Hello all,
Been a while since I have been on here, as I have pretty much neglected my MINI over the last number of years.
Still love and wouldn't trade my 03 R53 for anything (within reason, lol)

But anyway, starting to get back to some "maintenance items" (list is TOO long to even think about fully), but started to look at my Air Filter.

I have an M7 Cold Air (which I believe is the same as the DDM intake) that came with the oil-able foam filter. I have cleaned and oiled it every year and have had it on the car for ~6-7 years.
Well I think the foam is past its life, starting to split and is terminally filthy (I use dirt roads quite often).

Any rate, I NOW see that they offer TWO different filter types:
1) Oiled Foam (as i currently have)
2) K&N Paper type filter (PN:RU-1480)


So two questions:
1) Double check myself here: Is the M7 Cold Air intake (original) the same as the DDM intake?

2) Anyone have any opinions on the Oiled Foam vs. K&N Filter debate?


I like the idea of NO oil (K&N) as I DO go down lots of dirt roads, but then again the Oiled filter I currently have has lasted 6-7 years as is.
I also though read a review online that said the K&N muffled the engine/supercharger whine quite a bit, which I REALLY like that sound.


So looking for any and all opinions, experiences, anecdotes etc.

Thanks in advance.
Ben

 

The DDM is the original setup that M7 copied.

You'll get varied answers from everyone, there are people that hate oiled filters and there are those that like them. I have always run oiled filters on all of my vehicles and never had a problem, if the filter is properly oiled you won't have issues, the people with issues are the ones who over oil the filter and foul their MAF sensor.

The K&N filter is less effective at filtering intake air than the Uni filter, I find dirt in the intake of 4/10 cars that run K&N filters as opposed to nearly none with foam filters.

Oiled filters will catch more of the dirt kicked up from dirt roads, but will require more frequent cleanings.

 

If you do use oil foam or mesh fabric, be sure to use the RIGHT oil when you service it....
The oils ARE NOT THE SAME..
Then you can use a dry foam filter....and avoid the issues...
I used an oiled k&n...
But many folks over service them...and over oil them when they do...

 

I run foam when possible, they last longer than the reusable paperfilters such as K&N, hell my dirtbike uses a foam filter and that's almost always off road, gets cleaned once a year. I also feel that the foam grabs the dirt better than paper since there is more surface area of material with sticky oil on it.

 

Okay, Im thinking I will stick with the oiled foam.
Like I said I have run the oiled foam filter for 6-7 years without issue, and have re-oiled enough times to go through two Oil/Cleaning kits with never a MAF sensor issue, so I must be doing something right.

Thank you all for the thoughts/opinions on this, truly appreciated!

Ben

 

Same asnwers as pretty much everyone else: Foam. As Saltysalt mentionned, dirtbikes and ATVs uses foam as it's better at filtering dust, which they see a lot. It kept my Raptor 700R alive after spending my time in sand pits, so I easily trust them on a road car.

 

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I did not want to start a new one when all the info can be in one place. For anyone that is running an M7 intake on their R53 and wants to use a K&N filter in place of the foam one, you will need to use K&N RE-0910.

The RU-1480 does not have a large enough inlet to fit with the M7 intake. I found the RE-0910 to be a nice and large filter that still fits nicely in the M7 box. I did have to remove the 2 bolts hold the side of the box close to the battery terminal to fit the filter in the box, but it does fit nicely. It barely touches the lid but I haven't had any issues in the 2k miles I've put on it since having the K&N.