After reading this article you decide

K&N Air Filter Review - Debunking the Myths (and why OEM is better)

 

Wow that kinda sucks

 

I use air filters made from paper. I have used them since they stopped making the filters that went into the oil in the bottom of the pan. 1948 maybe?

 

Probably 20 years ago, I saw test results of engine oil analysis of engines that used OEM and K&N air filters. K&N air filtered engines were ALWAYS significantly higher in silicon (dirt) in the engine oil.

I have stayed away from K&N since.

James

 

And Dirt equals premature engine wear

 

So putting the ones I just bought in is probably a bad idea? Because I have never heard anything but good about k&n air filters

 

I have a strict no refund policy over propaganda .. ! LOL... I thought everyone new you sacrifice "some" filtration for freer flow. I guess Needswings should start offering paper filters with the intakes they sell. If you do oil field work and drive 10 miles of dirt road following trucks .. I'd be concerned.. or Texas dust storms.. I'd be worried. K&N wouldn't have stayed in business this long if enough fine dust got in to ruin engines.

 

Haha I knew you were gonna say that and no I wouldn't have asked but ill just avoid dust haha

 

Lets just say my 2000 model 1200 C Sportster has pretty much spent it's life breathing through a K&N. No smoke..no issues.. and just shy of 50K. I'd have to say any "additional" wear and tear has been negligible ...

 

I prefer better filtration, than k&n is capable of providing

 

I didn't want the hassle of cleaning and re-oiling the filters, so I went with the next best thing....lifetime DRY filters.

AFE Pro-Dry S Air Filters

 

If I was driving my car in dusty conditions then I wouldn't use K&N. I've used my K&Ns for about 16000 miles, cleaned and oiled them once and when I did that they were not very dirty. How dirty can they get when the car sits in the garage most of the time.

 

I have to agree with you on this one, I have used K&N on my bikes for years, no problem and definitelt a HP gain, same with the cars. I think unless you drive in extreme conditions they will be fine but I would make sure to change oil at the minimum recommended intervals (never a bad idea).

 

9.8 grams of dirt per second? 600+ grams (1 1/2 pounds) at the end of the test? Somehow, the scale and units used in this test seem...excessive.

 

K&Ns are way better then stock filters unless your talking about a six figure car...with that said there way overpriced for the small amount of preformance you will get out of them...Me personally being in the automotive industry i would say millions of people wouldnt be buying them and businesses wouldnt be sponsored by them for years if they did nothing or where harmful for a car's engine...

 

Yes they do, also, you have to look at how the graphs are presented. The first one (efficiency) it starts at 96 percent, it looks as if AC delco is about 3 times better than K&N. If the graph displayed 0 to 100 it would look much closer, which it is. Makes me wonder who was responsible for this report!!!

 

Ding ding ding! Same here!
AEM dry filter for me.
I don't like to wash the car so there is no way I will be keeping up with the oil air filter on a regular bases

 

I work in the research (major university) and I'll let you all in on a little secret:

It's not so much the data, as it is the presentation.

Kinda' like an Obamagraph.

I can easily believe that a paper filter is more effective for very small particles. But there is a minimum size where it doesn't matter.

And, if I opened up my filter and found more than 2 grams of crap, I'd be concerned. One and a half pounds?

I don't do Baja...