Your Opinion--Is a K&N Air Filter worth it?

[CTS]

As for the owners who have installed the K&N systems (or any other performance filter for that matter), we have to remain cognizant of the facts. Even if they can't notice any performance or filtration differences what so ever, having spent a lot of $$ is a good enough reason to rave about it so they are not the fools.

(Arlen) SPICER wrote,

“Now that I am not doing the tests and my objectivity is not necessary, let me explain my motivation. The reason I started this crusade was that I was seeing people spend a lot of money on aftermarket filters based on the word of a salesperson or based on the misleading, incomplete or outright deceiving information printed on boxes and in sales literature. Gentlemen and Ladies, Marketing and the lure of profit is VERY POWERFUL! It is amazing how many people believe that better airflow = more power! Unless you have modifications out the wazoo, a more porous filter will just dirty your oil! Some will say " I have used aftermarket brand X for XXX # years with no problems. The PROBLEM is you spent a chunk of ching on a product that not only DID NOT increase your horsepower, but also let in a lot of dirt while doing it! Now how much is a lot? ANY MORE THAN NECESSARY is TOO MUCH!

Others are persuaded by the claims of aftermarket manufacturers that their filters filter dirt "better than any other filter on the market." Sounds very enticing. To small timers like you and me, spending $1500 to test a filter sounds like a lot. But if you were a filter manufacturer and you believed your filter could filter dirt better than any other media on the market, wouldn't you want to prove it? Guess what. Test your filter vs. the OE paper. It will cost you $3000 and for that price you will have the data that you can use in your advertisements. Your investment will be returned a thousand fold! EASIER than shooting fish in a barrel! So why don't these manufacturers do this? Hmmm? Probably not because they would feel guilty about taking more market share.



Now I am not saying that ALL aftermarket filters are useless. A paper filter does not do well if directly wetted or muddy. It may collapse. This is why many off-road filters are foam. It is a compromise between filtering efficiency and protection from a collapsed filter. Now how many of our trucks collapse their filters from mud and water? However, if a filter is using "better airflow" as their marketing tool, remember this....Does it flow better? At very high airflow volumes, probably. BUT, Our trucks CAN'T flow that much air unless super-modified, so what is the point? The stock filter will flow MORE THAN ENOUGH AIR to give you ALL THE HORSEPOWER the engine has to give. And this remains true until the filter is dirty enough to trip the air filter life indicator. At that point performance will decline somewhat. Replace the filter and get on with it.

Hopefully the results of this test will do 2 things. Shed some light on the misleading marketing claims of some aftermarket manufacturers and/or give us new insight on products already on the market that are superior to our OE filter. I stand for truth and will eat my words publicly if my statements prove wrong. I appreciate all of the help and support that you members have offered in this project. It would simply be impossible without your help. A huge thanks to Ken at Testand for his willingness to take on this project. I would be spinning my wheels from here to eternity without his help… SPICER”

look at this and then decide if it worth it....

[DMAX]

Originally Posted by My new Camaro

no just makes a annoying whistle

Mine used to whistle with the stock filter it sounded like a tea pot , with the KN filter it does not , works good for me .

[freemaSSon]

If you are inclined to not opt for true hig flow intake system then you would benefit by installing a K&N. These engines need to breath. When you unrestrict the ingestion of the engine it leans out the AFR. If just a tick it will make more power PERIOD!


I say, keep the $50 bucks in a safe place and save up until you can get a true high flow intake system like the ADM Air Box System and make a signifcant amount more power.

[drtwo]

Originally Posted by Revnic

Alot of filters have "oiled" filters which are supposed to use oil to catch fine particulates. There has been alot of speculation that the oil in the filter is actually drawn past the MAF sensor in some vehicles, which coats the honey-comb like sensor surface, reducing its efficiency, which throws off your engines computer.

.

I had this very thing happen to my truck. My MAP sensor was all gummed up and only after several semi-expensive interventions to try to stop my truck from backfiring, I had to remove my MAP sensor screen and clean it and the diodes well to make my truck work again. I could see the redish deposite dripping off as I cleaned it. Now that I think about it, I say K&N is a CROCK!

[GEN-IV]

It won't give you any additional airflow in a stock filterbox, it will last forever, and it will cause your MAF reading to shift as oil and dust accumulate on the sensing elements.

[shevyman]

you know people are saying it will mes with your maf. well 5 years now and nothing is wrong with my car. and i am also using a COLD AIR INTAKE (sorry just had to cause the camaro doesnt have one). plus i will once and a while go through my stuff on the car and clean it but yet no problem with my sensor. or any other problem.

[montej23]

I just put in the K&N air filter on my camaro and i lost 4 MPG does anyone know why this would occur? I mean really it should not make a negative impact right? Can anyone help on this? Dont say put the stock air filter back in, im being serious why would it do that?

[KILLER74Z28]

Worth the money if you are not planning on purchasing an FIPK/Cold Air Kit. I have one in mine until I make my mind up on which fresh air intake I'm going to purchase. I could tell the difference as soon as I installed it and for 50 bucks it’s fairly inexpensive. Follow the link. K&N Filters

[HaveBlue]

This is a great thread. I've sold lots of aftermarket filters over the years and have a friend that was a sales manager for one of the big companies. Here are some things I've learned over the years.

First. All cotton gauze filters are not the same. Sounds simple but the term "K&N" is like "Kleenex", and gets applied to the category. There are cheaper versions and more modern versions (the basic K&N filter dates back to the early 70"s). Very cheap & offshore versions are easy to identify. Hold them up to a light. If you can see pinpoints of light then dirt will get thru those holes. Any filter is a compromise of Flow vs Filtration. A normally aspirated engine (air pump effect) has a set demand it needs. Lets say 300 cfm. If a filter has a higher airflow rating of 350 cfm, than you are giving up filtration. The motor will pull no more than 300 cfm. If a filter allows less than the 300 cfm, then it would be considered "restrictive" but probably "filters' better. OE's want to make power, long life (100,000 warranty) and keep noise down. They spend lots of engineering money to get an acceptable (in their eyes) balance.

"Wet vs Dry"
The dirt released from the filter comes from cleaning the oil off, which the dust clings to. It's the "release agent". A dry filter is put in a bucket and agitated. You will get the surface dirt out but not the deep dirt. So each washing leaves the filter less efficient that it was new. Think vacuum cleaner filters. It will never be 100% efficient again, a oiled gauze filter is. Again it's Flow vs Filtration. Dry filters have come into vogue due to the great "Oil on Mass AF sensor" debate. Foam filters are synthetic not natural fiber. Oil will not penetrate the foam, it sticks to it. Foam filter manf use a thicker sticky oil to cling, but it WILL shed off. Did we use foam for years on powersports and trucks? Yes, when they were carburated and the motor wasn't affected by ingesting a little oil.

MAF Fouling.
Oiled Mass Air sensors is pretty much an urban myth. Check out the K&N website for the actual scientific testing they had done.
http://www.knfilters.com/MAF/MAFTestresults.htm
A lot of dealers make a big deal about this because they've been scared into it by the warranty techs. Keep this in mind. A GM dealership has NO way to test a mass air flow sensor. The book tells them to put the MAF on a same year vehicle to see if it's bad. !!
Can it happen? Sure. From over oiling. If a cheap offshore filter has oil on the inside of the bag wrapping the filter than it's over oiled. Don't use it. The biggest culprit is the owner reoiling the filter after cleaning. Ever read the instructions before doing it? You oil a small area and let it wick thru the filter for 30 min. You DO NOT try to get the cotton all red in 30 seconds
Several manufacturers now list the amount of oil they put on their filters from the factory. It's done by a computerized sprayer. The amount averages 0.6 oz. Very little.

Current manufacturers of filter (vs re-packers) spent a lot of time and engineering to get the correct configuration to achieve the best Flow vs Filtration AND correct MAF air signal. Number of pleats per inch, pleat depth, all play apart in "straightening the air" as well as filtration. This is an area that very few kit builders (vs filter manf) spend any time. It's usually what fits in the space. IMO it's very important to know who's filter a kit has in it. Did they cut corners there?

Regarding the post about diesel filters. Different animal. A turbo diesel requires 10 times the air as a gas motor. Yet some OE's use the same air box as the gas trucks due to cost and room constraints. The issue of replacement filters collapsing in air boxes is due to using old gas filter manufaturing materials. The turbo diesel was a new animal. Some manufacturers now cover the filter in expanded metal screens (chicken wire I call it) to give it rigidity. This can result in a 30% drop in flow. Doesn't make sense. Some manufactures have switched from the aluminum wire that hold the gauze together to stainless steel and put reinforcing bars in the side urethane panels. This is the difference between "good enough & doing it right."

There are lots of hype, myths and legends out there on the errornet. Also some facts. Do your research from multiple sources.

[Crowley]

Originally Posted by KILLER74Z28

Worth the money if you are not planning on purchasing an FIPK/Cold Air Kit. I have one in mine until I make my mind up on witch fresh air intake I'm going to purchase. I could tell the difference as soon as I installed it and for 50 bucks it’s fairly inexpensive. Follow the link. K&N Filters

Had one on pretty much every car I have ever owned. Future cars will have it as well.

Crowley

[Paul]

I also have used KN since I started racing in 1988 and have never had a problem with them.....i have cleaned and re-oiled them many times

[HaveBlue]

Oh yeah, regarding the originals OP's question.
Yes, I've had cotton gauze panel filters on every car I've owned in the last 20 years that did not have a complete air intake system on it.

[2SSRS@Gen5diy]

Hope you like it, I sent it out today do not add any oil as it is good to go.

[nessa131]

Thanks 2SSRS!! Looking forward to putting it in my car when it gets here in about 2 weeks!!!!