K&N
Who has replaced their stock air filter with a K&N? Are they really better? Improve performance, gas mileage, etc.
Forum Discussion
- Not all dust is created equal.
There is dirt dust and rock dust Campfire Time wrote:
Contrary to popular belief your engine does not ingest enough dirt to damage it with a K&N
That depends on where you live. In the southwest where very fine dust is in the air almost daily it is a huge problem. K&N's do not filter very fine dust as well as conventional filters. In most of the country fine dust is not an issue but it is where I live.- I used to use them years ago. Never again. They allow too much fine dust through compared to conventional filters. Perhaps not an issue in most parts of the country but in the southwest its a big issue. MPG and HP gains aren't noticeable. Just no reason to go back to them again.
- I think that sometimes people do over oil them which causes issues. I use them because it saves me cash from changing out paper elements every so often. I don't mind the cleaning and oil them per spec. After pulling my throttle body to inspect I have never had an large accumulation of dirt or any thing else. Do I believe in the hype of more HP and better MPgs..? not really.. I have never noticed any changes such as that. They have worked for me better then 10 years. So since its a one time investment of 45-60 dollars I have no issue doing that since I keep my vehicles a long time.
- I've used them for years on off road vehicles. They filter all particles out, especially once they get a bit of dust on them. They're not supposed to be sparkling clean. There are also pre-filter socks that fit over them for extremely fine dust, but these are rarely necessary. They don't provide a noticeable increase in mileage, but it seems like smaller engines feel more responsive to a throttle change. If people claim they damaged their engine or MAP sensor, that's a bunch of malarkey. It's coincidence. Sort of like claiming that you got a flat tire because you put new floor mats in. The filter will definitely save you money in the long run.
- Accelerated wear from the particulates allowed to pass
Shows up sooner on ICE's pushed HARD and guess what...towing is harder than
blasting along the boulevard with nothing hooked up to it's tail
So many compare track/boulevard/etc to towing, but miss that an empty vs tonnage
hooked up to it's tail isn't a good comparison...as towing heavy is harder
on the ICE
Oh well...too often the association isn't clear
PS...the last time I checked...the Pinto has the longest and successful
history of usage out there...the US Postal Service ran Pintos for a loooooong time
Doesn't mean a Pinto is a great vehicle. Just that with regular maintenance
it can last BenK wrote:
In my racing days...had all kinds of air filters...from foam to stuff I've come
across (no Internet back then)
Did notice my compression tests showed loss of compression while using these
high flow filters with very loosey-goosey particulate spec
Not huge drop in compression, but a few tic's on the compression gauge...NOTICEABLE
Can't even begin to fathom how this comparison comes into play. It's like comparing a Ferrari to a Ford Pinto. Completely different circumstances and usage. After 100k of normal usage (i.e., NOT racing) every engine loses compression. Is it more with a K&N? Probably a bit, but not significant enough to warrant any concern.rhagfo wrote:
More air flow equals less filtration.
This is not a true statement.
If you read the Spicer report you will find out that there are several OEM air filters that out perform the K&N filter "air wise" AND filter better. The one on my LBZ Dmax does.
OP you will never see a mileage gain with a K&N filter if you have modern fuel injection on your TV and here is why.
Modern FI computers keep the air/fuel mixture just right. And I do mean "JUST RIGHT". Last time I checked, (A long time ago) the putters would update mixtures rates 100's of times a second. Yes they are that good. The term is stoichiometry.
So you can see if you get more air in your engine (with a K&N filter) you will also get more fuel so there is a zero sum gain in mileage. Now in the old days when carburetors were around most were set slightly rich so you would not have a lean spot in the throttle. That is when you would pick up a little mileage with a K&N because it would pass more air and lean the engine up a bit and you could pick up a little bit of mileage.
Anybody that say's they gained mileage with a K&N on a FI engine is full of it. They "might" be able to say they picked up 1 or 2 HP. Even that is up in the air to be true or not because of different restrictions in the engine.- I'd like to see the particulate specification
In my racing days...had all kinds of air filters...from foam to stuff I've come
across (no Internet back then)
Did notice my compression tests showed loss of compression while using these
high flow filters with very loosey-goosey particulate spec
Not huge drop in compression, but a few tic's on the compression gauge...NOTICEABLE
Most folks would not notice that kind of compression drop...nor the performance
drop. On that, folks who seemingly always ask about the blown engine from
these kinds of things (air filters, engine oil, etc)...nope. Few, but never the
less a 'few', do blow up from these things. Most just wear faster and lose
compression...therefore power
OBTW, these boy racer components only, or generally only do their best at WOT
With today's fly by wire, WOT is managed to be NOT allowed often
