"Effects of OEM vs K&N air filters on various engine parameters"

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Looks like the K&N flows significantly worse than an oem filter. Goes directly against their marketing claims.
 
Originally Posted by tcp71
Looks like the K&N flows significantly worse than an oem filter. Goes directly against their marketing claims.


Not surprised. If KN had some magical feature that increased MPG or HP, they would have been bought out years ago. Simply a marketing ploy.
 
Originally Posted by GON
Originally Posted by tcp71
Looks like the K&N flows significantly worse than an oem filter. Goes directly against their marketing claims.


Not surprised. If KN had some magical feature that increased MPG or HP, they would have been bought out years ago. Simply a marketing ploy.



Did either of you guys or the OP actually read the whole study? she conclusion at the end reads

"The acceleration and fuel economy tests conducted on the vehicle shows that the vehicle performance will be
slightly better when the filter is new compared to that when it is clogged. The fuel economy tests shows that K&N
air filter provides a better fuel economy compared to OEM style paper filter in both new and clogged condition. The
acceleration tests also shows that acceleration times for K&N was slightly lower than OEM style paper filter in both
new and clogged condition"


So the independent test basically confirms exactly what K&N claims as the reasoning that anyone should purchase their product. All the other parameters that the experiment purports to test, on just a single small engine like a mower would use, are somewhat meaningless to most vehicle owners.
 
Fuel economy is improved because there is less flow of air and therefor less fuel being injected to maintain the stoichiometeric ratio. K&N doesn't market fuel economy gains nearly as much as better flow and more power, which this study directly opposes.
 
Quote
The filtering efficiency test conducted on OEM and K&N air filter shows that OEM air filter exhibits superior air filtering qualities compared to K&N filter.

From real Indian scientists. If you're into filtering efficiency testing.
 
Yes, they also noted an increase in motor vibration after installing the K&N...
We all know how much a change in air filter affects motor vibrations
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Every application is different. K&N works for some and not for others. It's far from a marketing ploy.
 
Originally Posted by XCIDMigs
Originally Posted by GON
Originally Posted by tcp71
Looks like the K&N flows significantly worse than an oem filter. Goes directly against their marketing claims.


Not surprised. If KN had some magical feature that increased MPG or HP, they would have been bought out years ago. Simply a marketing ploy.



Did either of you guys or the OP actually read the whole study? she conclusion at the end reads

"The acceleration and fuel economy tests conducted on the vehicle shows that the vehicle performance will be
slightly better when the filter is new compared to that when it is clogged. The fuel economy tests shows that K&N
air filter provides a better fuel economy compared to OEM style paper filter in both new and clogged condition. The
acceleration tests also shows that acceleration times for K&N was slightly lower than OEM style paper filter in both
new and clogged condition"


So the independent test basically confirms exactly what K&N claims as the reasoning that anyone should purchase their product. All the other parameters that the experiment purports to test, on just a single small engine like a mower would use, are somewhat meaningless to most vehicle owners.


Agreed, that's how I read it too.
 
Originally Posted by XCIDMigs
Originally Posted by GON
Originally Posted by tcp71
Looks like the K&N flows significantly worse than an oem filter. Goes directly against their marketing claims.

Not surprised. If KN had some magical feature that increased MPG or HP, they would have been bought out years ago. Simply a marketing ploy.

Did either of you guys or the OP actually read the whole study? she conclusion at the end reads

"The acceleration and fuel economy tests conducted on the vehicle shows that the vehicle performance will be
slightly better when the filter is new compared to that when it is clogged. The fuel economy tests shows that K&N
air filter provides a better fuel economy compared to OEM style paper filter in both new and clogged condition. The
acceleration tests also shows that acceleration times for K&N was slightly lower than OEM style paper filter in both
new and clogged condition"


So the independent test basically confirms exactly what K&N claims as the reasoning that anyone should purchase their product. All the other parameters that the experiment purports to test, on just a single small engine like a mower would use, are somewhat meaningless to most vehicle owners.


The YouTube guy "Engineering Explained" showed the same thing.
 
It's v. simple. K&Ns 1) flow more air and do deliver some additional power to many vehicles and 2) conversely let more dirt in to obtain that higher flow. It's not rocket science or controversial, it just "is". The question has always been, does the small drop in filtering efficiency matter to you/your car in your driving conditions? To me, it does not and I welcome the slight, proven gain in power on my tuned/modified car. If you don't like the little bit of extra bits getting in, cool, use a paper filter. This will not ruin or reduce the life of my engine and my car will fall apart from old age or me blowing it up sending it before that slightly lower filtering efficiency will ever come into play. The end.
 
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^^^
Agreed, and will add that it isn't only tuners or performance enthusiasts buying these anymore. Some just like the sound, the environmental aspect or all the above.
 
Whether or not a K&N filter is worse at filtering harmful particles out of the air flowing through it will be debated and argued about until the end of time. We will never all come to an agreement on that issue, one way or the other, I'm afraid.

But on the question of whether the K&N filter adds HP, I honestly do not see how anyone can deny that. I mean, come on, it's clear as day!

In fact, the proof literally falls out of the box every time a new one is purchased and opened up in preparation for installation onto the engine.

The only people who should be skeptical of its power adding ability are those who are new to automotive DIYing, uneducated on the sayings of the Old Timers, or (likely) both.

So in the interest of putting this to bed once and for all, I'll spell it out for those who have yet to connect the dots:

Claim: running a K&N air filter adds power to the vehicle's engine on which it's installed.

Verdict: Confirmed!

Proof: Each new filter comes with a nice little "K&N" sticker that can be affixed just about anywhere on the host vehicle to advertise the fact that the car is non-stock now by virtue of having more HP than it did in stock form. And as we all know, each automotive-themed sticker you stick on your car like that automatically adds 5 HP & 3 TQ.


So you see, as long as the purchaser of a new K&N filter does go ahead and use the K&N sticker that comes in the box with the new air filter, the vehicle on which the air filter is run WILL have at least 5 extra HP and 3 extra TQ than it did before installation.

There you go, there's the indisputable PROOF!! 🤓
 
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Originally Posted by TiGeo
It's v. simple. K&Ns 1) flow more air and do deliver some additional power to many vehicles and 2) conversely let more dirt in to obtain that higher flow. It's not rocket science or controversial, it just "is". The question has always been, does the small drop in filtering efficiency matter to you/your car in your driving conditions? To me, it does not and I welcome the slight, proven gain in power on my tuned/modified car. If you don't like the little bit of extra bits getting in, cool, use a paper filter. This will not ruin or reduce the life of my engine and my car will fall apart from old age or me blowing it up sending it before that slightly lower filtering efficiency will ever come into play. The end.


ðŸ‘
 
Originally Posted by The_Nuke
Whether or not a K&N filter is worse at filtering harmful particles out of the air flowing through it will be debated and argued about until the end of time. We will never all come to an agreement on that issue, one way or the other, I'm afraid.

But on the question of whether the K&N filter adds HP, I honestly do not see how anyone can deny that. I mean, come on, it's clear as day!

In fact, the proof literally falls out of the box every time a new one is purchased and opened up in preparation for installation onto the engine.

The only people who should be skeptical of its power adding ability are those who are new to automotive DIYing, uneducated on the sayings of the Old Timers, or (likely) both.

So in the interest of putting this to bed once and for all, I'll spell it out for those who have yet to connect the dots:

Claim: running a K&N air filter adds power to the vehicle's engine on which it's installed.

Verdict: Confirmed!

Proof: Each new filter comes with a nice little "K&N" sticker that can be affixed just about anywhere on the host vehicle to advertise the fact that the car is non-stock now by virtue of having more HP than it did in stock form. And as we all know, each automotive-themed sticker you stick on your car like that automatically adds 5 HP & 3 TQ.


So you see, as long as the purchaser of a new K&N filter does go ahead and use the K&N sticker that comes in the box with the new air filter, the vehicle on which the air filter is run WILL have at least 5 extra HP and 3 extra TQ than it did before installation.

There you go, there's the indisputable PROOF!! 🤓


Crap, no sticker on mine so not getting the extra boost from my Beijing Booster/Hiroshima Hairdryer.
 
Originally Posted by TiGeo
Originally Posted by The_Nuke
Whether or not a K&N filter is worse at filtering harmful particles out of the air flowing through it will be debated and argued about until the end of time. We will never all come to an agreement on that issue, one way or the other, I'm afraid.

But on the question of whether the K&N filter adds HP, I honestly do not see how anyone can deny that. I mean, come on, it's clear as day!

In fact, the proof literally falls out of the box every time a new one is purchased and opened up in preparation for installation onto the engine.

The only people who should be skeptical of its power adding ability are those who are new to automotive DIYing, uneducated on the sayings of the Old Timers, or (likely) both.

So in the interest of putting this to bed once and for all, I'll spell it out for those who have yet to connect the dots:

Claim: running a K&N air filter adds power to the vehicle's engine on which it's installed.

Verdict: Confirmed!

Proof: Each new filter comes with a nice little "K&N" sticker that can be affixed just about anywhere on the host vehicle to advertise the fact that the car is non-stock now by virtue of having more HP than it did in stock form. And as we all know, each automotive-themed sticker you stick on your car like that automatically adds 5 HP & 3 TQ.


So you see, as long as the purchaser of a new K&N filter does go ahead and use the K&N sticker that comes in the box with the new air filter, the vehicle on which the air filter is run WILL have at least 5 extra HP and 3 extra TQ than it did before installation.

There you go, there's the indisputable PROOF!! 🤓


Crap, no sticker on mine so not getting the extra boost from my Beijing Booster/Hiroshima Hairdryer.


Me either. I've never used those stickers. Not the one for inside the engine bay or the one for the outside. If only I knew...
 
If you look at almost every air filter flow test done, the K&N yields a pressure drop decrease of something like 0.1-0.2 psi (max) versus the most restrictive paper filter. On a forced induction application, that doesn't make a big difference at all... On an N/A application, it can make a difference but not a large amount.

For the hot air intake tests, they are misleading because in a controlled dyno environment, the hood is propped wide open with lots of air flow. Go to a track or drag strip with heat soak, and now that extra 10-20 hp drops down big time. That's why a lot of these CAI manufacturers are going to sealed designs, basically putting a cone filter inside an OEM-style housing.

For all of my tuned GTDI/EcoBoost applications, I just stick with a paper air filter and the stock air box housing. On my 2007 Mustang GT with the N/A 4.6 3V V8, I even did a lot of testing between the stock airbox, different filters, the Steeda hot air intake, and the Saleen airbox (it was designed for their supercharged application but fits stock engines). I didn't much of a difference between the filters in the stock airbox, but the Saleen airbox flowed as much as the Steeda, and they weren't all that much different. The stock catalytic converters were a much larger restriction (like 3-4 lb/min worth of air mass flow).
 
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