There have been tests done on other platforms showing that no filter definitely flows more than paper, by almost 200 cfm which shold be obvious. One Camaro test showed that their stock airbox WITH snorkel flows more than the box without the snorkle, and the Green filter flow rate was the closest to not having a filter.
I looked at the stock paper filter and compared it with the panel filter for the Panther platform (Marauder and Crown Vic) and the Panther has a much larger panel filter but those cars don't produce nearly as much power. The SHO shares the same panel filter as a 2007 Edge or the CX9. I never understood that other than perhaps engineering was limited in packaging space and optimized flow through pressure with the airbox and snorkle instead? I recall Big macs post about the dyno without an airbox being within 3 hp. It would be interesting to see the dyno with stock airbox but no filter vs CAI vs stock paper.
I did a lot of reading on the flow tests for various brands. The dry filters all flow barely more than the stock paper filter to the point that we might as well stick with paper (Afe, Amsoil, AEM included). The only filters to flow more than say 10% of stock were AFE oiled, K&N, S&B, and Green filter. But the other caveat is that the less pleats there are, the less dust load capacity there is, so the filters will become restricted faster. Stock paper is about 99 to 100 pleats. K&N is around 40. Green is about 35, but deeper - however other tests showed Green can clog faster Than K&N
The Green outflows K&N but I am not sure about the quality or durability of Green. They ran into supply issues and quality issues a few years back for the Corvettes. The Ganassi EcoBoost prototype and Ford GTLM cars use Green but that is meaningless as they can afford to swap out parts and have engine allocations for the year.
So it seems either stick with quality paper filter, or go with K&N or Green panel filters if more flow is desired. The dry filters may have good efficiency but the shallower and reduced pleats allow them to clog much faster without a significant increase in initial flow - might as well just stick with paper in that case.
As for intake oil contamination, that is a non-issue for EcoBoost since we are speed density and do not have MAF sensors. Also, the oil, gas vapors, and condensation spewing around in the intake tract won't mind some filter oil joining in the fun.
The first time I oiled a cotton gauze filter was the factory racing intake for my Ducati. It used a canister style round filter, but the dirty side was the inside of the canister and the clean side was the outside. The only way to oil it was to oil the pleats from the outside. I accidentally over oiled it to the point it was just dripping out of the airbox. The Ducati's Continental/Siemens ECU used Alpha-N fueling, so there wasn't a MAF sensor to worry about.
