Article: 70180 of rec.autos.tech From: neh2@po.CWRU.Edu (Nathan E. Heid) Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech Subject: K&N... questions, answers, and challenge Date: 27 Mar 1995 22:56:10 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA) I've been reading the recent posts regarding K&N air filters--one from a happy customer and then the responses of doubt and distrust of the K&N. This is starting to look like a miniature version of the Slick 50 thread. There seems to be quite a few opinions but very little evidence. There's been a lot of quoting and paraphasing of K&N's advertizing, but not much hard evidence as to the ability, lack of ability of the product to filter air. The views of the posts seem to fall into the following catagories... 1. K&N filters do nothing beneficial. 2. K&N's boost performance 3. K&N's boost performance but do harm by admitting dirt 4. K&N's boost performance and filter better than paper Here's the question part. Does anyone have any real information form testing or experience using the product? If your vehicle is quicker or faster, while using the filter, tell us how much. If you disassembled your engine after using it and found sand and crap had eaten the motor, let us know. Here's my part of the answers. I've been using a K&N filter in my '87 Ford Ranger 122 CID 4 cyl. for about a year. This is about 15000 miles of driving. I can't say that I noticed much of a change in power(Not much plus very little stills equals not much.) What the filter has done is to improve my highway gas mileage through better volumetric efficiency. The difference is only .75 to 1 MPG but every little bit helps. As for filtering, I can find no grit on the inside of the air cleaner bowl, carburator, or intake manifold. All the dirt seems to be stuck to the outside of the filter where it belongs. I'm sure some tiny particles get through. Paper filters don't stop every thing either. Most of what gets through isn't the fault of the filter element anyway. Most contamination is due to tiny leaks around the filter, between the air cleaner assemby, carb., and manifold, and old vacuum tubing. As K&N recommends, I coat the edges of the filter with grease to seal them to the air cleaner. And now the challenge. These filters have been around for a while now so if they aren't damaging there should be a few high-mileage stories or if they are dangerous there should be quite a few pissed off people with ruined engines. So, how many miles have you driven with your K&N air filter? -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'd Rather Be Flying! neh2@po.cwru.edu ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article: 70381 of rec.autos.tech From: ac623@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Ross Gunn) Subject: Re: K&N... questions, answers, and challenge Organization: The National Capital FreeNet Date: Fri, 31 Mar 1995 05:06:49 GMT In a previous posting, William V. Byars III (cajun@merle.acns.nwu.edu) writes: > Could you please re-post the K&N report with carriage returns? My news- > reader makes each paragraph look like one line, and I can't read most > of the post. Thanks! > -William Here it is again. Hope you can read this one. Subj: K & N filters To: John M. Saturday, January 21, 1995 5:14:10 PM From: George Morrison John: If I wrote "subjective" I meant "objective".. I was responsible for evaluating re-usable air filters for a major construction/mining company that had hundreds of vehicles ranging from large earthmovers to pick-up trucks and salesmen's cars. This study was embarked upon due to the fact that we were spending upwards of $30,000 a MONTH on paper air filters. Using them one time then throwing them away.. I inititated the study in that I was convinced that a K&N type filter or oiled foam would save us many dollars per year in filter savings, man hour savings, and of course engines as these would filter dirt better than paper. (yes, I had read the K&N ads and was a believer) Representative test units were chosen to give us a broad spectrum from cars right through large front end loaders. With each unit we had a long history of oil analysis records so that changes would be trackable. Unfortunately, for me, every single unit having alternative re-usable air cleaners showed an immediate large jump in silicon (dirt) levels with corresponding major increases in wear metals. In one extreme case, a unit with a primary and secondary air cleaner, the secondary (small paper element) clogged before even one day's test run could be completed. This particular unit had a Cummins V-12 engine that had paper/paper one one bank and K&N/paper on the other bank; two completely independent induction systems. The conditions were EXACTLY duplicated for each bank yet the K&N allowed so much dirt to pass through that the small filter became clogged before lunch. The same outcome occured with oiled foams on this unit. We discontinued the tests on the large pieces almost immediately but continued with service trucks, formen's vehicles, and my own company car. Analysis results continued showing markedly increased wear rates for all the vehicles, mine included. Test concluded, switched back to paper/glass and all vehicles showed reduction back to near original levels of both wear metals and dirt. I continued with the K&N on my company car out of stubborness and at 85,000 miles the Chevy 305 V-8 wheezed its last breath. The top end was sanded badly; bottom end was just fine. End of test. I must stress that EVERYONE involved in this test was hoping that alternative filters would work as everyone was sick about pulling out a perfectly good $85 air cleaner and throwing 4 of them away each week per machine... So, I strongly suggest that depending upon an individual's long term plan for their vehicles they simply run an oil analysis at least once to see that the K&N or whatever alternative air filter is indeed working IN THAT APPLICATION... It depends on a person's priorities. If you want performance then indeed the K&N is the way to go but at what cost??? And no, I do not work for a paper or glass air filter manufacturing company nor do I have any affiliation with anything directly or indirectly that could benefit George Morrison as a result.. ****************************************************************** -- Ross Gunn, Ottawa, Canada Voice: 613-746-1817 FAX/Modem: 613-748-6077