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OEM vs aftermarket air filter

  • Thread starter Thread starter JTsGS650
  • Start date Start date
J

JTsGS650

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I am in need of a replacement air filter since the one that came with my '82 GS 650G disintergrated when I tried to take it out of the airbox. I've decided to stay away from the pods for now and go with a drop in. My question is; Is there any benefit in forking over 31$ for an OEM filter, or wil a 15$ UNI filter work just as well? Will the bike like the OEM one better? Will the UNI filter the air better as they claim? Am I overthinking this? TIA.
 
JTsGS650 said:
I am in need of a replacement air filter since the one that came with my '82 GS 650G disintergrated when I tried to take it out of the airbox. I've decided to stay away from the pods for now and go with a drop in. My question is; Is there any benefit in forking over 31$ for an OEM filter, or wil a 15$ UNI filter work just as well? Will the bike like the OEM one better? Will the UNI filter the air better as they claim? Am I overthinking this? TIA.
Click to expand...

For my money, I went with the Suzuki OEM, the bike came with a Uni filter in when I got it and in the process of trying to rule out possible issues, I changed filters. I can tell you this, " these bikes seem to be quite finicky when it comes to their air / fuel mixture", and anything that puts them back to spec seemed to make a great deal of difference on my 650.
 
JTsGS650 said:
... the one that came with my '82 GS 650G disintergrated when I tried to take it out of the airbox...
Click to expand...

I think that's fairly common with a bike that has sat for awhile, particularly if the PO neglected basic maintenance. I replaced mine with a K&N filter. It lasts virtually forever. You have to oil it, then clean and re-oil regularly.
 
Ive got the K&N in the airbox and am also not a big fan of pods. The OEM is a no brainer and will last a couple years with a couple cleanings. If you start toying with the air intake your gonna have to play the rejet game. If your looking for performance above stock... Air in (filter) and air out (exhaust) are the places to start.
 
well, UNI worked for me in my GS650L...

well, UNI worked for me in my GS650L...

I just recently (Oh, I don't know... August maybe) bought new UNI filters for both my GS and my Goldwing... my Goldwing indicator alarm popped "yellow", telling me to change it. Since I had no idea how old my GS one was either, I switch'd em both out.

Not even one iota of difference in performance to me. So, if my experience means anything, the UNIs are just fine.

\\:D/
 
I have a '79 850 and an '83 850. Neither bike runs as well on the UNIfilter as it does on the OEM filter. The UNI flows more air and makes the mixture a little too lean, in my opinion.

The UNI is made from the same stuff that they make small engine air filters out of and you can see/feel it at Lowes, Home Depot, etc. It is not as dense as the OEM filter. I'd pay a little extra and get the OEM filter. It'll last a long time if you're careful with it.
 
I put a uni filter in my GSX1100ef and it runs quite well. I have found no difference in the running of the machine after the change. :)
 
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There I go thread hijacking again. Moving post to new thread... ;-)
 
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emjay said:
I think that's fairly common with a bike that has sat for awhile, particularly if the PO neglected basic maintenance. I replaced mine with a K&N filter. It lasts virtually forever. You have to oil it, then clean and re-oil regularly.
Click to expand...
Does the K&N increase airflow? or rather if i go with the K&N will it make the mixture more lean?
 
I used Oem filters, Uni and K&N in my airbox. I have since then went with K&N pods and rejetted with a dynojet stage 3.
With the filters the K&N had a little more air flow but not enough to rejet. I also liked the Uni, it worked well. My least favorite was the OEM mostly because of the price.
The pods made carburetor work a snap. I hated tussling with that airbox. Made me want to break something:?
 
mordantmonkey said:
Does the K&N increase airflow? or rather if i go with the K&N will it make the mixture more lean?
Click to expand...

I've switched back and forth several times between a K&N and the stock filter and I can't tell any difference.....
 
Seems like there's no real consensus one way or the other. They don't make a K&N filter for my bike, all I could find in the way of an aftermarket drop-in was the UNI. I'm not looking to increase performance just yet :twisted: , just looking to get it running 8-[ . Anyone else have any opinions or experiences? I think I'm leaning towards the OEM filter. I found one on flat-out for only 21$
 
At my local Suzuki dealer, the K&N was almost exactly the same price as the OEM. I went with the K&N. No difference in the way it ran. The bike had a pleated paper filter in it. I assume that it was the OEM.
 
I have run K&Ns in my bikes since the 70's, and have never had to rejet unless they were pods. I now run them on my cars, too, since the overall cost is lower than the filters that you have to replace.
There is no problem with OEMs, except the cost and the fact that you have to replace them.
Not familiar with UNIs, so I leave that to the experts.
Have you tried K&Ns website? I have a buddy with a 79 GS850, and he had to order it straight from them. Just a thought.
 
Been running with a homebrew airfilter for the last year (green 3M Pot scrubbers wiretied around the OEM plastic cage in the airbox). Three weeks ago I changed it out, I bought the OEM filter, the local bike shop happened to have it in stock and I happened to have my credit card handy.
Bike's a lot happier with it, as I was running towards lean on the homebrew.
 
I put UNIs in all three of mine (for the 400 I cut it frm a sheet of UNI foam) and have had no problems whatsoever. They all run quite well.
 
Anything non OEM tends to run lean for me. Anyway that's been my experience. Now I will only run OEM original. That goes for cables also.
 
The filter on my 550, and old 450, is just a flat piece of foam held in place over a frame. Uni sells a couple of different densitys of foam so you need to pick the right type if making your own replacement - the foam with the smallest pores matches stock.
 
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