Air Filter question

[alx123]

Does this looks like it need changing? Or I can still get away with just blowing pressurized air to clean it.

Scoot's 10 month old and 10000 kms odo (6200 miles).

Also, if i decide to change this, will the Vario or K&N filter be an advantage over the Honda OEM?

unrelated Rant: I find it hard to understand why honda made the PCX a very difficult task to maintain. I am talking about getting all the plastic covers off when doing a very simple stuff like checking the valves. Heck, even the spark Plug is quite hard to reach if you want to see or clean it..Checking the belt, you will need to take off some plastic too..I love the PCX but it is a PIA to maintain, esp for those who loves to do it themselves..

[Tomtic2]

Well I've just done a 5000 mile service on mine, and it looked similar to yours. For the sake of £8 ($10?) I decided to change it. I think the service
manual says to replace it later, but I have also noticed my fuel economy has dropped a little over the past few months.
The choice is yours, but its a cheap enough part.....if you shop online.

[you you]

That could with changing

[PCX150Rider]

What I do with my pleated lawn mower filters is bang them on a flat surface and a lot of the debris and dust comes right out of them. You can use a vacuum or pressurized air as well but I find initially most of the dirt comes out with the "banging" method. Think of it as taking a sandwich and slapping it down on a table. If you are concerned about disfiguring the plastic put a rag or something on the striking surface. I've done it on picnic tables, asphalt driveways, and even fences. It amazed me the first time I tried cleaning one that way. . ..

If I was in your situation though I'd be inclined to just replace it with a new one. See how the cleaning goes. It is a shame that the maintenance stuff on the PCX is a royal PITA. I'm due for my "Baptism of Fire" when I accomplish the first scheduled maintenance. . .and then later on when I adjust the valves. It seems there is some controversy over checking/adjusting the valves at 600 miles and then every 2500 miles after that or at 4000 miles and every 4000 miles after that depending upon if you have a new 2017 or later PCX and what side of the "Pond" you live on. The owners manual that comes with the machines vary. . .gives me pause to wonder why.

[alx123]

I guess I'll just replace it then, I realized it's actually just $6 here in Thailand.

My PCX (10k kms or 6200 miles) never been on any useful maintenance since I bought it last year. Honda mechanics just changed my oil when I went for the scheduled maintenance. Done inside 15 mins each. My request for the oil screen cleaning was also casually brushed aside.

I can do it myself but the task needed to be done prior to doing a simple maintenance check is unbelievable.

I saw one PCX here who somehow decided to make his storage box's floor removable to easily access the valves during maintenance. I'm still thinking if that would be a bad idea as moisture can easily enter the storage box. It rains a lot here.

@back to topic

Will the aftermarket alternatives offer more advantages than the OEM filter?

I'm not after performance gain yet, I'm asking about filtration effectiveness.

[u33db]

K&N flows more air.

They used to claim power increases of 10bhp by fitting their cone air filters to cars but usually this is based on a massive cc engine (e.g 4 litre) which probably had a horrendous intake design to begin with - certainly on a modern car their filters add next to no power, maybe 1-2 bhp on a good day. So if you get 2 bhp on a 2 litre then by the time you scale that down to a 125 you'll maybe gain 0.1hp by fitting one - not worth it when they are 4 times the cost of a standard filter!

Also remember;
- k&N cotton doesn't filter as well as paper (not great considering where the PCX airbox is!)
- they definately don't "last a lifetime" as claimed
- being oiled they can also interfere with any air flow sensors the vehicle has.

In short just fit an OEM paper or cheap paper copy, save your money and protect your engine.

[easyrider]

Exactly..Well said...In fact many car manufacturers will deny warranty claims if using a KN filter.

[you you]

Exactly..Well said...In fact many car manufacturers will deny warranty claims if using a KN filter.

Which ones?

[easyrider]

Exactly..Well said...In fact many car manufacturers will deny warranty claims if using a KN filter.

Which ones?

I dunno, My vehicle owners manual states it can void the warranty. I just think and agree that for a fractional amount of HP gain there are better ways and less riskier measures one should pursue. A fractional HP gain can result in poor engine performance and sensor contamination etc etc. possibly resulting in more deleterious issues down the road. See below service bulletin General Motors issued..

Bulletin No.: 04-07-30-013
Date: March 05, 2004
INFORMATION
Subject: Automatic Transmission Shift, Engine Driveability Concerns or Service Engine Soon (SES) Light on as a Result of the Installation of an Aftermarket Reusable, Excessively Oiled Air Filter
Models: 2004 and Prior Cars and Light Duty Trucks
2003-2004 HUMMER H2 (2005 and beyond included in this as well)
 
The installation of an aftermarket reusable, oiled air filter may result in:
^ Service Engine Soon (SES) Light On  
^ Transmission shift concerns, slipping and damaged clutch(es) or band(s)  
^ Engine driveability concerns, poor acceleration from a stop, limited engine RPM range  

The oil that is used on these air filter elements may be transferred onto the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor causing contamination of the sensor. As a result, the Grams per Second (GPS) signal from the MAF may be low and any or all of the concerns listed above may occur.

When servicing a vehicle with any of these concerns, be sure to check for the presence of an aftermarket reusable, excessively oiled air filter. The MAF, GPS reading should be compared to a like vehicle with a OEM air box and filter under the same driving conditions to verify the concern.

Transmission or engine driveability concerns that are the result of the installation of an aftermarket reusable, excessively oiled air filter are not considered to be warrantable repair items.

[alx123]

Thanks for all the infos guys. Since, I'm just planning to keep my scoot stock as much as I can, I'll replace it with the OEM filter.

[PCX150Rider]

Thanks for all the infos guys. Since, I'm just planning to keep my scoot stock as much as I can, I'll replace it with the OEM filter.

I'm keeping mine stock also with a few exceptions. I may change the roller weights when the time comes but keep the stock variator. When it comes time to replace the tires I'll see what the consensus is at the time for the best choice.

[you you]

Exactly..Well said...In fact many car manufacturers will deny warranty claims if using a KN filter.

Which ones?

I dunno, My vehicle owners manual states it can void the warranty. I just think and agree that for a fractional amount of HP gain there are better ways and less riskier measures one should pursue. A fractional HP gain can result in poor engine performance and sensor contamination etc etc. possibly resulting in more deleterious issues down the road. See below service bulletin General Motors issued..

Bulletin No.: 04-07-30-013
Date: March 05, 2004
INFORMATION
Subject: Automatic Transmission Shift, Engine Driveability Concerns or Service Engine Soon (SES) Light on as a Result of the Installation of an Aftermarket Reusable, Excessively Oiled Air Filter
Models: 2004 and Prior Cars and Light Duty Trucks
2003-2004 HUMMER H2 (2005 and beyond included in this as well)
 
The installation of an aftermarket reusable, oiled air filter may result in:
^ Service Engine Soon (SES) Light On  
^ Transmission shift concerns, slipping and damaged clutch(es) or band(s)  
^ Engine driveability concerns, poor acceleration from a stop, limited engine RPM range  

The oil that is used on these air filter elements may be transferred onto the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor causing contamination of the sensor. As a result, the Grams per Second (GPS) signal from the MAF may be low and any or all of the concerns listed above may occur.

When servicing a vehicle with any of these concerns, be sure to check for the presence of an aftermarket reusable, excessively oiled air filter. The MAF, GPS reading should be compared to a like vehicle with a OEM air box and filter under the same driving conditions to verify the concern.

Transmission or engine driveability concerns that are the result of the installation of an aftermarket reusable, excessively oiled air filter are not considered to be warrantable repair items.

It would take quite a bit of air filter over ouling for it to affect your cars clutch.

And the autobands

[easyrider]

It would take quite a bit of air filter over ouling for it to affect your cars clutch.

It depends on how much "ouling" one does. Too much Ouling around can get you in trouble..

[you you]

It would take quite a bit of air filter over ouling for it to affect your cars clutch.

It depends on how much "ouling" one does. Too much Ouling around can get you in trouble..

Er..that's French for oil

[easyrider]

Er,.. "graissages"?? Still,Too much ouling around can sometimes be a slippery slope when used improperly.Ou la la!!!

[easyrider]

In Brooklyn ,we call it Erl..Some say potatoe,and some say potado.I guess what GM is saying in English ,not French is that too much oil on an intake air filter can cast off a film that will affect the resistance of the MAF probe,which in turn changes engine ECM operating parameters and transmission shift points,and since the engine is poorly running clutch engagement can be erratic.In which case these issues will not be warrantable.Hope that explains it..

[Smaug]

Great discussion on K&N.

The thing that gave me pause was the price of K&N vs. OEM and the fact that this isn't a powerful engine anyway.

FWIW: I have had the K&N in my Accord for at least 60,000 miles and have not had a lick of trouble. Just follow the directions, which say to squeeze out all excess oil,and it'll be fine.

[springer1]

Hello, first post here ... glad the group exists. Thought I'd add that almost all dirt modified, sprint cars and etc race cars use oiled K&N or similar oiled filters, their engines cost easily $25k-$40k. Not saying that we should on our Hondas, but these filters are designed to outperform others in the worst conditions, and seem to be the choice of at least these racers and engine builders. Again, not saying we should use them or not.

[springer1]

Hello, first post here ... glad the group exists. Thought I'd add that almost all dirt modified, sprint cars and etc race cars use oiled K&N or similar oiled filters, their engines cost easily $25k-$40k. Not saying that we should on our Hondas, but these filters are designed to outperform others in the worst conditions, and seem to be the choice of at least these racers and engine builders. Again, not saying we should use them or not.

To clarify, I mean AIR filters that are saturated with oil to collect dirt ..... not referencing Oil filters.
.

[you you]

In Brooklyn ,we call it Erl..Some say potatoe,and some say potado.I guess what GM is saying in English ,not French is that too much oil on an intake air filter can cast off a film that will affect the resistance of the MAF probe,which in turn changes engine ECM operating parameters and transmission shift points,and since the engine is poorly running clutch engagement can be erratic.In which case these issues will not be warrantable.Hope that explains it..

It's an old interweb chestnut. It's vaguely possible but in reality won't happen. Good for clicks.