The long standing debate. To filter or not. I believe just too many chances for a small stone to fly just right and ruin an expensive engine. Is it RARE yes, but does it happen YES. If you find little stones and debris under your intake, that should be enough to tell you it happens. And to put some type of barrier. The dome or filter screens are an option if you care about the 0.01 to 0.05 in ET. If not just run a filter. I don't see a downside. Cleaner air in for your motor and no chance of a catastrophic event from a stone.

Many many good racers don't run a filter or screen, many many do, your choice. My motor my rules.

quote:

Originally posted by BG7X77:
The long standing debate. To filter or not. I believe just too many chances for a small stone to fly just right and ruin an expensive engine. Is it RARE yes, but does it happen YES. If you find little stones and debris under your intake, that should be enough to tell you it happens. And to put some type of barrier. The dome or filter screens are an option if you care about the 0.01 to 0.05 in ET. If not just run a filter. I don't see a downside. Cleaner air in for your motor and no chance of a catastrophic event from a stone.

Many many good racers don't run a filter or screen, many many do, your choice. My motor my rules.

Filter always on all of my engines. With dragsters, stones are always getting thrown up from the back tires. My car has a flat k&n with the tuff paw insert. My wife’s car has a round k&n. The filters don’t slow them down at all.

This pic is from a couple years ago, pulled the scoop off my wife’s car to see a stone sitting in front of the filter. All the reason I need to always run a filter.

If you're worried about stones this is what you use

http://www.intensityracingprod.../pro-series-screens/

and filter absolutely kills MPH!

You don't see filters on Pro stock cars, never have or any class that is heads up

I lost about 0.025 and about 0.4 mph back to back same day within an hour of each pass (1/8). I'm sure it's a little more in 1/4. I would like to try a different configuration to see if it changes. I am sure with different hood configurations there are a lot of variations in overall impact. The screen dome from intensity are a nice idea if your worried about that last bit of ET. I have considered trying one. Bracket racing that ET difference doesn't justify having no filter, I just prefer the peace of mind and it can't hurt having clean air in your cylinders.

183N I have also pulled pieces off my intake that made me glad I have an air filter. I often wondered how many "dropped" valves and broken motors were rocks getting sucked in and could have been prevented!

4" cheapo lift off cowl hood on mine. liftoff is a pain on a 3rd gen it's so big, I can lift it and place it on the roof but it's not easy. Boy that carb screen looks trick, I bet it's expensive. Walmart sells kitchen strainers that are the right size and do the same thing, just have to cut the handle off.

Really, does walmart sell kitchen strainers that are flat and do they sell them in black and with a girdle to keep the strainer ridged?

quote:

The long standing debate. To filter or not. I believe just too many chances for a small stone to fly just right and ruin an expensive engine. Is it RARE yes, but does it happen YES. If you find little stones and debris under your intake, that should be enough to tell you it happens

I cut the inner structure away on the truck and run no inner fender wells, first thing I noticed was how much debris get tossed around. Found a few small pebbles on the intake. Firebird has wheel wells, never any debris ...... I bought a walmart strainer LOL

Walmart strainer. That's awesome! I thought about buying the stainless screen and making something to replace the full filter.

I agree no inner fender cars are just playing with fire. Just my opinion.

Mr. Woodfin,
I would run a 4" cowl hood and an air cleaner like a K&N. I had them on the white 70 1/2 Camaro and it went 5.40's and 8.40's at almost 2900lbs with no issue.

After having a small pebble go through a cylinder I would never run without a filter again. I machined my own. I found a filter the shape I wanted on K&N's site. It's for an old Citation.



This is the inside views of the program for the bottom and top. I had them anodized black.





Runs exactly the same with or without it.