When I bought my car early 2011, I got it home, and checked it out, and had the exact same thing you are showing/describing. I didn't know if that was normal, or anything, since I had literally just bought the car. The car came from Florida, so thought it might have been heat related. I bought a new set of filters (not cheap), and put those in. That was a year ago. I have not checked them, but based on this, I may need to check them again, to see how they are holding up.

 

Dayuummm! Need to go and em filters checked.

I am not putting BMCs in there if this happens to me. I'll probably go back to OEM. Better safe than sorry.

 

Maybe i'm missing something, but over 3 years of usage? I realize they can be cleaned, but shouldn't they be replaced after 15-30,000 miles?

Or are these lifetime filters?

I would think you should replace them after a certain time period, not after 3 years.

 

For me, I have no idea how long they had been in there. I've put about 7000 miles on mine this year, so the question is, do you replace at a certain mileage level, time, or both? I'll check mine out to see how they are looking after a year.

 

Yup same here, after 2 years of using, I threw them out and put stock ones back in! My filters were literally dissolved!

$hit product!

 

Hmm just installed em today! Boooo!

 

Wow... that's unbelievable. I was going to order a set of the BMC filters but this is steering me away.

Can any vendors like RPi comment on this?

Thanks,
Brad

 

3+ years of a single filter usage is a bit much and would probably lead to deterioration - but the plastic molding is strange. I'm willing to bet you have to replace them at certain intervals.

Does the product instructions say lifetime?

You'll notice the OP says he has only cleaned it once in 3+ years. Wonder if that has anything to do with it.

 

i was under the impression that BMC filters where lifetime filters like K&N but they have an unspecified lifespan

Why choose BMC? | AIR FILTERS BMC | AIR FILTER | CAR | MOTORCYCLE | bike - racing - venturi admission system - carbon dynamic airbox | BMC Air Filter

From BMC: In addition, a traditional paper filter must be replaced regularly during routine maintenance whilst the BMC air filter is reusable and has a general life-span equal to that of the vehicle.

 

every filter after that much time will be done, air filters are meant to be replaced.

 

+1

 

Damn! I wish i had read this this morning. Just took my car in for its last free maintenance, and it was due for air filter replacement, but I said, no don't worry about it, I have BMC filters in there, I don't need them replaced! Guess I'll go check them tonight and make sure they look ok.

 

hmm... i've used these style of filters in my past cars for 4+ years with no problems. it's may be due to the lack of cleaning. it was so clogged up that the air resistance tore it apart? I usually have 2 sets and swap/clean twice a year. you'd be surprised at how much leaves(fall) and pollen(spring) get stuck in there.

 

I cleaned the filter annually, and its not dirty and my car has seen low usage, 8k miles as of today. Clogged filter is definitely not an issue.

 

Subscribed.

 

I just cleaned mine and they looked new still but my understanding is that these are not the K&N type that have a million mile warranty.

 

I agree and even going back to stock means checking and changing them on time.

 

BMC does not state the lifetime of their filters, but I'm just wondering is the the heat and humidity in my country that accelerate the degradation of the material. I do hope a BMC rep can chime in and share his thoughts on this issue.

 

I believe I bought mine from RPI - can't remember for sure, but thought that was where I got them. I would think they may know a reasonable lifetime on them.

 

I bought mine from RPI too, including the air scoops. Maybe the air scoop is feeding so much air that it tore it apart :haha2: Joking.

 

RPi does sell these with there "RPI AIR RAM KIT" which contains the scoop,block off plates and bmc filters.

 

I have never seen this happen. I have, however, seen this happen with other brand filters. This is one of the major reasons, I liked the BMC filters since the flanges seem to be silicone based which makes it a little more durable. From what I can see, some chemical or oil got on the flanges and with the heat from the car, damaged the filter. Remember to follow the directions very carefully when cleaning the filters. They also need to be dried on there own. Make sure none of the oil used on the actual filter element gets on the flange.

Either way, I am glad you posted this so I can forward this to BMC. I will post their comments soon. FWIW, the filter on the RPi M5 is the same as it was in 2006 other than the filter element being dark instead of the red color that it came in when new.

 

Do you still have the filters? I have talked to BMC and they are shocked about it. Remember these are high temp silicone and their filters are ISO certified. If I can get these damaged filters from you guys, I will have them replaced free of charge.

 

Hi Eloy, i still have the filters. I'm located in jakarta and shipping probably cost more than the filters. I'll bring it during my next summer trip to LA. Actually i just returned from LA for my winter holiday:cheers: And once again top notched service from RPI.

 

BMC Filters

RPI
Even though I don't have the filters yet, your willingness to get involved and help resolve the issue is a shear act of veracity and integrity. This is extremely rare to see today. Usually the consumer is left to fetter things out on their own or just move on and count it a loss leaving with an extremley foul experience. Stand up guys!!!! Thanks!:applause:

 

RPI
Even though I don't have the filters yet, your willingness to get involved and help resolve the issue is a shear act of veracity and integrity. This is extremely rare to see today. Usually the consumer is left to fetter things out on their own or just move on and count it a loss leaving with an extremley foul experience. Stand up guys!!!! Thanks!:applause:

Dont forget that just because we offer the brand, I still test every model we sell. That is the reason we dont carry ALL BMC filters. I still test them for each model and some are too my liking as far as performance goes.

I cleaned the filter annually, and its not dirty and my car has seen low usage, 8k miles as of today. Clogged filter is definitely not an issue.

I dont recommend cleaning them that often, although, I dont think thats the reason they came apart.

Hi Eloy, i still have the filters. I'm located in jakarta and shipping probably cost more than the filters. I'll bring it during my next summer trip to LA. Actually i just returned from LA for my winter holiday:cheers: And once again top notched service from RPI.

Sure thing, bring them with you and I will talk to them about getting you a replacement. If you dont want to wait until then, shoot me an email and I'll see if they want to issue a call tag to you.

 

Stellar response RPI! Gonna be ordering my RPI RAM AIR Kit shortly.

 

I believe I threw mine out, as I didn't think it was normal, but never dreamed they would replace them. I'm going to look around my garage, to make sure - if I have them, I'll let you know, but I think they are long gone.

RPI - thanks for stepping in here. As others have said, that says a lot. Impressive.

 

I've used BMC filters on my Porsches and now the M5 and have not seen an issue to date, seems more like a defect, I have seen though on the stock M5 filters slight tearing around its orange edges but nothing so far on the BMC on the M5.

 

try afe pro5r

 

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