Originally posted by: edprush
I figured someone would have asked about these by now on the forums.
I've heard great things about K&N Filters but I've never tried one.
Have you used them and did they provide any increase in performance for your vehicle?
Originally posted by: 996GT2
They increase airflow at the expense of decreased filtering quality...so, in short, they aren't worth the money for a daily driver.
Edit: In most cars the filter housing and piping is where most of the restriction comes from, so if you simply drop in a K&N to the stock filter location, it probably won't give you any increase in power while letting more unwanted particles pass through to your engine. To actually gain a few more horsepower, you would have to use a K&N in conjunction with an aftermarket intake system.
Originally posted by: Pale Rider
They aren't worth it at all IMO. Unless you are going to get a bigger MAF and throttle body the extra air won't do much. It's like opening your mouth wider in an attempt to get more food down your throat - your throat is only so big and can only move so much food at once - regardless of how big you open your mouth.
Originally posted by: chucky2
Read through the following link and then make your decision:
ISO 5011 Duramax Air Filter Test Report
Chuck
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.
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Originally posted by: Pale Rider
They aren't worth it at all IMO. Unless you are going to get a bigger MAF and throttle body the extra air won't do much. It's like opening your mouth wider in an attempt to get more food down your throat - your throat is only so big and can only move so much food at once - regardless of how big you open your mouth.
Well actually the throttle body usually is not the problem. But, great analogy.
Also Pale Rider...Are you a member of the apache squadron? And, have you ever played DF2?
Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
They are worthless. Your stock paper filter already flows more than your engine can suck in, and it's MUCH better at filtration than a K&N.
What are stock replacement filters....5 bucks? 7 bucks? A K&N is what...40 or more? So you can go through 7 or 8 air filters for the price of a K&N, plus your engine will be getting cleaner air to boot. And unless you live on a dirt road, 7 or 8 air filters should take you well over 100k miles.
Originally posted by: Pale Rider
Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Originally posted by: Pale Rider
They aren't worth it at all IMO. Unless you are going to get a bigger MAF and throttle body the extra air won't do much. It's like opening your mouth wider in an attempt to get more food down your throat - your throat is only so big and can only move so much food at once - regardless of how big you open your mouth.
Well actually the throttle body usually is not the problem. But, great analogy.
Also Pale Rider...Are you a member of the apache squadron? And, have you ever played DF2?
Must be another PR.
Originally posted by: chucky2
Read through the following link and then make your decision:
ISO 5011 Duramax Air Filter Test Report
Chuck
Originally posted by: edprush
I figured someone would have asked about these by now on the forums.
I've heard great things about K&N Filters but I've never tried one.
Have you used them and did they provide any increase in performance for your vehicle?
Originally posted by: 996GT2
They increase airflow at the expense of decreased filtering quality...so, in short, they aren't worth the money for a daily driver.
Edit: In most cars the filter housing and piping is where most of the restriction comes from, so if you simply drop in a K&N to the stock filter location, it probably won't give you any increase in power while letting more unwanted particles pass through to your engine. To actually gain a few more horsepower, you would have to use a K&N in conjunction with an aftermarket intake system.
Originally posted by: sindows
Sorry for bringing this topic off track a bit but I'm not handy with cars and seeing this thread today, I decided to take a look at my air filter. Its ~3 years old and I don't think its been changed once so needless to say, it looked pretty disgusting. However when I flipped the filter over, I noticed two yellow/goldish lines going from right-left when you view it horizontally. What are those? They looked like some sort of liquid/oil that someone squeezed out of a tube...
Also, what brand filter should I get? I'm not looking for performance filters and the car is an '04 with a ubiquitous Ford 4.6 V8 FYI.
Originally posted by: SuperSix
Originally posted by: sindows
Sorry for bringing this topic off track a bit but I'm not handy with cars and seeing this thread today, I decided to take a look at my air filter. Its ~3 years old and I don't think its been changed once so needless to say, it looked pretty disgusting. However when I flipped the filter over, I noticed two yellow/goldish lines going from right-left when you view it horizontally. What are those? They looked like some sort of liquid/oil that someone squeezed out of a tube...
Also, what brand filter should I get? I'm not looking for performance filters and the car is an '04 with a ubiquitous Ford 4.6 V8 FYI.
More than likely, those lines you see are some sort of epoxy/resin to firm up the paper ribs, so it doesn't brake down and get sucked into the engine.
And for the love of all that's Holy - replace that air filter!