How It's Made - S&B Air Filters

With over 30 years of experience, S&B has been designing OEM replacement air filters and intake systems using leading-edge technology and testing equipment. In their 60,000 square-foot facility located in Ontario, Calif., S&B has been able to manufacture some of the most technically advanced air filters on the market due to their in-house manufacturing plant and R&D lab.

Although S&B may not be a household name in the sport compact community, it is fairly well known among the truck and domestic car enthusiasts. S&B's proof of quality lies within their products, with a million-mile warranty to back them up. We were given a tour of their facility in Ontario to find out how they make air filters. Since S&B is the only air filter manufacturer with an in-house R&D center, we thought they would be a prime source in showing us how an air filter is made.

For the vast majority of air...        read full caption For the vast majority of air filter makers, the filter design is created in 3-D using computer-aided design, or CAD, to input the specifications for each filter. S&B also pioneered the "Build Your Own Filter" program to enable consumers, companies, and race teams alike to submit their own air filter size and shape requirements to be built. This allows S&B to virtually cater to anybody's air filter needs. Customers can also choose to have their air filter engraved for a touch of personalization. S&B added the Honda Tuning logo to the filter they created for us.	For the air filter material,...        read full caption For the air filter material, 8 layers of premium cotton gauze fed through a pleating machine and are pleated together to create a "pleat pack" that is used for each filter. During this process, a W-pleat (arrow) is made to section off each pleat pack in order to ensure consistent pleat quantity for each filter.	Once a pleat pack has been...        read full caption Once a pleat pack has been produced, it is formed into the shape required for the vehicle. After it is shaped, the product is ready for the molding process.
During the molding process,...        read full caption During the molding process, the base and top of the filter is molded into a variety of shapes and sizes. A rubber compound is poured into the molding plates to create the flange that attaches the filter to the vehicle's intake tube or airbox. S&B creates filters from a black rubber top to a stainless-steel power stack that can be engraved for a touch of personalization.	After molding the filter,...        read full caption After molding the filter, many companies will apply a proprietary oil formula, which is one of the critical components to obtaining the maximum performance of the filter. S&B uses robotics to ensure that each filter is oiled properly from the factory. S&B can hold a tolerance of +1 gram of oil. Currently S&B makes filters in red and blue oil, customers can choose which color they want their filter to be upon building it on the website. S&B also provides an oiling kit with the filters they sell so the customer can keep the filter up to factory specifications.	Once a new filter has been...        read full caption Once a new filter has been manufactured, it is generally tested. S&B test their filters in a half-a-million dollar ISO 5011 test lab, which is climate controlled and can hold + ? a degree and + 1 percent humidity at all times no matter what the conditions are outside. This is critical to achieve consistent and reliable results. The 2 key questions every consumer should ask when purchasing a high performance filter are the following: How much will the air flow be improved versus stock? What is the efficiency rating of the filter? In other words, will the filter protect my engine while still dramatically improving the flow? S&B's minimum goal for efficiency is 99.0%.