SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/501768
entire season out of one element. We've also had many of our race customers complete the SCORE Baja 1000's on one element!" REAL WORLD TESTING METHODS Different methods are used to test how well certain filtration elements and intake systems hold up to the exceptionally harsh environment found in desert racing. "At Advanced Air Cleaners, we use a flow bench to find out the maximum flow of our filter. Once the filter was surrounded with our housing, we found that the housing itself was the restriction. So we simply added more holes in it, to allow the filter to breathe more efficiently," Howe said. "The goal was to not let the housing be the restriction. This took our 8X12 Air Cleaner from 236 CFM to 475 CFM by simply making the housing breathe better." In addition to flow bench testing and additional testing in a laboratory, filter manufacturers and intake system producers learn a lot from filter elements after a big race. Even when a filter appears to be loaded up with silt, dirt, and caked-on mud from water crossings, the expectation is that the filter element should still protect the engine and provide enough air volume to retain the engine's performance. "Race filters are routinely sent back to our facility where they are evaluated for dust loading and air flow capacity," says Greenlees. "The goal of the air filtration system is to finish the race with good air flow capacity, in other words we don't want the air filter to plug up during the race. We also ask for a sample of the race oil so we can check for contamination." "Most big teams will pre-run the courses and have had some amount of testing to know how long their filtration system will last in typical conditions," says Jump. "Should they find a need to extend the service intervals, then they can layer the filters with a K&N DryCharger and/or a K&N PreCleaner foam wrap. We have some universal wraps that are cut to fit with Velcro. They are very easy to use and extremely effective in blocking the big stuff. There are open cell course foam, so they breathe very good and work well with our products." Regardless of the size of engine being used in a desert race vehicle, the science of getting clean air to the combustion chamber is getting better. Although companies have different means of measuring how well their systems are working for a specific application, as well as the filter media they use, they all are capable of providing optimum performance in one of the harshest racing environments. SJ FILTER MANUFACTURERS PUT THEIR AIR FILTERS THROUGH RIGOROUS TESTING WITH VARIOUS SIZE DIRT AND FINE SILT TO DETERMINE THEIR OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS. THE END RESULT IS PROPER ENGINE PROTECTION UNDER EXTREME CONDITIONS. 046 SCORE JOURNAL