I will be heading out tomorrow for a long dusty ride. I will post up what I find with pics. I have a hard time believing anything could get past all that foam if you oiled and greased it properly.

 

I know allot of people are saying air is getting around the rubber seal on the stock filters.I'm not sure if this is a problem with the UNI though.

 

Yea I always sealed mine good with stock with grease. Did a 700 miles on it then decided to replace so went with the UNI. I only have one small sand ride and a 70mile dirt road ride. May have to check it. I really like the idea of a UNI so I don't have to pay $26 every time I need a filter.

 

IMO neither oiled foam or cotton guaze will filter the fine stuff out as well as paper. The closest thing in a cleanable filter that might come close, just from looking at it, is the AEM dry flow material.

 

ill continue running the stock paper, no dirt past the filter, run it greased....did initially purchsase utv inc spacer but decided against using it , im using about 1 filter a month... @ 26 ....a can of cleaner and oil will run you 16 plus the aggravation...and i never trust a filter thats dual layer when u cant seperate the layers because debris will get wedged between layers

 

I use a solvent tank to clean the filter and a quart of bel ray foam filter oil for around $10 will last me a couple months easy. I think the worst part is the grease around the edges which you have to do with either. There is a lot more ohv's running foam filters than paper and they have always seem to work good. Honda, yamaha and so on all use foam filters on most of there off road applications.

 

i dont think foam is used because it filters better... i think foam is used because its exposed to the elements...paper gets wet ...bye bye filter...foam can get wet and oil repells water

however, polaris filtration system if properly sealed is very very difficult for water to reach the filter under normal riding

 

Right it's used because it's cheaper than buying a new paper filter. I got one for that reason. If it shows signs of letting dirt in I will go back to the paper filter as well.

Here is a good read on air filters paper and foam if anyone is interested.

Filtration Testing for Amsoil, K&N, Napa, Jackson Racing, Baldwin, and Mazda air filters on a Miata

 

I do not have an XP, but I run a uni on my 2010 S unit.
Ran this filter for almost complete winter season out herer in California desert with out cleaning it and pulled this week to wash.
The outer section had some dirt, the inner section clean and the throttle body was as clean as the day it was new.
Just my observations. opcorn:

 

Here's a good read if you like data..

ISO 5011 Duramax Air Filter Test Report - MotoWiki

 

Dang.......the only filter worse than a UNI is a K&N

 

Well if you are talking filtering ability...the Uni maybe worse than the K&N, neither do very well..look at the amount of dirt that got through..the Uni let more through than the K&N! The reason the K&N's efficiency is lower is it clogged quicker(ie didn't hold as much dirt before meeting a certain restriction level)...but that kind of works both ways..since the uni lasted longer before clogging it saw more dirt..so I guess the Uni maybe a little better. Sorry thinking out loud lol.
Those 2 flow great though..well for a little while..check the "time vs restriction" data.
I'll keep rocking the paper..since I don't plan on getting my filter wet.

 

Also the Uni really doesn't flow that well..look at the inital restriction...some of the paper filters are lower lol.

 

I have a lot of experience with UNI filters and foam filters in general, I havent used the UNI oil for the filters in years but the last time I used it, the oil smells and looks like gear lube, when you oil the filter and let the machine set outside on a hot day a lot of the oil drips out of the filter into the bottom of the air box, some applications that has a small filter the velocity is high enough at WOT it actually sucks the oil off the filter, have seen many UNI filters pass dirt when using the UNI oil.

Personally I use Maxima FFT Foam Filter Treatment OR Maxima Fab-1 Spray-On Filter Treatment on all my foam filters works perfectly no problems sucking dirt past the UNI .

Most of my machines have some sort of prefilter on them my RZR-S info is here PilotOdyssey.com • View topic - Prefilter Mod By hoser.. RZR
Honda Pilot here PilotOdyssey.com • View topic - New Pilot prefilter by hoser..

Let the first filter take the brunt of the dirt.

Need more flow increase the filter surface area dont reduce the filtering ability of the filter media, I have seen many applications over the years where the filter is small and the velocities over the filter is so high it pulls the dirt right through the filter increase the filter surface are and the velocity is reduced.

No filter will stop 100% of the dirt (100% efficient) .

Good luck with what ever you use and check your filters often!

 

Well got back from my ride this weekend and all I can say is WTF UNI? I oiled the crap out of it with bel ray foam filter oil and greased the edges just as I had been doing with the stock filter. I was blown away when I took the UNI out and saw all the dust caked around the inside of the air box.

It was like every inch behind the filter was hit with an aresol can of dirt. It was real fine sand everywhere. I will be going back to the stock paper filter I guess I will buy them by the case. If anyone knows where to get them cheap please let me know.

I would highly recommend that anyone that has one check it if you havn't yet. This was from just one day of rideing. I could only imagine after a couple trips and not checking it. Here is the pic of the air box after I got the lid off. You can tell it didn't just fall in there when I took the lid off because it is sticking to the walls.

Here is the outside of the airbox. You can see the dirt sticking around the edges where there was grease.

Here is the inside of the airbox. Look at the left wall of the airbox.

I only hope that it didn't burn up my rings.

 

Looking at the tube to the left where the air enters the air box it looks like its seeing a ton of dirt, regardless of the filter your going to use I would try to stop the dirt before it reaches the air box, here is the mod I did on my RZR-S keeps 99% of the dirt out of the air box OEM paper filter last thousands of miles, maybe you can use your UNI as a prefilter?

PilotOdyssey.com • View topic - Prefilter Mod By hoser.. RZR

 

Parker yamaha is the cheapest I have found,$19.99...but you have to buy in quanity or the shipping makes it not cost effective...for me shipping for 1 was quoted at $13 for 5 it was $17.

Can you tell if it went through the filter or around the seal...kind of looks like it might not have been sealing food on the left side? Honestly though I wouldn't be surprised If at least some of it made it through the foam..jmo

 

Parker yamaha is the cheapest I have found,$19.99...but you have to buy in quanity or the shipping makes it not cost effective...for me shipping for 1 was quoted at $13 for 5 it was $17.

I will check them out. Now if only I could get UNI to buy this POS back from me:rollfinger:

I am still going to call them tomorrow and see WTH is up.

 

Wow, not good news. I have a uni also. Heading outside to check it.now. did 2 pretty dusty rides since I put it in

 

And as for changing the paper every time it looks a little dirty...I don't. I'll carefully knock loose stuff off and use compressed air from the clean side to blow alot of the dust and dirt off. Thought about installing a restriction gauge / change indicator as you can't always tell how clogged a paper filter is by looking at it once you get the large particles blown off.

 

Here is my air filter pics:

The box:

Some residue behind the filter: I did 800 miles on the first filter and didn't have one spec of anything with the OEM, here there is some:

The filter-not even that dirty:

The backside of the filter shows some dirt, which I don't like:

Looks like the UNI was a waste of money for me. Not going to risk it, Paper filters for me. I was hoping the UNI would be good so I could clean it and not hope my dealer has a filter in stock. Guess I'll be getting a few to keep on hand.

 

You were using the UNI oil on the filter?

That is the results I had when using the UNI brand filter oil years ago the stuff looks and smells like gear lube?

I use Maxima Foam Filter Treatment or FAB1 no problems with the dirt getting past the filter or the oil dripping off or being sucked out of the filter media.

After oiling the filter if the filter does not look 100% uniform in color its not properly oiled, cant tell by your pictures but if you cant remove that metal backer from the filter I dont see how your ever going to properly oil the filter if you cant squeeze and massage the filter oil into the filter using your hands you will never properly oil the filter all my UNI filters are round and you can remove the metal backer (spring) for oiling then reinstall, again if you cant remove the metal thing I would NEVER even attempt to use the filter regardless what the mfg says.

Been oiling foam filters for 40 years starting with a Briggs and Stratton lawn mower engine tried about every filter oil on the market.

Its been a good 15 years since I last tested it but of all the filters oils I tested the UNI oil was the worse, maybe they have improved it by now?

 

Jarhead let me predict your call to uni...they are going to say it wasn't oiled properly...likely some fans will say the same thing.....Point is they emphasize the proper oiling for a couple reasons..it is important and it always gives them a way to blame the consumer. They'll look at those pictures of localize dirt getting through and claim dry spots that didnt get oil. I'm with you on staying with the paper...A uni nor a K&N has crossed mind for my XP

 

I will just go back to the stock filter. I don't change them every ride I do take them out every ride and vaccum it with the shop vac and the regrease it though. I guess I was just hopeing that I could save me some money and not buy a ton of paper filters. Oh well rather do that then replace my engine.

 

This is horrible news!!! I have a UNI still in the package that I havent installed yet. A paper filter in an offroad machine is retarded and now the foam alternative sucks? Whats one to do?:sad:

 

What to do is filter the air before it reaches the factory air box and filter then 99% of the dirt is already stopped, continue to use the OEM filter in the air box long as their is no other issues that would warrant changing like known leaks or failures of a part or something.

UNI, paper K&N all would work well as a first filter (pre-filter) before the air enters the air box, pick the one that will fit the best and your comfortable with cleaning and oiling all the time, I always have spare pre-filters that are clean so I am not pressured to clean one along the trail or in camp.

Once you pre-filter the air you end up with about the same thing as if you were driving your car on pavement all the time, the inside of the air box will actually stay cleaner than inside the one on your car.

 

Paper filters in offroad machines are about all that is used. I went UNI for ease of maintenance but not worth it now. I just think there needs to be a way to keep some dust from coming into the intake on the side of the bed would extend the life of the paper filter a lot.

 

Paper filters in offroad machines out west maybe but not here on the east coast. Humidity, water, mud, silt and sand do not mix with paper. I wish Outerwears would come out with a hi-flow prefilter for our intakes.

 

I was thinking about this the other day....

Why is there no better filter at the Intake? The stock ones are pretty coarse, but I still shoot them with a little oil....and they do pick up dirt there.

I would have no problem putting a better foam pre-filter in the two intakes..and then paper in the main filter...it would last a lot longer.

 

They are course because they are just debris screens..
Remember only 1 of those 2 is the engine intake..put a foam prefilter the size of that opening in there in addition to another filter in the air box almost certainly would be a noticeable restriction...my 10 year old briggs pressure washer engine has a foam filter larger than the engine intake opening on the XP. Not to mention how fast it would load...if you get a stock filter dirty in a weekend you'd be cleaning that prefilter every couple hours.

 

Yea I think it would help. Maybe I should just cut up my UNI and use it as my pre filter on the intake sides??? HMM....wonder if it would get enough flow still with it and paper filter?

 

man,i just ordered a uni,this sux,lol

 

You can probably cancell it as long as it hasn't shipped yet.

 

Any updates to these uni filters? Are the uni filters for the 2017 1000s still as poor as reported here?
The filter for the 2017 1000s is a 2 stage filter, if the outer filter is properly oiled I filnd it hard to believe it will let dust through.

 

I've had good luck with mine. Just wash and oil periodically. Haven't gotten any dust on the inside of the airbox yet. All we drive is dusty gravel roads.