick clogging surface filtration. In addition, oil in the media enables the cotton gauze to filter out particles at a higher degree of efficiency without restricting airflow.

Seal Design

The aFe air filter features a superior seal design with a 100% polyurethane material construction. Poorly designed seals either permit air leakage or distort the filter housing. Many other filters use plastisol or air/foam seals. Over time, heat and chemical attack cause this material to lose its elastic characteristics, which result in seal failure. Complex curing processes also prevent consistent quality manufacturing of plastisol. Since visual inspection cannot distinguish between a good quality (fully cured) and out of specification seal (not cured), the problem is not detected until the seal fails in service. On the other hand, foam type seals simply cannot pass the test of time. Use of a foaming agent reduces the amount of polyurethane used in the part. Minimal heat exposure tends to turn this material into powder.

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