Well the winter has been long here in Michigan and I'm getting bored after surgery
So a restless mind and idles hands are a great mix for disaster
Since we are not in the desert and most of the time I'm on paved roads and we hit the trails every other weekend, I was thinking that a less severe duty air filter might work.
Then again, it might not
Severe duty does not necessarily mean finer filtration. Severe duty typically means more surface area so that it takes more dirt to clog it before you start seeing reduction in airflow. The additional surface area typically flows more air when clean than a standard duty.
If you want to tamper with the air intake, I see opportunity for improvement along the lines of the deep water version.
Let me get on the soapbox for a moment -
Everything is a compromise. To gain performance in one area, you have to give up performance somewhere else. Frequently, as in the case of consumer vehicles, one of the performance criteria is emissions. We on the aftermarket are generally happy to give up emissions performance to gain service life and power. Another frequently seen compromise is cost. We on the aftermarket will generally pay a little more to put better components in place. Noise is another compromise. Engineers are frequently forced to hit decibel levels in their designs. We in the aftermarket will sacrifice "quiet" to have power and efficiency.
Example - my 6.7 Cummins had a baffle in the intake in front of the turbo to make it quieter. It served as an airway obstruction. Removing this improved airflow, at the cost of "noise". I'm good with that. I like the whistle so it's a clear win.
The military isn't faced with the same set of forced compromises. Cost of components doesn't come into it. Emissions is a very low priority. Their compromises generally come between efficiency/durability/reliability/ease of maintenance. So when second guessing a military design in the aftermarket, ask yourself what you'd be giving up by making the alteration.
There are exceptions. The doghead mod to the cucv system is a clear win all the way around. It's an improvement in every measure. But these are rarities. Generally any alteration is simply a trade for a different set of compromises.
(Oh, and I edited my previous reply to add some content)
