K&N Air Filters are BAD (fipk solution! PICS)
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From: NV
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K&N Air Filters are BAD (fipk solution! PICS)
I've been doing some research, and I've found out some terrible things about K&N that everybody likes and uses (including me).
As alot of you know, my car is a mess at only 24k miles with tons of carbon buildup everywhere. Now recently I decided to clean the throttle body with some cleaner I got. Well lets just say the rag I used was black when I was done. I couldn't figure out how all that stuff had gotten there. Well guess what? I've been using a K&N OEM drop-in filter for over a year now. As I've been doing more research, I believe the K&N is to blame.
Paper air filters are able to do a much better job it seems of filtering air, at a cost of reduced airflow. Have you ever held a K&N up to the sun? Yeah-you can almost see the holes in it. Truth is the K&N is unable to filter very fine particles. Even microscopic dust particles are capable of doing damage to your engine over time.
Now I have a fipk intake and am facing the same problem. Everywhere I've looked points to K&N filters being good on the track. But for daily use, it just can't filter like paper can. So I'm looking for a paper cone filter for my intake now. If I can't find one, this info is gonna force me back to the stock intake and paper filter.
Does anyone know where I can find a cone-type paper filter for my intake?
As alot of you know, my car is a mess at only 24k miles with tons of carbon buildup everywhere. Now recently I decided to clean the throttle body with some cleaner I got. Well lets just say the rag I used was black when I was done. I couldn't figure out how all that stuff had gotten there. Well guess what? I've been using a K&N OEM drop-in filter for over a year now. As I've been doing more research, I believe the K&N is to blame.
Paper air filters are able to do a much better job it seems of filtering air, at a cost of reduced airflow. Have you ever held a K&N up to the sun? Yeah-you can almost see the holes in it. Truth is the K&N is unable to filter very fine particles. Even microscopic dust particles are capable of doing damage to your engine over time.
Now I have a fipk intake and am facing the same problem. Everywhere I've looked points to K&N filters being good on the track. But for daily use, it just can't filter like paper can. So I'm looking for a paper cone filter for my intake now. If I can't find one, this info is gonna force me back to the stock intake and paper filter.
Does anyone know where I can find a cone-type paper filter for my intake?
Last edited by gearbox; Jun 15, 2004 at 06:31 PM.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 OMG you guys I'm pissed about not knowing this before.
Where is the MAF sensor?
The other thing many people do not understand or realize is the fact that K&N filters contaminate the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor sample wires of many cars, especially Ford ! Parts of the the filter oil travels onto the sample wires and cake up with ultra fine dirt particles, which in the burn-off cycle after the engine shuts off, glaze onto the wires. In short order you have drivability issues = lean condition.
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Rep Power: 0 Well how do you know it's from the filtter? Couldn't it be form a bunch of other things besides the K&N filter? I mean it totally could be from the filter, but then i don't understand how you came to that conclusion from all of the other possibilities. Also where did u find evidence for K&N being bad for the engine cuz i'd like to read about it myself.
um...apexi makes that weird powerhead...whatever its called...they did a flow test, and it filtered the most...but there were still small particles on the white sheet on the other side. Compared witht the other heads though, this one was #1. I dunno if its paper or not, but you can give it shot. either way, ur not gonna be able to filter out those fine particles, and plus, if ur paper is too fine, you won't be able to even let air through, so that's another loss. Kinda lose either way.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 Well the dirt and stuff is right in the throttle body. The only way it could get there is from air being sucked in through the filter. I guess it makes sense that higher flow rate would cause less filtering. So I think tomorrow the stock intake is going back on until I can figure something out.
Actually, K&N is now offering a foam cover that goes over the filter because they realized what is happening.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm
http://www.knfilters.com/airforcewraps.htm
Actually, K&N is now offering a foam cover that goes over the filter because they realized what is happening.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm
http://www.knfilters.com/airforcewraps.htm
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Originally Posted by half_n_half17
Well how do you know it's from the filtter? Couldn't it be form a bunch of other things besides the K&N filter? I mean it totally could be from the filter, but then i don't understand how you came to that conclusion from all of the other possibilities. Also where did u find evidence for K&N being bad for the engine cuz i'd like to read about it myself.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 The oil on the K&N gets on the maf sensor and glazes over it. Some car manufacturers actually say that using an oil-containing air filter will void the warranty.
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From: Marlton, NJ
Rep Power: 0 I've owned K&N products for over 15 years and I've never had a problem, my intake and TB remain spotless. The only problem that I have ever witnessed is when somebody goes to re-oil the filter and they put too much on, this will in fact, clog your MAF over time. The filter does not need a lot of oil, just enough to cover the area. After I'm done re-oiling the filter, I will take a paper towel and gently soak up any excess, works every time.
Hope this helps.
K&N filters
Hope this helps.
K&N filters
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From: Etobicoke, Ontario
Rep Power: 0 I still use my AEM filter and it works well for me. I've cleaned it once in the spring and that's it. Oiled it so the whiteish-red filter becomes red. So one tiny layer of oil on the filter.. no more.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 Interesting. My head, TB, and headers looked like they were on the car for 100k miles or more. For a 24k mile car, it's very abnormal. I need to take some pics of my stuff to show you guys. All I posted was the pistons so far.
The K&N is especially bad in fine dust areas like farming and salt. All the tests conducted that showed the K&N to be okay didn't account for smaller particles that could easily pass right through (like fine grain sand).
Whatever is going on, I'm not willing to risk my engine right now. Everything is more or less new right now, and I don't want the same thing to happen. It's gonna suck because the fipk gave me a big improvement with the ported head work. But having my engine last longer is more important.
Are there companies that make a paper version that will fit an intake tube? That would be ideal for me.
The K&N is especially bad in fine dust areas like farming and salt. All the tests conducted that showed the K&N to be okay didn't account for smaller particles that could easily pass right through (like fine grain sand).
Whatever is going on, I'm not willing to risk my engine right now. Everything is more or less new right now, and I don't want the same thing to happen. It's gonna suck because the fipk gave me a big improvement with the ported head work. But having my engine last longer is more important.
Are there companies that make a paper version that will fit an intake tube? That would be ideal for me.
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From: NV
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 Well we're talking about the K&N filter itself. The cone thing on the end and not the intake. I just took mine off and went back to stock. Now I need to find a new paper filter to replace the K&N I have in there.
well what do u expect man. anytime u swap out an oem part and use an aftermarket performance part there is a trade off.
obviously the oem filter will screen out more dirt particles and the k&n one will let more pass through.
my analogy is a turbo kit. sure a turbo will add HP to your engine. but the trade off is that it will increase wear and tare.
think about it
obviously the oem filter will screen out more dirt particles and the k&n one will let more pass through.
my analogy is a turbo kit. sure a turbo will add HP to your engine. but the trade off is that it will increase wear and tare.
think about it
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 Yeah that's right. I'm starting to lose faith in aftermarket stuff. Everytime I try something, it ends up going back to stock and me selling the part for less than half of what I paid.
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From: Gainesville, Ga.
Rep Power: 0 Oh, so that guy was conducting his test on a motorcycle? I think I'll stick with my K&N since I haven't had any problems...Maybe you just live in a area that has a lot of construction where there is a lot of dirt and dust...It just seems like an oiled filter would be better for trapping particles...Anyway, I hope you can find something useful
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 Well the buildup is right around the throttle body, which is just below the intake inlet.
Anyway, I put the stock airbox back on and ordered a napa gold paper filter. Supposed to be pretty good. I've read enough bad things about K&N to convince me, and I'm done with them. Just not worth the risk for me.
Anyway, I put the stock airbox back on and ordered a napa gold paper filter. Supposed to be pretty good. I've read enough bad things about K&N to convince me, and I'm done with them. Just not worth the risk for me.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 Lol. Well I found something else comparing napa gold paper filter to K&N. The K&N only flows 0.14% better according to atmosphere testing. Is that worth risking your engine over? I say no.
http://www.mcagraphix.com/filter/filtflow.htm
http://www.mcagraphix.com/filter/filtflow.htm
thanks a lot gearbox this is very informative. I just installed mine a month ago so this is good to hear right away. I don't race so i guess the k&n isn't gonna be that big of a deal to remove except for the money i spent on it. What would be a good paper hi flow replacement?
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From: NV
Rep Power: 811 Like I said above, the napa gold filter is excellent. I have mine coming in next week at Napa auto parts.
Someone actually gained 3mpg with the napa filter when compared to a mazda oem filter.
Someone actually gained 3mpg with the napa filter when compared to a mazda oem filter.
