New stock Volvo air filters 2-stage??

[mormit]

So I'm prepping the car for vacation and was due for a new air filter. Picked it up from the dealership, OEM.

Got it out of the box at home and it is a conventional paper element with about a 3/8in sheet of foam (dry, non-oiled) on the intake side of the paper filter. It's tacked on very neatly with small spots of glue so it is not some piece of packing material. The fit into the air box is perfect and there is no warning on the packaging saying be sure to remove it. I called the parts dept back and asked them about this. They told me yes it stays on.

BTW, the previous stock filter that I removed had no such foam element.

Any other car makers going to such a design?
Seems like a very restrictive design but I suppose Volvo's development budget is much greater than mine.

 

[RedWolf4000]

It sort of reminds me of how some lawn mower engines use a foam filter. It will probablly allow the filter to have a longer service life by trapping big particles first, so it doesnt clog the pulp or paper section of the filter. The big particles in the foam wont be restrictive as foam is not a surface filter and air can easily get around it.

Thats my guess.

 

[mormit]

RW: Yeah, I was starting to wonder about that myself - increasing the service life of the paper element. I'm kicking myself for not trying to get a vacuum reading before and after changing the filter. The old filter is in the trash.

Another thought that came to mind is possibly additional sound dampening. Sounds the same (quiet) to me but then again it's hot today so the windows are up and AC is on. The interior of the filter box is lined with about the same foam to dampen the sound of the turbo. The boy-racer types yank out the box foam just to hear the turbo, then swear that the car is quicker.

Just went out and measured the new fiter vs the old one. The paper pleats have been shortened so that the total depth of the filter is exactly the same as the old one.

 

[JHZR2]

Its a prefilter... K&N sells a foam wrap for their filters, which is supposed to be used in dusty racing conditions. Supposedly the restriction added on is minimal.

Sounds very interesting. Same price?

JMH

 

[mormit]

quote:

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Originally posted by JHZR2:
Sounds very interesting. Same price?

JMH

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Five bucks more than previous filter. Now $19.95. I thought about going to a Fram before getting this filter but nobody carrys the one for this application.

Good point about the K&N. I forgot they had that option.

 

[eklock]

My K&N filter representetive states the FilterWraps/DryChargers reduce flow by 5%. Most people that use them do so to keep mud and water from damaging the filter.

 

[ALS]

I saw the new OEM filters this spring. The one for my 960 has the two stage set up and the one for my 740 Turbo is still a single stage paper filter.

 

[Pablo]

Interesting - yeah I wonder about restriction (probably not too bad) - on the postive side it probably keeps the twigs, rocks and bugs out of the pleats.

 

[md_lucky_13]

I have an 01 cummins and almost all of the air filters I have purchased come with someone similar to what you are describing.

If it is the same material, I seriously doubt that the foam could change flow very much. The stuff they put on my air filters have always been a very thin, very large pour'd material.

It blocks the BIG stuff, but doesn't filter down very small at all..

I have even seen some individuals (read: cheap) rip that foam clean off the filter after it has started to get clogged a little bit and run the paper only!