I bought one, P/N EAA123, in January, 2007 on the theory that maybe there was finally a media that filtered and flowed better than the stock paper filter. They are basically a dry cellulose-paper media blasted with nano fibers of some kind; "cleanable" with shop air/vacuum cleaner. I don't have any fancy bench testing, but here are my observations:

1. They need to glue the pleats together as on the stock filter. Mine now has three pleats that have been pulled a long way apart (an inch or so) from the others, and it looks to me like a good deal of the media is not getting used.

2. I have consistently noticed a coating of fine dust on the clean side of my airbox and in the intake tube.

3. My filter minder is always at 80 percent or more restriction when I check the filter at oil changes. I do drive a considerable amount on dusty roads, so I should check and "clean" the filter more often, but I never used to have this problem with the stocker.

4. As you might expect, I can't say there has been any significant performance or mileage improvements since switching to this filter.

Thought I'd throw that out there, FWIW.

Good info. I have thought about getting one, guess I just the stocker.

That's pretty much the same thing I saw.

I bought one, P/N EAA123, in January, 2007 on the theory that maybe there was finally a media that filtered and flowed better than the stock paper filter. They are basically a dry cellulose-paper media blasted with nano fibers of some kind; "cleanable" with shop air/vacuum cleaner. I don't have any fancy bench testing, but here are my observations:

1. They need to glue the pleats together as on the stock filter. Mine now has three pleats that have been pulled a long way apart (an inch or so) from the others, and it looks to me like a good deal of the media is not getting used. Same exact symptom for me and of course those pleats are where most of the dirt was trapped.

2. I have consistently noticed a coating of fine dust on the clean side of my airbox and in the intake tube. No dust what so ever in my housing or tube.

3. My filter minder is always at 80 percent or more restriction when I check the filter at oil changes. I do drive a considerable amount on dusty roads, so I should check and "clean" the filter more often, but I never used to have this problem with the stocker. This is the first filter that sucked the filter minder in on my truck. As soon as I noticed the filter minder I carefully blew the element out with compressed air. There seemed to be much more dirt trapped by the Amsoil than the OEM units I normally run. The minder sucked in almost immediately upon running WOT so I pulled the filter again and blew it out only to have it suck back in. I decided I couldn't get it clean enough so I replaced it with a new AC Delco.

4. As you might expect, I can't say there has been any significant performance or mileage improvements since switching to this filter. Other than trapping more dirt than the OEM paper I saw no improvements. Actually it hurt my performance at a truck pull. I don't see this filter as a reusable option for me, I just can't get it clean enough.


Thought I'd throw that out there, FWIW.

Pretty much the same for me...the original filter did not have the pleats glued together like the OEM. I had brought this up to one of the vendors on this site about the filter and how the filter was spreading apart and not filtering down the length of the pleats.

The latest filter DOES have the pleats glued, but IMO not enough. You can still see where dirt is forming at the intersection of the pleats(very little filtering) not along the length...but this version of filter is better than the original.

I also am just going back to an AC DELCO paper filter.

My silicon numbers on my oil analysis are bit high at 12ppm for 9kmiles. So I would hope to see that drop to single digits with the AC DELCO filter.

Good info guys. I'm going to send this thread to AMSOIL and see if they have heard similar stories or not. I know they trap a lot more dirt, but with the increased surface area, it's still supposed to flow well. I'll see what they say.
Heath

That's pretty much the same thing I saw.

....

This is the first filter that sucked the filter minder in on my truck. As soon as I noticed the filter minder I carefully blew the element out with compressed air. There seemed to be much more dirt trapped by the Amsoil than the OEM units I normally run. The minder sucked in almost immediately upon running WOT so I pulled the filter again and blew it out only to have it suck back in. I decided I couldn't get it clean enough so I replaced it with a new AC Delco.

After you said this I ran out and checked my filter minder. Having "cleaned" it on Sunday, the restriction is back to 80%+.

Good info on the silicon #s, RonJT. I have never gotten into the oil analysis habit so I don't have any data of my own.

Heath, when you say, 'more surface area,' you mean by virtue of the nanofibers? I think the Amsoil has many fewer pleats than the stocker, so just media surface area wouldn't be greater.

Ya, maybe wrong term. The nanofibers being so small, there are more pores per square inch(higher pore density) allowing for higher dirt-holding capacity and lower pressure drop. That's how they are supposed to work. Because of the more pores per space, they should be more efficient. On the opposite side of things, it seems with smaller pores, the would plug faster. It been tested and donaldson uses the same thing, but I"ll be curious to hear if AMSOIL has had any other problems. I'll keep you posted.

Just cleaned mine and noticed the pleats had seperated..Filter is only 3months old..

^Exact same thing on mine.

I don't have any of these symptoms on mine, and I was the first person in Alaska to order one when they first came out, so I've had it for a while.

Here's the response. He did address a couple points. The part I'm not comfortable with is the air needs of a modified engine. If the OEM filter does the trick, there's no reason this filter shouldn't also do it. Here it is:
Dear Mr. Palmer,



Thank you for contacting AMSOIL.



In response to your inquiry, earlier this year we did revise the EAA123 filter to include beads of adhesive to stabilize the pleats. This change did come directly from feedback from our dealers and customers.



Reading the blog you referenced is sounds as if there is the expectation of increased airflow under severe service conditions (“I do drive a considerable amount on dusty roads”). The contributors also list engine modifications for their vehicles. While our EAA filters are designed for superior filtration, they are intended as replacements for stock filters on stock vehicles. High performance modifications generally increase airflow requirements and appropriate filters should be used in these applications.



As always, please feel free to contact us again if we can be of further assistance.



Sincerely,



AMSOIL Technical Services

Where does it say in the marketing piece for the filter that it shouldn't be used on "modified" engines/was intended for stock engines only?

http://www.amsoil.com/StoreFront/eaa.aspx

I guess my expectation of having "more dirt-holding capacity" and "better air flow" than cellulose (i.e., the two major things Amsoil advertises for this filter) was unreasonable. :rolleyes: Oh well, it goes in the trash then. Maybe Donaldson will make a drop-in replacement from the same media one of these days.

ON EDIT: Heath, thanks for getting in touch with them.

It looks like I will be looking for something else also.