Thoughts on K&N air filters

[BatsTDK]

I'd trust the info on AEM's site above Amazon's.

By the way, I bought mine from a guy that bought it on Amazon. He posted a review of how he lost about 2 MPG. He said he drove the same trip every time, same season, same fuel, etc. He put his stock filter back in and immediately got his MPG back. I read where he offered it to someone replying to his review for the cost of shipping. It had been a few months and that person never responded so I asked if it was still available. Scored my DryFlow for $15.

Hmm. Have you noticed a drop in MPG?

 

[MassHoe04]

I had K&N on my 95 Dodge Ram (it was still Dodge back then...). It was 5.9 L Magnum V-8. I didn't really notice a whole lot of difference in sound or performance, if there was any. Not saying there wasn't, but just didn't seem noticeable.

Anyway... I figured cleaning and oiling the filter media was going to be better than buying filters. That road was paved with good intentions, but I never took the time to scrub the filter media with the brush (and using Chris Fix's term) soapy "wodder", like I was supposed to. I would get to doing that later, which never happened.

A quality paper filter can actually be better than a neglected reusable mesh filter.

I never bothered going back to K&N. Only because I know I won't clean it. I'd rather just do a paper replacement once a year. Cheap and easy.

Not saying they are not a great product, but just not for me...

 

[Tonyrodz]

I had K&N on my 95 Dodge Ram (it was still Dodge back then...). It was 5.9 L Magnum V-8. I didn't really notice a whole lot of difference in sound or performance, if there was any. Not saying there wasn't, but just didn't seem noticeable.

Anyway... I figured cleaning and oiling the filter media was going to be better than buying filters. That road was paved with good intentions, but I never took the time to scrub the filter media with the brush (and using Chris Fix's term) soapy "wodder", like I was supposed to. I would get to doing that later, which never happened.

A quality paper filter can actually be better than a neglected reusable mesh filter.

I never bothered going back to K&N. Only because I know I won't clean it. I'd rather just do a paper replacement once a year. Cheap and easy.

Not saying they are not a great product, but just not for me...

Lol, wodder--That Jersey accent.

 

[iamdub]

Hmm. Have you noticed a drop in MPG?

Nope. Although, I put mine in not long after I bought my Tahoe so I didn't have a lot of baseline to compare. But, my MPG back then was on a par with what everyone else reported and it still was after the filter. So, I'd say it made no difference. Actually, now, with the mods listed in my sig, I'm getting the same and better MPG, and without AFM.

 

[SnowDrifter]

I won't touch them.

My (tested and validated) concerns are:

1. Oil contaminating the MAF

2. Turbulent airflow due to the lack of a turbulence reduction plate (?) - the honey comb looking thing just before your MAF. -- only lacking on a full aftermarket intake kit though

3. much, MUCH lower filtration performance. Enough that it showed up in a UOA as heavy silicon contamination.


I've noticed absolutely zero performance difference between these things and OE, on a stock rig. If I had an application where I needed vastly more airflow, maybe. But as it stands - not enough of a difference outside of mathematical numbers. Meh.

 

[iamdub]

3. much, MUCH lower filtration performance. Enough that it showed up in a UOA as heavy silicon contamination.

I forgot to expand on the oil cleanliness aspect.

@slypher25aussie, I change my oil at 5K mile intervals. Honestly, it's kind of a waste cuz my oil is just a little darker than when new. It's still very translucent. I have my used oil analyzed as well, and the results are really good.


My old, dirty oil before a change:

I don't know how much the type of oil (other than being full synthetic) has to do with this. But, surely my engine isn't ingesting any dirt.

 

[swathdiver]

What are y’all’s thoughts on the reusable K&N air filters? I currently have a Purolator One filter as a read great things about how well they filter. But I also know with good filtration comes less air flow.

Is the K&N filtration good enough? I understand they’re meh at filtration but have excellent air flow.

You have selected one of the best filters out there.

You'll appreciate the test vehicle used in this.

 

[BatsTDK]

You have selected one of the best filters out there.

You'll appreciate the test vehicle used in this.

Ha. I bought that filter specifically because of that video.

 

[MassHoe04]

Although, looking at the performance graph a little more than half way through the video...

That WIX is half the price, no cleaning, no oil to potentially contaminate the MAF and is only 0.1 second slower on the 0-60 test.

For my next filter... I would seriously consider the EP Auto filter, if it is a good quality.
It is only 0.2 seconds slower on the 0-60 comparisons. For less than $9?! That's my kind of filter!!!

I think even a full second loss on 0-60 would not be something I would be able to really notice on my stock rig, let alone a couple of tenths...

 

[SnowDrifter]

I forgot to expand on the oil cleanliness aspect.

@slypher25aussie, I change my oil at 5K mile intervals. Honestly, it's kind of a waste cuz my oil is just a little darker than when new. It's still very translucent. I have my used oil analyzed as well, and the results are really good.


My old, dirty oil before a change:

View attachment 367678



I don't know how much the type of oil (other than being full synthetic) has to do with this. But, surely my engine isn't ingesting any dirt.

FWIW, it never showed up visually. But was apparent in a lab analysis

 

[Tonyrodz]

I had K&N on my 95 Dodge Ram (it was still Dodge back then...). It was 5.9 L Magnum V-8. I didn't really notice a whole lot of difference in sound or performance, if there was any. Not saying there wasn't, but just didn't seem noticeable.

Anyway... I figured cleaning and oiling the filter media was going to be better than buying filters. That road was paved with good intentions, but I never took the time to scrub the filter media with the brush (and using Chris Fix's term) soapy "wodder", like I was supposed to. I would get to doing that later, which never happened.

A quality paper filter can actually be better than a neglected reusable mesh filter.

I never bothered going back to K&N. Only because I know I won't clean it. I'd rather just do a paper replacement once a year. Cheap and easy.

Not saying they are not a great product, but just not for me...

Forgot to mention @MassHoe04 , Chris Fix is from NJ.

 

[fozzi58]

Unless you are getting a tune, the air filter isn't going to make any difference.

I'm running the factory airbox and paper filter with a whipple as per their recommendation. So even with a blower on my truck, Whipple doesnt think a K&N or any aftermarket filter is better for flow.

 

[iamdub]

Is the K&N filtration good enough? I understand they’re meh at filtration but have excellent air flow.

Are you familiar with the term "Hegelian dialectic"?

 

[MassHoe04]

Unless you are getting a tune, the air filter isn't going to make any difference.

I'm running the factory airbox and paper filter with a whipple as per their recommendation. So even with a blower on my truck, Whipple doesnt think a K&N or any aftermarket filter is better for flow.

I agree. Unless you override the parameters controlled by the ECM, any change in air flow or volume will just end up having things compensated by the ECM in attempt to line things up with what has been programmed.

The computer is just going to tweak other things, attempting to keep as close to the programmed optimum air/fuel ratios.

You would have to tune the computer to override the defaults, if you were trying to introduce more air or more fuel, with the expectation that the engine will put it to use.

 

[Mudsport96]

So you are going want to get a different filter because the acdelco A3181C restricts your 5.3 to 295hp and 335tq. But the exact same acdelco A3181C lets the 8.1 make 340hp and 455tq..... probably not the filter restricting it lol

 

[steve45]

When I had my '97 Tahoe, I was driving an average of 300 miles per day for work. I filled up every day, and I calculated MPG and wrote it on every gas receipt. I did this for about 50,000 miles. One day I mentioned to a customer that I'd love to get better mileage. He recommended the K&N filters. I thought there was no way it could affect mileage with all the computer controls on the engine, but I tried it.

The next time I filled up, my mileage had increased by 1.5 MPG. My average mileage remained 1.5 MPG higher (going from 18.0 to 19.5) until I sold the vehicle with 340,000 miles on it. I did not see any change in oil consumption. I live in very dusty west Texas and was concerned about getting dust in the engine, but apparently that didn't happen. I washed and oiled the filter about every 50K, as I remember. A quick calculation shows a savings of over 1000 gallons of gas. That filter paid for itself many times over!

I tried a K&N filter on my 1995 Suburban, and sadly, it made no mileage difference at all.

 

[ROGELIO A GUZMAN]

I have the k&n in my Denali. I've had no issue.