Huh..K&N filters maybe not so good??

[WRXdan]

Found this on another site. Take it with a grain of internet salt.

http://home.usadatanet.net/~jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm

[legacy92ej22t]

Well that is an interesting write up but K&N filters are actually designed to start filtering once they are dirty. If you read the instructions they say not to clean or recharge the filter until almost 100K miles! They actually say that the dirt is what filters the air so it's more benificial to run them dirty then freshly oiled. While being freshly oiled WILL give you more flow they don't filter well then. Because of that I think it's an unfair test. Once dirty, the K&N will probably hold it's own in the filtering department and will sure as hell out flow most of the other brands while doing it.

[magicmike]

isn't ac delco afiliated with ford?

[greg donovan]

isn't ac delco afiliated with ford?

they are a division of the general.

[scottzg]

Interesting; the best filter in regards to flow/filtering is the "no brand" filter. I want one, now what brand was that?

[Legacy777]

you're supposed to clean/re-oil the filter sooner then 100k. I haven't read anywhere that states to let it go that long.

I wish I could've gotten some numbers on the dyno, comparing the paper element and the k&n. I've been running the paper for a while now. Honestly, I didn't notice any difference before. I'll swap back to the k&n and see if it changes anything.

[legacy92ej22t]

you're supposed to clean/re-oil the filter sooner then 100k. I haven't read anywhere that states to let it go that long.

Uh, ya, you're right. I just went and looked at my info and it's 50K (sooner in really dusty, dirty enviroments). That's still kick ass though.

[Warp3]

I'm not at all surprised that K&N did so poorly on filtering as it's been proven repeatedly in multiple tests that foam and paper outfilter cotton gauze (i.e. K&N) every time. Remember K&Ns are designed (and advertised) to flow more air than factory filters (which you can see by the results they do quite well), not filter more dirt than factory filters.

However, I am very surprised to see how poorly Unifilter (a foam-style filter that I've heard nothing but good things about) did. It let through more dirt than the K&N, yet less air!!!

[WRXdan]

They do make a good point about foam filters are for high flow applications. And if a Turbo Diesel V8 is not considered "high flow" then a turbo 4 banger really is not. So a paper filter will flow more than enough for are cars. BUT...K&N are reusable...which is nice.

[Legacy777]

I don't personally like the foam filters, and after my MAF issues a while back....still not convinced the k&n drop in's will net much gains. I'll play around with mine again I guess.

[Matt Monson]

I have seen this report multiple times over the years. That report is directly related to an industrial application for vehicles in a construction environment that has dozens of more time of particulate in the air than we encounter on a daily basis. The point of a K&N filter, as has been mentioned is max airflow. That test shows that it provides that. The trade off is that it doesn't catch as much stuff. Performance gains have a price. The question you need to ask yourself is: is it worth it?

For me the answer is yes. I got a K&N the first week I got my RS. 10K mi later I upgraded to a Cobb CAI with inline K&N filter in a PRM housing. I clean the thing every 25k mi

and obviously it needs it.


after.

100k mi later and I have never had an issue with my engine that could possibly be related to my filter. The inside of the intake tubing after the filter rarely has any buildup on it. And I do play in the dirt. Maybe 10-15% of my miles are in the dirt. For the power gains I see with it, I think whatever risk exists in not only marginal, but worth it.

As for the oil on the MAF issue some people encounter? Well, they have just over-oiled the filter. A properly oiled filter will not throw any oil onto your MAF and foul it up...

[entirelyturbo]

Don't forget the rumors that the engine has a slight possibility of ingesting the oil from the K&N.... I think I read somewhere where they tore down and old engine that had been run on a K&N filter since new, and the engine had a small amount of a foreign film/residue in the combustion chamber. Don't hold me to that though, I've only heard it mentioned once.

[Legacy777]

doesn't matter if the engine ingests oil....it'll just burn it.

it's the maf ingesting oil you have to worry about.

[scottzg]

Ford wont warrantee your mustang if you run a knn, and evidently mustangs dont like them. In a na 2.2, the filter panel is quite large for the engine that size, the 300zx uses the same filter and has a good 70 more hp. I recently switched back from a giant giant knn cone in a home brewed ghetto box to a paper filter with a snorkusuctomy, and other than sound, i can't tell a difference.