[Eric L.]

I installed a JWT cone a little less than 2 months ago and noticed today (after reading TylerCanada's remarks about how his cone oil got washed away by carwash/rain) that my cone has faded noticeably since day one. It almost looked as if the blue oil was almost all gone (when new, it was blue, today it was blue-white).

I decided to do some testing, to see if carwash/rain really does get the filter wet. I went to the local coinop and blasted the driver's side hood section with the high pressure spray and checked afterwards - only a few drops of water got on the cone, not even close enough to wash any oil away. When I say a few drops, I mean just a few drops, enough to see water spots on the metal part of the cone, but thats it. So, my conclusion is that neither carwash nor rain washed the oil away, and the JWT cone just comes very very lightly oiled (and probably requires earlier service, for the first service).

K&N does note that the dye on the oil does fade over time, but the oil remains. I have a JWT cone on my Maxima and even after 10,000 miles the filter is still as red as when I oiled it, so I don't buy the fading dye idea.

I picked up a K&N recharger kit at Autozone (just $10) and cleaned/reoiled my filter tonight. Its red now.

Pics to follow.

 

[Eric L.]

Original JWT cone, when new. Nice and bright blue. Filter is a little higher in this picture because I initially mounted it wrong (but fixed it before I drove it). The next two pictures shows it correctly mounted - bracket on the bottom bolt of MAF, not top.

 

[Eric L.]

JWT cone today (about 1-1/2 month later). Almost white!

 

[Eric L.]

Cleaned/reoiled with K&N kit. Red and ready to filter again!

 

[Tyler_Canada]

Interesting test! When you tested with the pressure washer, did you try spraying it in through the grill? I think the automatic car wash makes mine quite a bit more wet, as I temporarily lose the "hiss" sound I normally get when I let off on the gas.

After 8 months, mine is completely grey. If it still has oil on it and the colour has just faded, then it's probably ok. I had read that you need to clean them at least once per year, as the oil will dry up and the filtering won't be effective, so I took a look and got worried.

 

[Eric L.]

I sprayed everywhere. Through the front grille, on the side gap between the hood and the fender, and down the base of the windshield (this was with the high pressure rinse setting, the strongest setting). The cone got barely wet, but like I wrote, just a few drops (seen on the metal section). I should have taken a picture of that.

 

[Tyler_Canada]

Excellent. That satisfies me. If I decide to keep the pop charger after all, I'll just make sure to clean it every 6 months in case a bit of the oil is washing off.

I've already taken the pop charger out, and I'm comparing it with stock again (I find it much easier to tell the difference if you go back and forth a few times). I'll post those findings in another thread.

 

[Eric L.]

I think the JWT cone just comes very lightly oiled. Probably more to avoid fouling MAF meters than a cheap cost saving measure. I'll report if my K&N oil fades after a short time.

 

[Tyler_Canada]

That reminds me, my K&N drop-in hasn't faded at all, and I've put many more miles on it than the JWT. But I also haven't had any symptoms of a fouled MAF either (from oil off the JWT).

The test you did is exactly the kind of test I wanted to do. Something else I'll check is after driving in the rain from work to home (20 min, highway), I'll check if the K&N is wet. Since I'll probably put the JWT back in, I'll do the same test with it.