I was at O'Reilly Auto Parts and saw the K&N filters and I remember a while ago they switched from Made in USA to made in KOREA and I wanted to take a look.... well the ones at O'Reilly Auto Parts said MADE IN MEXICO... whats next??? Made in CHINA. They should at least lower the price.
Who is going to pay that high price for a K&N Oil filter now ???
Notice K&N Oil Filter and notice same model number and notice one made in USA and the other made in Mexico and notice how its smaller?
Here is what I found about about the Anti Drain back valve on Mexican made filter.
K&N switched the manufacturing of the filter to Mexico some time in the first half of 2013. K&N implemented a significant design change in the anti-drainback system of the filter when they moved the manufacturing to Mexico.
The BAD news is that the new design does not lend itself to a high-flow design and the valve prevents pre-filling the filter prior to installation. The GOOD news is that it’s easy to identify the good KN 2009 filter vs the bad filter simply by observing the country of origin marked on the shell of the filter.
Look for Country of Origin to Identify old vs new style
Made in USA, Old Style = OK to Use
Made in Mexico, New Style = Not Recommended.
Also read this at another forum from a FRAM tech Director.
Hello,
I am the tech director at FRAM Filtration. Until recently, K+N oil filters were made in our Albion, IL factory. They have transferred production to a Korean company and are no longer made in USA or made by FRAM or Champion Labs. The filter efficiency has been reduced from the mid 90's% range down to mid 80 percent range in our testing. They now have lower efficiency, lower capacity and a lower cost that they are not passing along to end users. Not trying to sound like sour grapes that we lost this customer but they are not making the filter as good as it used to be.
And now look they are made in MEXICO... I wonder what else has changed when other then just the ADBV...
Here is some more pics of USA K&N and the MEXICO made K&N Oil filters
Base Plate looks different
The USA Made ByPass is at the top and most people like that....
also the Filter matereal looks thinker.
All the parts laid out on the bench. Notice that the new style has a slightly larger filtering area—not a bad thing. The rubber drain back valves are completely different, as is the filter cage, spring.
I think the USA one looks better IMO,
See how mexico made Bypass is at the bottom and USA is at the top??
The new valve is easy to press and open, but has relatively small passages for oil flow.
Who is going to pay that high price for a K&N Oil filter now ???
Notice K&N Oil Filter and notice same model number and notice one made in USA and the other made in Mexico and notice how its smaller?
Here is what I found about about the Anti Drain back valve on Mexican made filter.
K&N switched the manufacturing of the filter to Mexico some time in the first half of 2013. K&N implemented a significant design change in the anti-drainback system of the filter when they moved the manufacturing to Mexico.
The BAD news is that the new design does not lend itself to a high-flow design and the valve prevents pre-filling the filter prior to installation. The GOOD news is that it’s easy to identify the good KN 2009 filter vs the bad filter simply by observing the country of origin marked on the shell of the filter.
Look for Country of Origin to Identify old vs new style
Made in USA, Old Style = OK to Use
Made in Mexico, New Style = Not Recommended.
Also read this at another forum from a FRAM tech Director.
Hello,
I am the tech director at FRAM Filtration. Until recently, K+N oil filters were made in our Albion, IL factory. They have transferred production to a Korean company and are no longer made in USA or made by FRAM or Champion Labs. The filter efficiency has been reduced from the mid 90's% range down to mid 80 percent range in our testing. They now have lower efficiency, lower capacity and a lower cost that they are not passing along to end users. Not trying to sound like sour grapes that we lost this customer but they are not making the filter as good as it used to be.
And now look they are made in MEXICO... I wonder what else has changed when other then just the ADBV...
Here is some more pics of USA K&N and the MEXICO made K&N Oil filters
Base Plate looks different
The USA Made ByPass is at the top and most people like that....
also the Filter matereal looks thinker.
All the parts laid out on the bench. Notice that the new style has a slightly larger filtering area—not a bad thing. The rubber drain back valves are completely different, as is the filter cage, spring.
I think the USA one looks better IMO,
See how mexico made Bypass is at the bottom and USA is at the top??
The new valve is easy to press and open, but has relatively small passages for oil flow.
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