I reached out to this guy. He claims he had R2C ship a set of filters to one of his customers last weekend! He has since stopped responding to my emails.

Not sure what to make of that.

 

This is why Im not bothering with genuine R2C filters.

AEM or K&N I can get from Amazon in 2 days. Even if they arent the exact size of the R2C originals, at least they are readily available.

As an aside - did K&N purchase AEM, or vice versa? Their websites look almost exactly alike, the filters look almost exactly alike, etc. I remember a time when that was not the case.

 

The AEM 21-2011DK is shorter but some of the height difference looks to be because the R2C flange is a bit longer. Im not sure if maybe the new R2C BlackHex is bigger than the original one that came with my intake or not, but the "small" AEM looks pretty close to the "bigger" R2C here.

The AEM does NOT have a notch outside the flange for the clamp to land on but the inside of the flange is ribbed (huhuhuhuhuhuh) so Im guessing that helps hold everything on better. It did come with a worm drive clamp so they must expect it to be installed that way.

My original (dirty, old) R2C vs a new 21-2011-DK (clean and red!)






Installed!

 

With the flange not having a notch, I suspect my P2M clamps would be too small. Grrrr.

Fitment looks good.

 

Needed to crank down pretty good on the clamp so the filter wouldnt slide off the tube. I might remove it and rough up the end of the tube a bit just to be sure.

Was never an issue with the originals and they didnt have any ribbing inside the flange. The AEM rubber looks "shiny" so maybe that should be roughed up a bit too. Overall Im happy with fitment and sizing and availability. It was either this or go back to stock (and who wants to do that!!!???)

 

My black hex filters would get loose when I first got them. so I roughed up the mid-pipe flange, and the filter too, with some heavy course sandpaper. Totally solved that problem. Give it a try.

The top of those AEM filters kind of has a bowed design to it. Between that and the flange height, it sure looks about the same overall height as the R2C. Hard to tell in your pics... oh, and your pics aren't coming through right now. That's odd.

Dude, your engine bay... we have slightly different priorities here, LOL.

 

Engine bay, clean or dirty?

Because Ive never actually cleaned it (other than wiping down the plastics when I wash the car)

2011 with 52K miles on it....pretty much doesnt go anywhere. And of those 52K miles, 10K were in the last year or so (wife started driving it when Covid happened). So, yeah, it doesnt usually leave the garage.

EDIT: re-upped the images directly (had copy/pasted from Google Photos before)

 

Yeah, she's pretty dirty. As you maybe saw a few posts back, I'm really into keeping a detailed engine bay. No worries, different strokes.

Good on the images now. You know, regardless of "media height", it actually looks like the overall length, base to top-of-cap, is the same between the R2C and this model AEM. When I go to buy, I'll likely stick with the same model number you selected, because you proved it out. In the immediate moment, I don't have a need, but it's something I'll probably do this year, and have made a note to refer back to this thread. As said, my only real concern at this point are my clamps from Phase2Motortrend... I may have to get new clamps.

Thanks for your efforts here, Chris. Good job.

 

You're welcome, glad I could help. Ive been dreading changing the filters because of cost and availability, the AEMs arent exactly cheap but they are cheaper than the R2C (assuming you can still get them) and from Amazon too.

Im fairly into detailing but have honestly always been afraid of deep cleaning the engine compartment. The G would probably be the best candidate for learning since its older and not usually our primary vehicle.

I have a long list of things to do on it now that its 10 years old, will put deep clean engine compartment on that list

EDIT: forgot to mention, the AEM filter came with not one but TWO stickers! Even moar power!

 

In July 2022 I replaced my then old R2C filters with new ones after replacing my spark plugs. They were defective and I had to change them. I'm still waiting for the company to reimburse me. I changed them to Vibrant Performance blue series dual cone with chrome. Much better!

https://www.autoanything.com/air-fil...waAqHpEALw_wcB

Features:

• Part #: 21-201D-HK
• Part Size: 2.5" Flange
• Style: 6" Base, 5.125" Top, 5.063" Height
• Flange: 2.5in.
• Base: 6in.
• Top: 5.125in.
• Height: 5.063in.

But I'd like to see the flange area compared to the R2C filter. You would think its designed with a groove for a typical clamp, but I'd like to see it.

You know, this might seem silly, but I really like the looks of the red filter material. Years ago, on a previous car, I had an Apex-i filter that was deep red like this, and I really liked it.[/QUOTE]

 

^ Link does not work.

 

I wanted to add to this post that AEM part # 21-201DK is a good replacement part for the R2C Black Hex filters. To answer the poster above, the flange area is molded to hold the (included) clamp in place. Please excuse the dirty engine bay -- I'll be cleaning it very soon so I can show off these new filters! I kinda like how they go with my grounding kit cable wrap.

 

Thanks! looking forward to seeing those comparison pics.

My R2C Black Hex filters are 9 years old. Granted, there's only 26k miles on them, and they look (?) totally fine, but still... I'd like to go red again.

I would love it if my P2M clamps would work with new filters.

 

I ended up trying the K&N RU-5174 filter as it’s washable. They fit well and ends barely touch stock intake tube slot in radiator brace. I don’t see any issue with it.