People's opinions on K&N

[metroplex]

quote:

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That there was dirt on the outside of the filter does not mean there was none inside the engine.

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I was waiting for someone to say that. Look at any UOAs w/ K&N air filters - they won't have a huge amount of extra Si compared to other UOA samples.

Some cars come with K&N's as OE filters (I remember reading the SVT Cobra got blue K&N's for one model year). If K&N's let all that dirt into the engine resulting in a dead engine, don't you think Ford engineers would have known about it?

So far every claim that the K&N lets in large amounts of dirt that can destroy an engine are 100% utter BULLSCHITT - based on OPINIONS and there are zero quantifiable reports to support these opinions.

I've NEVER found more dirt on an air filter than with the K&N especially in such a short mileage (1500 miles). I'm always wondering where the dirt goes on the paper filters. And seeing how Ford is now oiling their factory air filters doesn't surprise me at all.

 

[Dan4510]

Being able to pour sand thru a k&n filter does not give me warm feelings about its ability to filter.

Sandblasting the internals of my engine is not something I want to to with the car running. All the uoas I have seen with k&n have substantially higher silicone readings. Engines and silicone=bad things happening the upper parts of an engine.

I have gotten rid of my k&n and have switched to baldwin. I am lucky I can get them in town where I live.

 

[Drew99GT]

Why take the risk for some speudo horsepower gains. Many 10 second LS1 F-body folks with serious heads and cam packages run stock paper filters because they noticed no performance increase with a K & N.

 

[TheLoneRanger]

Everytime I read a thread like this one, I run out and check my K&N filter housing for dust.

I always find no dust beyond the filter, after 2 years of use. When using paper filters, I did find dust near the carb throat.

I believe the oiled cotton type filters do a good job of filtering, 'when maintained properly'. This is based upon my real world observation. When (and if) I find the K&N is passing dust, then it'll come off. But for now, it seems to work for me; better than the paper elements did.....

 

[Intelman34]

My dad has been using a K&N drop in filter for 130,000 miles in his 1990 Nissan Pathfinder. The truck still runs great.

Sure the K&N may let more dirt past than a paper filter, but is it enough to kill a motor? I sure as **** dont think so.

 

[nick778]

My experience with K&N has been that they flow more but do indeed let more fine dirt particles by. This has been with many Nissans (several 300zxTT, Maximas and Pathfinders), Porche 928GTS and a Volvo and several motorcyles. In each and every case there was much more dirt past the filter and on the throttle body and the oil got much darker much quicker with K&N use. Except for my aftemarket motorcycle intake, for which I use a K&N prefilter sock with the regular K&N filter, I now use the OEM paper filters. Even K&N doesn't recommend use of their filters in very dusty conditions without the use of their prefilters to filter out the fine particles before the air hits their main/cotton filter. You can draw your own conclusions.
To each their own but I am not inclined anymore to trade-off filtering efficiency for a little more air flow in a daily driver.

 

[Kuhl]

lght1... lol

 

[pruizgarcia]

Replacing my K&N with a Baldwin that I just ordered. Will let you know how it goes once I install it.

Pedro

 

[mf150]

Hi-

No intent to **** off here, but I think that before you state things you all should email K&N. Lisa Sutton (K&N) was more than willing to confront my questions regarding "filtration" and their FIPK application filters. There have been bias rumors on the K&N unit. My father has one on his 97 Ford Lariat (drop in) and he has over 180,000 miles on his vehicle. He recently had a compression check done on his truck. We found that there was no significant wear. If the K&n wasn't working properly, I would assume that the wear would be elevated. He has had that K&N filter in for over 160,000 miles.

Another point to mention, that off-road motorcycle builters recommend K&N filters for their superior filtration. I know several Harley drivers that swear by them. In summery, I belive that K&N gets a bad wrap, due to mis-information. Take some time to research the data.

 

[Ryan00TJ]

All I can say is that K@N air filters seem to work well in my vehicle's applications. My mother's 98 Monte Carlo Z34 has drop in K@N panel filter and the car sees long highway trips to and from work in excess of 100 miles per day. Her latest oil analysis at 4,600 miles on the oil showed a silicon count of 9ppm, perfectly within the allowable limits.

My 00 Jeep Wrangler has K@N FIPK setup for onroad use and usually for offroad I use the factory airbox and paper Mopar air filter due to alot of mud, water and dirt being thrown all over the engine compartment. However a few times I used the K@N while offroad and the filter was totally covered by mud and dirt. My last oil analysis for that run showed a silicon count of 5 ppm and that is with a very dirty and grimy K@N filter. For all those running a K@N filter simply do an oil analysis to find out if in fact it is letting in more dirt. If your silicon readings are high swap in a paper filter if they go down then you found your problem if not I see no reason to not use your K@N.

My $2

 

[Wolfwood]

Ok. I saw this and I just had to reply.

First of all. K&N is not a bad filter at all. People think K&N puts biggers holes in the filters because they allow more flow of air.

NOT TRUE!

Sure, a little dust will get by. But its impossible for a filter to get everything.

Another thing is that K&N can hold more dust than your normal paper filter. Even when the K&N filter is dirty, it can still allow better flow than paper because of its material. People are not getting that its material that makes the filter not the holes. If you took some fiberglass and paper. And little holes in them, then place dirt on them till they collapsed, who is gonna win? The fiberglass will! When your paper is gone, whats gonna filter your air now?

 

[Ron]

Hi,please excuse if this info below is in conflict.
This quote comes from a Ford Tech at FlatRateTech regarding K&N filters and MAF sensors on Fords!

i have cleaned a few of them and it has worked. here in ca. we have a lot of people who are perfomance nutballs and put the k&n air filters on them and that just destroys the maf in no thime. as far as maf readings, .8-1.0 volts at idle, and you watch the voltage increaes as you drive the vehicle. if the voltage does not make it past 2.8 volts when the vehicle shifts from 1st to 2nd gear, suspect the maf sensor.

 

[JeepZJ4.0]

I used an open element K&N cone filter on my intake on my now totalled Jeep. This half custom intake required taking out the whole air intake box. On a Grand Cherokee (93-98), when the box is removed, well what do you know.... the tire!!! So all that dust and junk it kicks up, and water too, may hit and probably does hit the filter... my dad and I put about 20K miles like that and well, no problems ever. Engine was good. I'm planning on putting a drop in K&N in my "new" Grand Cherokee. My dad has one in his Windstar and may put one in our Avalon.

 

[Leo]

I've always wondered what the filtration efficiency of a oiled foam filter is. I use a Unifilter Pod on my car. Its oiled and its very sticky, and you can see it collects quite a bit of dirt. But i have no idea how much gets in the engine. They claim it filters almost everything above 5 micron, with an independant test to prove it. Does it sound reputable? And yes, it makes quite a difference in power so i'd want to keep it.. And alot of rally cars use Unifilter, so I guess it must be ok!

 

[pruizgarcia]

I always used a drop-in K&N on all my vehicles and never had problems. Currently running the Accel Kool Blue. Everything fine.

Pedro

 

[robbobster]

MAFs get ruined because of excess filter oil - it literally coats the wire. Oil your K&N corectly and you'll be fine.

 

[4DSC]

quote:

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Originally posted by robbobster:
MAFs get ruined because of excess filter oil - it literally coats the wire. Oil your K&N corectly and you'll be fine.

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This is my understanding as well - do not over oil it. I also run a large cotton gauze cone filter and experienced no increase (or decrease

) of drivability issues when I switched to it.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Read the FlatRateTech quote about Fords with interest. I switched to a K&N filter at roughly 90,000 miles on my '97 Escort wagon--(gasp) a Ford! The MAF sensor, the original one, failed only at about 195,000 miles. It probably would have failed anyway by then. But I got 100,000 miles on the MAF sensor after the switch, and I had reoiled the filter a few times during that interval.

Now I have a performance intake (yes, you can get one for the SOHC engine) with a different K&N filter. It uses the factory MAF assembly, but the MAF sensor itself is accessible and can be removed easily by unscrewing two screws with security Torx heads. Periodically I remove the MAF and clean its elements carefully with carb cleaner and (very gently) a soft toothbrush. The car runs great.

 

[moribundman]

I used a K&N oiled panel air filter in my stock airbox in my Audi A4 for 50k miles. I didn't notice any gains in performance or mileage. Eventually the MAF got dirty (I don't think it was oil from the filter, though), I cleaned it, and there were no further problems. Shortly after a mechanic damaged my K&N I went back to using the stock paper filter.

People who run the open cone filter say the engine sounds better ("louder"), and some claim better performance. In my opinion a K&N is not worth it. If it filters less than a paper filter, well, I don't want to speculate, but the fabric mesh has pretty big "holes"... ;-)

 

[twentynine]

Hello every one.
This is my first post on this forum, I have been watching and reading for some time now.
I have had a K&N drop in filter on my Dodge truck for a while and I have noticed a slight increase in gas mileage and performance.
Seems that some of the people here are making some claims and using quotes that are not founded in fact. Notice I didn't call anyone a liar.

My opinion of the K&N air filter I have is positive. They are alittle pricey if you ask me. But it seems to be doing what they advertise.