[cep]

Originally Posted by french bug

Hi there!

i just wanted to give you my opinion about K N filtering.

i've installed one into my airbox for about a year and a half now, and i've noticed a positive change.
little increase of "breathing fresh air"
noise slightly changed, hard to notice for unexperienced ears, but if you pay close attention, especially on engine 2.0 liters or more, you can hear it

the KN air filter is still clean after 17/18 months of driving, so approximately 20.000 kilometers, no cleaning needed yet and of course, no need to replace it buying a paper model.

At 16,000 miles, virtually no filter would be close to needing replacement unless you were operating in a really dusty environment. That being said, think about it: A 'clean' filter is a sure sign it isn't doing it's job! If that filter is actually still 'clean', you don't have enough oil on it. The dirt that you're not seeing on the filter? It went through your engine.

about the filtration: no worries mate! really no need to worry since the filtration is at least as good as OEM models, thanks to their very specific material/design + specific oil.

Sorry, but have to disagree. K&N boasts that their filters are in the 97% initial efficient range; a pleated paper filter starts out at something like 99.5% That may not sound like much difference but it is huge...the K&N will never filter as well as a good pleated paper filter. Nor should it; that isn't what it was designed to do! K&N designs their filters to maximize airflow. The only trouble is, like most things, something's got to be traded off to obtain that. In this case, it's filtering efficiency.

if you don't trust me about filtration being AT LEAST as good as with OEM models, you should go have a look at their web site, they have very good explanations and tests showing the difference very clearly etc... etc...

But don't stop there; go look at Donaldson, Fleetguard or Baldwin's sites, too. See how their filters compare. Also do a search on K&N vs pleated paper. There is a lot of info out there.

so no problem at all with oil , if you dont get it too greasy

Or let it get too dry. If you do, there goes any filtering at all, for all practical purposes. It will keep small animals and big insects out but that's about all. The K&N needs just the right amount of oil...too much and you risk your MAF...too little, and you get lousy filtration. The pleated paper filter needs nothing from you. Put it in and forget it; change it per the manual.

and no problem at all with filtration, since i'm trying it myself + other people's experience driving 300.000 km with it or more..... + KN laboratory tests very well done and explicit.
i hope this will help some people make the right choice, and some others change their mind about KN filters. lol i'm not working for them, i just really appreciate the difference.

thanks for reading!

Unless you need the absolute maximum amount of air to enter your engine, such as in a dusty racing application, the K&N is a 'solution' to a non-existent problem. If racing is your thing, then you want max horsepower. The amount of air entering your engine is what limits the amount of horsepower and engine can produce. So to obtain max horsepower, you need max airflow. That is what the K&N does. In street applications, most people will profit more from max durability than max horsepower, though. That is where the pleated paper filter, with its superior, fool-proof filtering, excels.

Not trying to pick a fight or anything; just trying to share my experience and I've had quite a bit with air filters, much of it gained the hard way. For those who didn't want to read the whole thing, to sum up:

If you want to go fast, make horsepower--get the K&N.
If you want long engine life--stick with pleated paper.