how bad of an idea is paper filter in the cowl

I have been looking at aftermarket air filters to put in the cowl for my intake relocation project, and while doing some window shopping yesterday I noticed that some of the stock air filters for other cars are actually a pretty good shape and size for this application. They are certainly cheap enough too. Plus they actually filter better. The downside is you have to replace them instead of clean them, which is more expensive over the course of the vehicle lifetime but OTOH it's less work to replace them than to clean them.

The thing that has me worried is all the moisture in the cowl. I'm pretty sure a paper filter will get destroyed up there. However some of the canister-like filters look pretty rugged. Am I thinking right or wrongly prejudiced against paper

Biggest problem I see is keeping the moisture out of the filter.If you can keep it (filter) dry and flow enough air to satsify the engine requirements then all is good.

Wayne

Just get a cone filter from autozone and buy a pre-filter to go over it. The pre-filter will keep moisture and water off the filter. I don't like the sound of an open paper filter if that's what you are talking about.

well for example this filter is pretty much a perfect fit, although it's for a forklift so the airflow is way too restricted



this one for an Acura Legend would sit in the cowl sideways and stay pretty dry, also less airflow than stock unfortunately



limited airflow is another problem obviously

Why dont you just re-feed the stock airbox?

I'm going to put something else in the airbox location. I've already ordered an Airaid filter (if I'm going to the trouble of moving it then I'm going to get a performance boost for my troubles), but got kind of curious after seeing those yesterday.

how much room do you have?

a NAPA/WIX 6440 or 6441 looks similar to that first one you showed, but I think it's a little bigger. Its OEM for a newer chevy pickup. the 6440 is a higher flow, the 6441 is denser paper for a higher dust environment.



Attributes
Air Filter Bottom I.D. (Inches) : 3.58"
Air Filter Bottom I.D. (mm) : 90.93 mm
Air Filter Bottom O.D. (Inches) : 7.24"
Air Filter Bottom O.D. (mm) : 183.9 mm
Air Filter Height (Inches) : 11.12"
Air Filter Height (mm) : 282.5 mm
Air Filter Top O.D. (Inches) : 7.24"
Air Filter Top O.D. (mm) : 183.9 mm

If you can give me the measurements I can look through the catalogs at work and see if there is anything that will fit the space you are looking to fill. PM me if you want me to take a look, so I dont miss the response in this thread.

The primary limitation of the cowl area is height, nothing more than 5" tall will fit. Length is less important but assume 7-8" comfortable maximum at the full 5" diameter since other stuff is in the cowl chamber. A radial seal style with one end blocked off is going to be needed for an air tube setup (modulo weirdo exceptions such as the Legacy filter). The stock air tube is 2.75" at the throttle body end and 3.25" at the air box connector (but it tapers to 2.75" in the accordion pleats immediately), so that would be the easiest mouth size but adapters are feasible. According to Wix the stock panel filter has an airflow of 320 CFM, and while there's no way that the airbox moves that much air it would be nice if the filter was not restrictive.

The forklift filter pictured earlier is pretty close but has 80ish CFM which is too small. It seems that most of the radial seal filters are either really large or really restricted flow. Here's a nice one for a Dodge Stratus



WIX Part Number: 46677
UPC Number: 765809466777
Principal Application: Dodge Stratus (01-06), Chrysler Sebring (01-06)
All Applications
Style: Radial Seal Air Filter
Service: Air
Media: Paper
Height: 6.250
Outer Diameter: 4.965
Inner Diameter Top: Closed
Inner Diameter Bottom: 3.330
Ends: Plastic
CFM: 142

dont know how tight on 5" you need to be but here is a NAPA 2384, or WIX (NAPA filters are all made by WIX) 42384

http://www.wixfilters.com/filterlookup/PartDetail.asp?Part=42384

Part Number:42384
UPC Number:765809423848
Principal Application:Dodge & Plymouth Neon, SX (00-05)</B>All Applications
Style:Radial Seal Outer Air
Service:Air
Media:Paper
Height:6.594
Outer Diameter:5.654
Inner Diameter Top:Closed
Inner Diameter Bottom:2.520
Ends:Plastic
CFM:290

there is also this one at 5.4" x 8" but it doesnt have a CFM listed.

http://www.wixfilters.com/filterlookup/PartDetail.asp?Part=42736

hope this helps, I went through the entire WIX catalog and thats about all I could find that was anywhere near what you are looking for.

good luck.

I'm using an Airaid cone filter in the cowl, it's just discussion

I'm sure a filter more than 5" would 'fit' but it would also be pressed against the sides of the cowl which would limit airflow. It would alos invite water leaking onto it, which would be a problem--paper filters do not react well to water at all. Might be that one of the long skinny tube filters would work. At this point I'm gonna say that the Stratus filter (46677) might be worth trying but probably won't work very long.

well then, for the sake of discussion, if you pulled the dash out you could build a custom airbox with just enough room you clear your filter by an inch on each side, and incorporate a sheild over the top to keep rainwater out, then modify the back of the dash to allow it to fit

Might be able to retrofit the TJ airbox over the HVAC blower