Not at all. Science is great. I hear they're working on brain transplants.
I'd take a look into it if I were you...

This was because people were going 10-12,000 miles between changes and
sludging their engines.

I was there when the campaign was on.

Who gives a f.ck?

Well, Here is some pretty good information that would tend to support
my position over yours.:

The oil-bath air-cleaner is a classic example of a two-stage' kinetic
filtering element, removing virtually all particulate contaminants
from the air at all engine speeds.

Incoming air is forced to follow a vertical descending path toward the
pool of oil then drawn upwards. Having a mass several million times
that of a molecule of air, the inertia of the dust particles makes it
impossible for them to follow the abrupt change of direction in the
air-stream, causing the particles to strike the pool of oil where they
become trapped. This works best at high rates of air-flow.

The coir filter element, which forms what is termed a 'labyrinth
filter', applies the same principle but in a different manner. The
coir element forces the air to change direction many times. The fibers
are coated with kerosene. Dust particles collide with the fibers and
are trapped by the kerosene.

The spec for cleaning the coir filter is to immerse it in kerosene,
allowing it to soak for up to half an hour. It is then sloshed
repeatedly and allowed to drain. This was done twice a year under
normal driving conditions, as often as deemed necessary under dusty
conditions.

In use, particles of dust trapped in the oil bath cause the level of
the oil to rise. Under severe conditions it may require cleaning on a
daily basis. (Moisture does the same thing. In a rainy climate it
isn't unusual for the air cleaner to accumulate a quart of water per
month.)

Under Volkswagen's original apprenticeship training program the
effectiveness of the oil-bath air-cleaner was demonstrated by removing
the sludge from a the oil-bath and coir filter, flushing it with
solvent and examining the residue. A low-power microscope was needed
to observe the smallest particles.

The same principle is used to clean the air for large stationary
engines and for air conditioning applications, in which a
recirculating water-bath may be used instead of oil, and the air may
be forced past as many as two dozen up-down baffles, removing even
microscopic particles of low density such as pollen. In some systems
the water-bath is sealed with a thin film of mineral oil. Trapped
particles fall thru the oil and are removed by the recirculation of
the water beneath the oil film. I understand special silicone-based
oils are used in modern HVAC systems but non-human applications such
as large stationary engines continue to use mineral oil. Residential
HVAC systems typically use labyrinth-type filters, designed primarily
to catch fibers rather than particles.

Paper and foam filtering elements are based on the labyrinth
principle. The effectiveness of the oil-bath air-cleaner is superior
to that of the typical paper or foam filtering element. Paper
air-filtering elements came into use when they became effective at
trapping particles of a certain size. Oil-bath filters will trap
smaller particles but there is no evidence of accelerated engine wear
for particles below a certain critical size.

Air filters for rough service (armored vehicles, farm machinery, etc)
where an oil-bath would be unsuitable, and high-volume applications
(turbines, etc) use the same physical principle of
mass-differentiation, typically drawing the air through several stages
of centrifuging during which the greater mass of the dust particles
causes them to be separated from the air-stream. Although such
air-cleaners may be powered or static, they are often called 'turbo'
air-cleaners. They are often used in conjunction with disposable
labyrinth-type filters. For Volkswagen owners running off-pavement,
the static type of 'turbo' air-cleaner used on Ford tractors has
proven most effective.

Recent air-pollution legislation enacted here in California requires
automotive paint shops to reduce their emission of vapor and
particulate material. I mention this because the most cost effective
means of doing so involves the use of high-volume, low-pressure
spray-painting systems in conjunction with a multi-baffle water-bath
air-cleaner that uses exactly the same principle as the air-cleaner on
an early Volkswagen.

-Bob Hoover -4 May 1997
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

More:
Oil Bath:
An oil bath air cleaner consists of a round base bowl containing a
pool of oil, and a round insert which is filled with fibre, mesh,
foam, or another coarse filter media. When the cleaner is assembled,
the media-containing body of the insert sits a short distance above
the surface of the oil pool. The rim of the insert overlaps the rim of
the base bowl. This arrangement forms a labyrinthine path through
which the air must travel in a series of U-turns: up through the gap
between the rims of the insert and the base bowl, down through the gap
between the outer wall of the insert and the inner wall of the base
bowl, and up through the filter media in the body of the insert. This
U-turn takes the air at high velocity across the surface of the oil
pool. Larger and heavier dust and dirt particles in the air cannot
make the turn due to their inertia, so they fall into the oil and
settle to the bottom of the base bowl. Lighter and smaller particles
are trapped by the filtration media in the insert, which is wetted by
oil droplets aspirated thereinto by normal airflow.

Oil bath air cleaners were very widely used in automotive and
small-engine applications until the widespread industry adoption of
the paper filter in the early 1960s. Such cleaners are still used in
off-road equipment where very high levels of dust are encountered, for
oil bath air cleaners can sequester a great deal of dirt relative to
their overall size, without loss of filtration efficacy or airflow.
However, the liquid oil makes cleaning and servicing such air cleaners
messy and inconvenient, they must be relatively large to avoid
excessive restriction at high airflow rates, and they tend to increase
exhaust emissions of unburned hydrocarbons due to oil aspiration when
used on spark-ignition engines.

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

I worked with them for years on farm and industrial equipment.(both as
user and mechanic) Properly serviced they WERE extremely effective.I'd
say properly sized they were more effective at filtering across the
broad spectrum, if slightly more restrictive.
Combined with a "turbo" pre-cleaner to catch the flies, bumblebees and
gravel stones not much dirt of any description got through. It took an
hour to properly service one though - and it was a DIRTY job.
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Let's see...science says more dirt will pass with one of these filters.

Inspections say no more than the stock filter get through.

Common sense says, the few particles that do get through are extremely
fine, and will most likely burn up and/or get discharged through the
exhaust valves without doing any damage.

Probably less damage than 12,000 mile oil is doing.

I didn't use a K&N filter, I used a different one, that came with the
intake. Same principle. Maybe it was a better filter.

I know I managed to get >4 MPG more after I changed the filter.

so you don't make mistakes like not reading something pertinent to the
article?  or claiming someone said something when they didn't?  checking
facts?  you know, little stuff like that.

You know, maybe you're right.

But I don't really care, becuase you're so friggin' smug about it. You
have the personality of a Grizzly Bear. I say "I'm not always right, but
I'm never wrong", but I'm kidding.

You think it applies to you as Gospel.

Get some civility.

Those two links are very interesting.  Who would have thought that
dirty, old oil was better at lubricating an engine than clean fresh
oil?  How much sand would you recommend I add to the crankcase when I
change my oil to eliminate that dreaded first 3000 km of wear?  I
wonder if just not replacing the oil filter would help reduce engine
wear?

How did I get engines to last over 100,000 miles changing the oil and
filter every 3,000 to 3,500 miles?

In case you haven't guessed, I think the above is BS.  Looks like an
April fool article to me.

Jack

But inconclusive:

Although based on limited data, the finding could be significant, and
verification should be pursued. If the finding is verified, the mechanisms
should be determined, and ramifications with respect to oil change
intervals, filter involvement, and additive packages should be considered.

interesting links!

Not at all. I didn't want your head to explode by jamming three concepts
into it at once.

And here I am trying to be considerate...