Cleaning Uni Filter

nsxsupra

nsxsupra

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I just cleaned the Uni filter, inside of Cantrell AIS, and air box. I have a question regarding re-oiling the filter.

Do I need re-oil both sides of the filter (red and yellow) or just one side (red)?

This is after 1 year/3000miles of use.
Filter before cleaning:
11309uni-before.jpg


After cleaning:
11309uni-after.jpg


DIY items I completed this weekend, cleaning oil filter, oil change, wash/wax, added 3/4 bottle of Redline water wetter. Can't wait to drive it. I am looking forward to tomorrow's NSX group drive.
 
Last edited:
I'm going to clean mine too, and I'm thinking you should only oiling "intake" side ot the filter, which I believed is the red, foam side. My reasoning is that the oil is to help trapping the big particle (dirt), and you don't want those oil ended up on the other side which could suck into the throttle body and made mess in the intake...

I could be wrong though. ;)
 
I oiled mine both sides very lightly since you have to dab it off with a paper towel to get the excess off while distributing the oil throughout. Its not that thick so I think its a matter of how much you take off after spraying then what side get what amount. Hope that helps. Also they do get that dirty at 3000 miles especially if you have a Cantrell CAI.
 
WOW, where have you been driving to get a filter that dirty after only 3k miles?
I wouldn't think you would be able to see where you are going driving down the street if there was that much dirt in the air.
Unless of course you take it off roading.:biggrin:
 
nsxsupra said:
I just cleaned the Uni filter, inside of Cantrell AIS, and air box. I have a question regarding re-oiling the filter.

Do I need re-oil both sides of the filter (red and yellow) or just one side (red)?

This is after 1 year/3000miles of use.
Filter before cleaning:
11309uni-before.jpg


After cleaning:
11309uni-after.jpg


DIY items I completed this weekend, cleaning oil filter, oil change, wash/wax, added 3/4 bottle of Redline water wetter. Can't wait to drive it. I am looking forward to tomorrow's NSX group drive.
Click to expand...


Have you guys noticed any filteration issues with the uni-filter? Any indication that harmful particles/dirt got through the filter?

I heard that the newer dual stage uni-filter is better than the older version.
 
back to da' ol' one...

I had a DIY session a few weeks ago as well, cleaning the intake / filter / TB / engine-oil / flush-coolant / misc'... yes, oil both sides of the filter 2x & wipe-off excess w/ lint-free towelette.

I have the Downforce intake-scoop and had been using the Uni-Filter air element. I noticed most of the dirt/discoloration around the perimeter of the filter and a sharply demarcated ciricle that looked like it was painted black (probably due to intake air-vortex)!

Anyways, I went back to the K&N performance filter because I like the intake sound much better than the Uni-Filter's. Blipping the throttle at just about anywhere on the tach' produces a noticable induction growl to serenade the Taitec JGTC Parallel exhaust into action... :cool:

However, I'm fairly sure the Uni' performs better in terms of filtering out particulate-matter. I feel the difference is so inconsequential that I am willing to take the risk. I'm at ~82.5k miles & use conventional engine-oil (dino'juice), it's my daily-driver and occasional speed-demon.


On a tangent...

That air-filter cone thingie that Dali Racing has introduced (fabricated to fit a modified OEM airbox) probably will be the most ideal intake filtration offering for excellent performance (design of filter works w/ the intake air-vortex) and protection (quality filtration materials and large surface-area).
 
Back in the days I had Nitro R/C cars using foam filters. I recall the foam falls apart over time getting into the engine after a couple of years. Because of the deterioration due to dirt/oil I just rather purchase a new one rather than clean.
 
nis350 said:
Have you guys noticed any filteration issues with the uni-filter? Any indication that harmful particles/dirt got through the filter?

I heard that the newer dual stage uni-filter is better than the older version.
Click to expand...
Not really. Most of the particles get trapped on the red side. The back of the yellow side is perfectly clean. The second leayer is probably there for added insurance.

The Uni filter is actually dual stages. I just cleaned my Uni again and realized that it has only been 4 months. The Cantrell AIS draws more air and dirt. Next time I am probably going with Gruppe M or Dali airbox mod with Apexi power intake.
 
nsxsupra said:
Not really. Most of the particles get trapped on the red side. The back of the yellow side is perfectly clean. The second leayer is probably there for added insurance.

The Uni filter is actually dual stages. I just cleaned my Uni again and realized that it has only been 4 months. The Cantrell AIS draws more air and dirt. Next time I am probably going with Gruppe M or Dali airbox mod with Apexi power intake.
Click to expand...

I have heard good things regarding the apexi power intake; it's a paper element, and is a replace-when-dirty arrangement (no oils used), it's also supposed to filter finer particles than the K&N or foam replacement filters, flows well, and is 'good to go' out of the box (for oil-covered filters to get to their maximum potential filtration they must trap particles in the oil)... I just replaced my RM K&N unit, which was a bit worse for wear, with a AEM filter while I try to acquire the Apexi with a 3" (75mm) flange.
 
Actually, for those of us not in the know, how do you clean the Uni or other foam filters? Mine's pretty dirty; I'm going to stick back in one of the old paper filters in the meantime.

What's the process, and what parts are used? TIA! :biggrin:
 
burbel said:
Actually, for those of us not in the know, how do you clean the Uni or other foam filters? Mine's pretty dirty; I'm going to stick back in one of the old paper filters in the meantime.

What's the process, and what parts are used? TIA! :biggrin:
Click to expand...

It's very similar to the K&N. Funny, I was just doing this tonight, I have both types here and no particular preference to either, although I've always suspected the K&N flows better but the dual stage Uni protects better.

Uni has their cleaning kit, K&N has theirs. Most motorcycle shops carry both. Both have the filter cleaner and oil. Both are very similar, and the design/concept is essentially the same. The procedure is the same as with most re-usable foam filters.

Spray the intake side down with the cleaner, let it sit for 3 minutes or so, then run plenty of water from the engine side towards the intake side to get all the dirt, debris, particulates, etc... that have been lodged deep in out along with the cleaning solution. Let it sit until it gets bone dry, then re-oil, wipe off any excess and re-install.
 
I cleaned my uni a while ago. Oil'ed it as per the instruction. I took it out yesterday and found the lower half of the oem air box soaked with oil from the uni filter :frown:



Henry.
 
nsxhk said:
I cleaned my uni a while ago. Oil'ed it as per the instruction. I took it out yesterday and found the lower half of the oem air box soaked with oil from the uni filter :frown:
Click to expand...

I experienced samething when I removed the air filter. I believe this is caused by over spraying filter oil, and installed immediately soon after applying oil. The oil will slowly drip down onto air box, due to gravity.

You are suppose to massage the air filter and spread the oil evenly. I did not do so 2 previous times, as I was afraid of damaging the air filter. It is actually a lot tougher than it looks, you can press it lightly without any problems. I think I finally done it correctly this time around.
 
I only had it about 3 month or so....but damn it was dirty. Was it from the scoop thing that sucks all the air in? While I clean the filter, I decided to clean the throttle body as well.................just for the heck of it. :D
 

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