K&N Opinions

99 · Oct 20, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by Patman:
I think the K&N filters are excellent and I don't think that there are comparable ones for less money. Mainly because the cheaper ones are not as durable as these filters, they use a much thinner canister. Just feel a K&N filter and you'll see these things are like little tanks! So for those of you who have filters that are on the bottom of the engine, exposed to possible road debris, the extra strength of the K&N is very important. My Corvette's oil filter is pretty low to the ground so having the strength of the K&N is important to me.

Worst case with your Vette-you're going to pop the oil pan before you pop the filter. The oil filter is tucked up there on the Vette LS1s with the winged oil pans. Even on other Vettes or other lower cars, you will hit the pan, crossmember or suspension before you touch the filter.

Edit-I too have never heard of a filter being popped by road debris. I'm a offroader/Jeeper as well and the worst I've ever seen is mud splash on the filter and never any denting, etc.

Patman · Oct 21, 2005

True, the filter is shielded by the oil pan pretty good, but you just never know when some road debris might take a tricky bounce and miss everything but the filter. I know it's a longshot, but it's still nice peace of mind knowing that the filter is very well built.

The main reason I stick with these filters though, is because my UOA results have been very good.

T-Keith · Oct 21, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by Patman:
True, the filter is shielded by the oil pan pretty good, but you just never know when some road debris might take a tricky bounce and miss everything but the filter. I know it's a longshot, but it's still nice peace of mind knowing that the filter is very well built.

The main reason I stick with these filters though, is because my UOA results have been very good.

That's the same reason I like my Purolators.

My wife's car has the filter next to the oil pan too, Guess I'm not too worried about it.

My filter is protected by the subframe, definately nothing touching it there.

Patman · Oct 21, 2005

Also, the price of the K&N doesn't really bother me, since up here we don't have too many choices, so if I didn't use the K&N I'd probably go with the Carquest premium (same as Wix/Napa Gold) or the Amsoil filter, and all of those are over $10 too. I get the K&Ns when they are on sale at Canadian Tire for $13.59 (which is $11.41 US) I only need to buy 3 of them per year (two for me, one for my wife) so it's not a huge expense anyways.

Steve S · Oct 22, 2005

K@N filters are a lot of money for a plain filter . The oil pressure in a car will rarely tax the burst rating of any filter on the market. For the $$$ a Mobil filter will filter better or for half the price a Hastings will have large pores in the element like the K@N.

kingrob · Oct 22, 2005

quote:

K@N filters are a lot of money for a plain filter . The oil pressure in a car will rarely tax the burst rating of any filter on the market. For the $$$ a Mobil filter will filter better or for half the price a Hastings will have large pores in the element like the K@N.

That's true. But, when I was running a high pressure street/strip setup those burst strength numbers started to weigh heavily on my filter choice. After comparing it with other racing/HD filters I settled on K+N for its cheaper price and high burst strength, plus availability. It has a very durable coating, something I do appreciate since having a piece of road debris flying up under my block and puncturing the oil pan along with denting my filter pretty good.

Having said that, 95% of the everyday drivers on the road now don't need a K+N. People just buy into the hype a lot of times, thinking that higher cost means better protection.

Steve S · Oct 23, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by kingrob:

quote:

K@N filters are a lot of money for a plain filter . The oil pressure in a car will rarely tax the burst rating of any filter on the market. For the $$$ a Mobil filter will filter better or for half the price a Hastings will have large pores in the element like the K@N.

Click to expand...

That's true. But, when I was running a high pressure street/strip setup those burst strength numbers started to weigh heavily on my filter choice. After comparing it with other racing/HD filters I settled on K+N for its cheaper price and high burst strength, plus availability. It has a very durable coating, something I do appreciate since having a piece of road debris flying up under my block and puncturing the oil pan along with denting my filter pretty good.

Having said that, 95% of the everyday drivers on the road now don't need a K+N. People just buy into the hype a lot of times, thinking that higher cost means better protection.

Kingrob, what was your maximum cold oil pressure?

kingrob · Oct 25, 2005

Between 150-170 psi. I once shot a Fram across the garage floor while getting a little antsy on the throttle on morning. That's when I started looking for something a little more forgiving on burst strength.

Steve S · Oct 26, 2005

That is a good reason for a high burst pressure filter. what kind of engine and specs ?

kingrob · Oct 26, 2005

The car was a 1968 Superbee with a 440 Mag block bored .030 over to 446 ci. Torque was around 585 and HP was a flat 625. Compression was 12:1. Basic beef up parts were used but nothing fancy except for the Holley Dominator carb and Edlebrock intake.

Sadly, however, the engine has gone away for good. But Lord knows that one day we'll be reunited in the great salvage yard in the sky...

Recently I put the original 383 back in it. For an engine that's been sitting in my Uncle's shed for thirty years I was surprised that it ran so smooth after hooking it all back up. He ran nothing but Castrol 30 wt in it so I'll see how it likes GTX 10w30.

Steve S · Oct 26, 2005

With that much power the superbee must really fly .The big mopar engines run real nice.

nobadges · Oct 28, 2005

I have 2 Dodge Neons. 1998 and 2001.

The 98 has a noisy valvetrain (dohc) and a nasty piston slap when cold.
For the last two oil/filter changes I have used an oversize K&N HP2004 and it is WAY quieter.
I'm sticking with it.

Whats up with Canada here that it seems 95% of all filters are Fram?

boxcartommie22 · Oct 28, 2005

does k&n have a larger size for the fl820s motor craft?

Swift · Nov 5, 2005

I run a K&N on my Taco and have no problems coughning up the extra cash worth it or not.

RiotGrip · Nov 7, 2005

quote:

Between 150-170 psi. I once shot a Fram across the garage floor while getting a little antsy on the throttle on morning. That's when I started looking for something a little more forgiving on burst strength.

If burst strength is your main concern, I'd go with wix. The spec. filter for my jeep has a burst strength of 365PSI, and a flow rating of 7-9 gpm. K&N boasts better figures in each category, but I doubt it filters any better. Isn't 365psi strong enough?

Also, I paid $5.66 out the door for the wix, that's less than half the cost of the K&N.

99 · Nov 7, 2005

Kingrob-Have you ever considered running a Moroso oil filter? They're made for high performance/racing engines that need high flow and high psi strength. They're what Shafiroff uses on his $50k Pro-Mod engines, so they're good filters. Check them out at http://www.moroso.com/catalog/categorydisplay.asp?catcode=20002

K&N Opinions

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