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K&N drop in air filter


Edgieguy

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For christmas my in laws bought me a k&n air filter. I dropped it in and ill continue to post my impressions and calculated results here for anyone who might be interested. what I have noticed so far is a slight increase in gas mileage . In New Jersey, we usually get a winter blend of gasoline starting about a week before Thanksgiving. This gas usually drops your average fuel economy by 1 - 2 Mpg. I personally went from 18.5 to 16.9 Mpg. with the new air filter I'm currently back to 18.0. So, so far so good.

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For christmas my in laws bought me a k&n air filter. I dropped it in and ill continue to post my impressions and calculated results here for anyone who might be interested. what I have noticed so far is a slight increase in gas mileage . In New Jersey, we usually get a winter blend of gasoline starting about a week before Thanksgiving. This gas usually drops your average fuel economy by 1 - 2 Mpg. I personally went from 18.5 to 16.9 Mpg. with the new air filter I'm currently back to 18.0. So, so far so good.

 

I'm interested in the results. I'm sure there's going to be a debate on it's effectiveness in increasing power/mpg and if it's "subpar" filteration is even worth it, but I was thinking about getting one myself. Do you happen to know where it was purchased?

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I'm interested in the results. I'm sure there's going to be a debate on it's effectiveness in increasing power/mpg and if it's "subpar" filteration is even worth it, but I was thinking about getting one myself. Do you happen to know where it was purchased?

 

They bought it on Amazon along with a few oil filters for me. Im sure you can find it cheaper on ebay.

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Another tank of winter-blend gas, and some more decent mileage, (I stayed at 18.0) So I'm still happy. As far as sub-par filtration? Everything that Ive read, and everyone Ive spoken to says that there is nothing sub-par about K&N's Cotton weave filter. Can you direct me to an article or study? One of my closest friends who owns a performance shop for Lambos, Ferraris, and the like swears by these filters. When I asked him if they were "subpar" his reply was "What are you

f :censored: ing crazy? You think that K&N is worst than a s :censored: t paper filter? All they do is R&D on filtration." So that was enough to make me feel better.

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Another tank of winter-blend gas, and some more decent mileage, (I stayed at 18.0) So I'm still happy. As far as sub-par filtration? Everything that Ive read, and everyone Ive spoken to says that there is nothing sub-par about K&N's Cotton weave filter. Can you direct me to an article or study? One of my closest friends who owns a performance shop for Lambos, Ferraris, and the like swears by these filters. When I asked him if they were "subpar" his reply was "What are you

f :censored: ing crazy? You think that K&N is worst than a s :censored: t paper filter? All they do is R&D on filtration." So that was enough to make me feel better.

 

 

Well I'm only saying subpar because a lot of people online like to knock on its filtration ability compared to traditional paper filters. There is write-up here (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm) comparing high-flow filters (k&n) to traditional paper filters and others. The write-up is a couple years old but very detailed. In conclusion, the reviewer stated that k&n filters do flow better, but result in less filtration. Even k&n states that their filters filter within 99% of OEM filters, which is kind of like admitting that they aren't as good OEM paper filters when it comes to filtration. The reviewer stated that the 1% may not seem like a lot, but over the course of a few thousand miles, it can add up. The topic can be debated for a while but If I was able to get a drop-in k&n and the cleaner for cheap, I think it would be worth it.

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Not sure. On my next tank of gas, i'm going to swap in my paper filter again and see what happens to my mileage. Takes less than a minute and i'm curious.

 

Update; I forgot to switch the filter, but, on my last tank I got 19.2 mpg. That's awesome for this vehicle in the freezing cold with winter blend fuel. This was at least 80% highway driving.

Edited by Edgieguy
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  • 3 weeks later...

I currently get 17 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway at 80mph, consistently. You may think that I am full of :censored: but I have been tracking mpg's for the last 14 years of me driving as well as my father at every fill up. In regards to the K&N, did it increase cab noise with the added air flow? Was it tricky to install?

I'm a chronic mpg checker myself. My dad did it and i always have too. I find it amazing that people don't know what their mpg is on their vehicles, doesn't everyone do this? Lol

 

The filter is a drop in, open the cover and change it just as you would a paper filter. I haven't noticed any change in interior noise.

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I ran a K&N on my mustang for years and I religiously changed my oil full synthetic @ 3,000 miles and always wondered why my oil was so black at every change. Until I read the BITOG article. If you hold a freshly cleaned and oiled K&N filter up to the sun, you can actually see pinholes of bright sunlight.....you can imagine how much dirt that is letting into the engine and contaminating the oil. Yes, they outflow any filter on the market because it's like running no filter at all. I run the amsoil filter in my Edge which is good for 4 years.....which I clean with compressed air at every oil change.....a whole hell of a lot easier than cleaning an oiled bup filter, waiting for it to completely dry and then having to oil the filter from a spray can hoping that I don't overdo it and ruin my mass air meter when it sucks in some oil and coats the resistors on the maf sensor.

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I run one in my 1998 Windstar too, yep the oil is black however it also has 137,000 miles on it. The 1998 Explorer has a little cleaner oil but that has 100,000 miles on it.

 

On my old 2001 Corvette had a K+N after a 8000 mile oil change the oil was clean looking but this car only had 24,000 on it.

 

I ran one on my 1992 Mustang that was Supercharged, clean looking oil at 3000 miles running Castrol Syntec 5W50 with 98,000 miles on it.

 

It isnt the filter it is the engine and what type of fuel you run that also makes a difference. The 2 cars that has clean oil always ran top tier fuel, no garbage gas.

 

If you can see through a K+N filter it was damaged during clening.

 

I ran a K&N on my mustang for years and I religiously changed my oil full synthetic @ 3,000 miles and always wondered why my oil was so black at every change. Until I read the BITOG article. If you hold a freshly cleaned and oiled K&N filter up to the sun, you can actually see pinholes of bright sunlight.....you can imagine how much dirt that is letting into the engine and contaminating the oil. Yes, they outflow any filter on the market because it's like running no filter at all. I run the amsoil filter in my Edge which is good for 4 years.....which I clean with compressed air at every oil change.....a whole hell of a lot easier than cleaning an oiled bup filter, waiting for it to completely dry and then having to oil the filter from a spray can hoping that I don't overdo it and ruin my mass air meter when it sucks in some oil and coats the resistors on the maf sensor.

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I thought that I may have damaged it while cleaning it, but my buddy installed one in his 2004 mustang GT and had about 2,000 miles on it. I had him pull the filter and he too noted that there were a lot of pinholes when holding it up to the sunlight. I also used STP complete fuel system cleaner with every oil change and used shell gas 95% of the time and the oil would still be black. After switching to an amsoil filter in the stang, the next oil change looked like fresh oil with a slight darker tint to it. BTW, Pennzoil Ultra is an amazing oil. I was a faithful Mobil 1 user.......I will never go back.

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There may be microscopic pinholes that seem big however the filter is oiled so it traps the dust that way. Now look at a dirty K+N and you will not see them pin holes. If you hold a regular filter to the sun you can also see microscopic pin holes, if there wasn't pin holes it would be a solid mass and air would never get through!

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If you can see the sunlight through ANY filter there are holes in it this is just pure science and you can not deny science because the filter is a porous material and that has holes in it . If they were so bad dont you think they would void every vehicle warranty and damage every engine they are installed in but they dont void any warranty! Yes I know about the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act where aftermarket things will not void a warranty, however if it is proven that the aftermarket part does void the warranty the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is void. So therefore K+N would not stand behind their products and would state "For Off Road Applications Only" where the warranty does not exist and it is up to the consumer to decide if they want to void their own warranty or not!

 

I go by experience with well over 98,000 miles on one engine with clean drain oil that always used a K+N filter. This engine was also Supercharged and you know Superchargers use air and compress it so your car is using more air than a regular car. I beat the hell out of this car, by what your saying my filter should have let dirt in and my engine should have blown due to contaminants going through the filter and getting in my oil. I have a friend that has 250,000 on his engine and 200,000 of them were with a K+N filter.

 

Go read how K+N tests their filters.

http://www.knfilters.com/efficiency_testing.htm

http://www.knfilters.com/efficiency_testing_procedure.htm

 

They also offer this Warranty.

http://www.knfilters.com/warranty.htm

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I didn't say anything about blown engines. I have used a K&N filter on my 2001 Mustang GT for 10 years. I have 50,000 miles on her and never had any mechanical issues even with the massive modifications I have done. Paper filters have multiple layers that overlap each other showing no signs of pinholes. I was just stating that since I switched to an amsoil filter on both the 'Stang and Edge......the oil has been much cleaner at oil changes. The only variable changed was the filter. If you want maximum airflow, the tradeoff is more dirt in your engine.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...

I didn't have a huge problem getting my cover back on. I think its all about the angle because the filter can get caught at the pivot point forcing it to move. That made it hard for me until I saw what was happening. I think I remember closing it slowly to make sure the filter didn't move and if it did, I would hold the filter in place until it could close properly.

 

As for the performance, I haven't noticed too much of a change. My MPG dropped a little. Still debating if I'm going to keep it in or not.

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  • 3 weeks later...

If you want maximum airflow, the tradeoff is more dirt in your engine.

 

True....And I've spent a lot of time on dyno's switching back and forth between clean paper filters and clean K&N's.

 

It takes about 600-700 Cu Ft per minute of free air to make 300 HP. Clean stock paper filters will usually provide that and a tad more. Drop in a clean K&N and it will flow a good bit more. On the dyno it will make a couple more HP immediately and run a tad leaner immediately....getting better fuel economy for a while......Until the cars computer notices car is running a tad leaner. Then it will ritchen A/F up some, and extra HP will go away and extra Fuel economy goes away. The extra power feel comes from the car temporarily running leaner, not because somehow a K&N makes more power. Lean makes more power....to a point then it burns a piston. I've seen 5-6 HP temporarily when going from dirty paper filter to cleam K&N....which is when most folks change to a different filter.

 

K&N filters come in an amazing amount of different sizes and types. K&N's do work good for modified cars with modified air intake systems....blower cars as an example.....where stock system won't provide needed air flow, won't fit anyway usually, and is not sufficient for added power. A lot of the modified systems place filters where they pick more dirt and hot air causing shorter oil change intervals. However.....paper filters still filter the best and provide the longest engine life at normal oil change intervals. Without risk of filter oil migrating to MAF sensor wires and causing drivability issues. And gnerally, stock systems enclose the filter in a box, protecting it from engine heat and engine bay dirt, with a snorkel bringing in outside cooler air. Best advice from me....On a stock engine with stock air flow requirements.....just change out your paper filter every 10,000 miles or so for best stock engine performance....and that includes fuel economy.

Edited by RJG
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I would still prefer a stock paper filter in a stock application for best drivability and engine life. Paper filters just filter the best. My training in building performance engines is the filter is not a "mod". It's job is to filter the air....period. You have a 3.7 L well designed passenger car engine designed with air intake path, intake valve size, exhaust valve size, cam profile, exhause system, 87 octane tune, etc, etc, etc, .....that makes 305 engine HP. Ford engineers designed and computed the filter box and filter panel size to flow enough air to support that HP. The tune.....from MAF sensor, IAT sensor, oxygen sensors, etc.....are tuned around the air flow characteristics of the stock paper filter. Fuel maps are designed around expected readings from those sensors.

 

As long as the after market air filter does not overwhelm the sensors in the MAF meter, you will still probably get decent drivability. If air mass flow is greater than MAF sensor thinks it's reading, car runs too lean....not good, makes a couple more HP, feels a little sronger. But if the CPU is able, IE....air flow within what it can measure, it will soon "learn" what's going on, and bring A/F back to what is programed in the tune. (like it does in oposite direction when car wants to run rich from a super dirty filter....it leans it up). When A/F ratio gets put back to stock, those couple HP and improved FE go away.

 

If you are going to use a filter that vastly out flows the stock filter, (not filtering as well causing more frequent oil changes and probably increased engine wear), and has the ability to support more than stock HP....why not make some mods and increase the HP a little. Get a custom tune, tune for hi octance fuel only. Larger intake air path. Deal with VVT somehow. Open up the exhaust system. Tune the car to utilize more air, and adjust the fuel maps to support the extra air. Otherwise....why waste your money on these hi flow filters? And....I've seen engine warranties voided from problems caused by filter oil migrating to MAF sensor wires. Usually from reoiling....usually not from the factory oiling on these after market filters.

 

BTW....I've also used some of these washable filters. I don't think they filter as well as the oiled filters. Just my opinion....no tests to back up my opinion. At least they don't have oil to migrate to MAF sensor. They w/b good for custom situations, cold air kits, fabbed up intakes, etc, with sensitive electronics....where you change the oil often.... race car stuff.

Edited by RJG
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