[gryphun]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I run a K&N in my Euro box and luckily have zero issues

[bimmerquick43321]

k so I went from

- Mildy dirty stock filter to K&N -> noticed engine response improvement (minor, but noticable)
- Really dirty K&N filter to Clean K&N and removed carbon filter -> noticed engine response improvement, bigger than just going to the k&N, quite noticable
- Installed air scoops - Can't say I saw any improvement, although it didn't hurt, I guess maybe there's a gain at higher speeds, but considering the higher speeds and very little gain if any, kind of hard to notice.

One thing that I do, because of all of the stories regarding the oil and how bad is for the MAF, each time I clean it, I really take my time to put not too much, not too little oil, than I use a hair dryer (with cold air not hot), from the "inside" part of the filter to push away any excess oil from the filter, following this I never had issues.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by norsairius

Something to try post-cleaning with an oiled filter is to put it in a pillowcase and flail it about a bit. Get some air flowing through it by doing that and some of the excess oil (if any) is bound to come off.

Assuming you have a pillow case to destroy....but I get the purpose at hand,but a bit extreme for a product that should not ooze oil and gunk up sensors lol

[bimmerquick43321]

btw. how did you clean-up your MAF? what I'm thinking is that it might of been originally goten dirty because of the excess oil, however afterwards all depending on how it was cleaned and "handled" maybe that's when it broke?

also agreed with others that mention it's a hassle to clean "properly" this filter, I'm actually thinking of getting another one so I can always have a clean one ready to go.

[NEFARIOUS]

I don't have one now, but back when I used to have a K&N I used to make it a point to wrap it in an old darker towel and either put it under the sun on a hot day then put only a few spritzes of oil on it, or put a towel underneath it and bake it at the lowest temp for about 5 minutes.

[W37V]

Originally Posted by mecbain

btw. how did you clean-up your MAF? what I'm thinking is that it might of been originally goten dirty because of the excess oil, however afterwards all depending on how it was cleaned and "handled" maybe that's when it broke?

also agreed with others that mention it's a hassle to clean "properly" this filter, I'm actually thinking of getting another one so I can always have a clean one ready to go.

Cleaned it with MAF cleaner. Sprayed with it for about 1-2 sec. Let it dry for about 5-7 seconds, spray again. Did it about 4-5 times. Afterwards, it looked clean - from what I can see; however, it's impossible to see deeper into hole without taking it apart. I don't know if MAF cleaner managed to clean in there. When I initially took it out, white plastic was very oily.

[MarkkyyMan]

This is weird because BMW uses K&N filters in their performance intake for the 128i.

[Tom Droze]

Originally Posted by MarkkyyMan

This is weird because BMW uses K&N filters in their performance intake for the 128i.

So does Dinan but I refused to use it and purchased an AFE dry element air cleaner. Most of the time I would assume the K&N work fine, but what is disconcerting is the variation in oiling that can occur, which can, as we witnessed here, cause problems from time to time.

[Dafttt]

I'm surprised your hands weren't red after installation.

[W37V]

Originally Posted by Dafttt

I'm surprised your hands weren't red after installation.

I didn't touch the filter that much for it to really stain my hands. My hands felt oily, but I figured it was normal considering it is oiled air filter. Plastic bag in which the filter came in, did not have accumulation of oil. It was oily, but no puddle.

I am suspecting that the amount of air moving through it at 7000+ rpm caused excess oil to "leak out" after installation. Especially since all accumulation was towards engine.

[W37V]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

Try unplugging it.

I unplugged maf and run the car like that for about two miles. Car felt the same - if not stronger when unplugged. Driving like that, engine Definitely had some serious bumps in power curve. After about a mile it seemed like car adjusted and it run smoother.The other thing that changed from plugged in maf was my gas pedal did not work if the breake pedal was pressed.

So, I guess... New maf for me. I wonder if I could find one used.

[NEFARIOUS]

Originally Posted by W37V

I unplugged maf and run the car like that for about two miles. Car felt the same - if not stronger when unplugged. Driving like that, engine Definitely had some serious bumps in power curve. After about a mile it seemed like car adjusted and it run smoother.The other thing that changed from plugged in maf was my gas pedal did not work if the breake pedal was pressed.

So, I guess... New maf for me. I wonder if I could find one used.

Damn, these cars sure have a lot of redundancy solutions... If I did that in a Toyota I couldn't even get past 2,000 RPM without stalling the engine (I installed an intake and forgot to connect the MAF).

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by W37V

I unplugged maf and run the car like that for about two miles. Car felt the same - if not stronger when unplugged. Driving like that, engine Definitely had some serious bumps in power curve. After about a mile it seemed like car adjusted and it run smoother.The other thing that changed from plugged in maf was my gas pedal did not work if the breake pedal was pressed.

So, I guess... New maf for me. I wonder if I could find one used.

Car-part.com

Good luck.

[W37V]

I just figured to get about 3-4 of them and test them out. Several used places have them for as little as $30. So, 4 of them are still 1/2 price of 1 new one.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by NEFARIOUS

Damn, these cars sure have a lot of redundancy solutions... If I did that in a Toyota I couldn't even get past 2,000 RPM without stalling the engine (I installed an intake and forgot to connect the MAF).

MSV70/80 are actually designed to run without a MAF as a primary algorithm, but they left it in for emissions reasons basically. The model is accurate and fast enough that it runs based on wideband o2 feedback. I intend to run without the MAF in my other car since it'll basically be a race motor anyway.

[justpete]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

MSV70/80 are actually designed to run without a MAF as a primary algorithm, but they left it in for emissions reasons basically. The model is accurate and fast enough that it runs based on wideband o2 feedback. I intend to run without the MAF in my other car since it'll basically be a race motor anyway.

Wasn't aware of this, thanks for the headsup! Is there any downside at all to simply unplugging it and removing it physically?

[W37V]

That would explain why MAF failure does not cause CEL.

I just drove from Florida back to DC area. Even with busted MAF, I still got over 28 MPG on average (this included heavy foot (avg speed was 70mph), heavy traffic, and city driving). So fuel economy does not seem very effected by it. However, the car is hesitant at lower RPMs (below 3k) and it feels like it's choking (running a bit rich). On the top end, there is no difference. Car got much smoother as the air got cooler and denser.

Per my observations, the car run default map with set air volume and temperature. I think, if you code the engine map to track conditions, I am sure you could run without MAF without any sacrifice.

[Mavus]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

MSV70/80 are actually designed to run without a MAF as a primary algorithm, but they left it in for emissions reasons basically. The model is accurate and fast enough that it runs based on wideband o2 feedback. I intend to run without the MAF in my other car since it'll basically be a race motor anyway.

hmmm interesting!

Why would then Dinan make larger TB and claim it increases hp?

[smithf80]

I think K&N should be paying for your new MAF considering that this was over-oiled from the factory.

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by Smooth 330i

hmmm interesting!

Why would then Dinan make larger TB and claim it increases hp?

Because people will pay for things that make no real difference

I bought an extra single stage intake i want to cut up and make a custom airbox for. Gotta figure out all the vac ports etc though.

[rhombus]

I have long suspected that BMW added the carbon filter to the airbox to avoid issues with people installing oiled filters ruining the MAF. BMW has probably had to replace a fair number of MAF sensors over the years due to oil contamination. My previous generation BMWs did not have a charcoal filter.

I installed a K&N in my car, but left the charcoal filter in place to catch any oil that may come off the filter. I also cleaned the filter before installing to remove the excess oil.

[Tom Droze]

If you have a MAF sensor failure and there is a K&N filter in place, good luck trying to get it covered under warranty!