K & N Air Filter

Discussion in 'General Tow Rig Discussion' started by rocknbronco, Apr 27, 2006.

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  1. rocknbronco

    rocknbronco Well-Known Member

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    Ok in a effort to save money on gas I'm switching to a K&N Filter and after looking at the two leading brands with Fram's Air Hog losing reason being costs more only last a quarter of the time.Now I know I could have looked at AEM,AMSOIL or COOL BLUE and posibly saved money buying online but I was getting a fuel filter and figured why not its time for it to and for what I pay at work I will get 4 lasting about 40 to 48K for the same price why not pay the same price and save in the long run.Of course I know I will have to buy cleaning kits but still I should be in better shape in the long run. Basically how is everyone satisfied with there K&N's I have used them in the past and liked them very well.
     
    rocknbronco, Apr 27, 2006
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  2. BurnedBronco

    BurnedBronco Well-Known Member

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    dont catch dirt as well as a conventional paper element.
     
    BurnedBronco, Apr 27, 2006
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  3. rocknbronco

    rocknbronco Well-Known Member

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    Yeah that seems to be the problem with free-er flowing filters.
     
    rocknbronco, Apr 27, 2006
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  4. BurnedBronco

    BurnedBronco Well-Known Member

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    solution is a bigger paper filter........
     
    BurnedBronco, Apr 27, 2006
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  5. BadDog

    BadDog TRC Staff Staff Member

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    Yep, like a big Donaldson. K&N sucks worse than most.
     
    BadDog, Apr 28, 2006
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  6. dubbyx

    dubbyx Well-Known Member

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    I can't ever keep mine clean. 14" round, 5" tall. constantly looks like a mud puddle on top of my engine. I won't say it hasn't done it's job though as the only clean place under my hood is under that filter. Performance gains weren't nearly as I'd hoped on top of my big ol chevy. I've used K&N's in my playtoys for years, and in my smaller cars they work great and have improved power as claimed. I've yet to see any gas savings with any of them though. Got more out of installing my selectable hubs than anything else.
     
    dubbyx, Apr 28, 2006
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  7. MNorby

    MNorby Well-Known Member

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    Do a search for BHAF. Stand for Big Honkin Air Filter. I got mine for $35 at carquest. Its 11" around and 11" long and fit perfect where my cummins airbox was. Joe just put something similar on his 95 powerstroke he found the number over at thedieselstop.com i think.
     
    MNorby, Apr 28, 2006
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  8. rocknbronco

    rocknbronco Well-Known Member

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    I'v got it installed and now we will see how well it picks up my fuel mileage over the next couple weeks.
     
    rocknbronco, Apr 30, 2006
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  9. FordCummins1

    FordCummins1 Well-Known Member

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    The Napa number for Cummins BHAF is 2790. The Napa number for Ford PSD BHAF is 6637
     
    FordCummins1, Apr 30, 2006
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  10. BadDog

    BadDog TRC Staff Staff Member

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    BTW, if you don't check it back to back with a clean paper element, any gain you see will likely be due to restrictions from the old/used paper element. This normal and typical improvement for ANY filter change is the primary reason that K&N does not have a worse rep than they already do. But people put it on, replacing a dirty element (sometimes way over due, I've seen it first hand), and then start spreading the K&N gospel.
     
    BadDog, May 1, 2006
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  11. Seventy4Blazer

    Seventy4Blazer Well-Known Member

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    notice on the box of most oil covered air filters it says "not recomended for desert area use"

    they dont like sand at all and dust the inside of your engine....
    Grant
     
    Seventy4Blazer, May 5, 2006
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  12. rocknbronco

    rocknbronco Well-Known Member

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    As for desert use I belive AMSOIL has K&N beat I cant remmember where I read it at
     
    rocknbronco, May 5, 2006
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  13. RJF's Red Cummins

    RJF's Red Cummins TRC Staff Moderator

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    Are you sure this is correct? I thought it was the other way around. The reason I am asking is because I may do the BHAF mod here soon.
     
    RJF's Red Cummins, May 9, 2006
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  14. duramax

    duramax Active Member

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    all the performance filters give more power but they dont catch dirt , so the best thing to do is keep the stock one in . it will give enough air to the engine so dont worry about getting more air, worry about kepping your engine running good and free of dirt and particles.

    05 gm 2500hd duramax/allison
     
    duramax, May 17, 2006
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  15. RJF's Red Cummins

    RJF's Red Cummins TRC Staff Moderator

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    No, some filters filter like garbage, like K&N's. filters like Amsoil's EAA filters and AFE's Proguards do just as good as stock if not better.

    They don't really add much power, what they do is help get more fresh cool air in that helps bring down your intake temps which translates in cooler EGT's.
     
    RJF's Red Cummins, May 18, 2006
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  16. BadDog

    BadDog TRC Staff Staff Member

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    They don't add any power unless your sucking down enough air to push 500 rwhp or more. Below that, all the stock filters flow plenty as proven on dyno test after dyno test. And in laboratory tests that I've seen, IIRC (it's been a while) K&N was the ABSOLUTE WORST at actually performing it's primary purpose. Apparently K&N forgot about the "filter" part...

    And while Amsoil was among the best of the foam filters, it was still WAY behind paper/gauze in fine particulate filtering. Best bet is get a bid drum Donaldson which will flow more than any stock replacement foam AND filter great while lasting far longer...
     
    BadDog, May 18, 2006
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  17. rocknbronco

    rocknbronco Well-Known Member

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    basically it all boils down to your personal choice in the matter just like tires and oil or which truck to buy
     
    rocknbronco, May 25, 2006
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  18. BadDog

    BadDog TRC Staff Staff Member

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    I'll some what agree with that, at least with respect to reusable vs replaceable. But I have a major problem with K&N marketing propaganda making claims that are not supported in any scientific test I've seen (or even simple back-to-back dyno tests or track times).

    Measured laboratory filtration shows that for fine particle filtration K&N along with *ALL* the other foam filters including premium brands like Amsoil and Uni (that I *used* to run myself) were distant (and I mean really distant) followers to paper and gauze at actually filtering the air.

    And every independent dyno test I’ve seen shows no significant improvement using K&N or any other filter until you are flowing huge amounts and putting down bigger numbers than most any vehicle is capable of. It certainly does not show improvements claimed. And even magazine tests that are “evaluating” their primary advertiser’s products can offer only half hearted support with no hard evidence to support. I have one here somewhere in HotRod or some such that reported “only a few hp improvement on the dyno or the track” (which is well within the typical variation from run to run, so not significant or consistent) but a “noticeable improvement in seat of the pants response”. Sorry, but if you can feel it, you can measure it. Beyond that it’s pure panacea effect as far as I’m concerned. But they still dutifully put them on every “build up” because they get them for free from advertisers, or it “looks cool”, or “it’s expected”.

    Just my opinion, backed up by observations, but the only time I have EVER seen hard evidence supporting K&N’s claims was in K&N literature. And funny thing, when asked for sources of data and copies of test reports they invariably refuse citing “internal test documents” and “proprietary information”, then refer you to their marketing propaganda.

    Even folks like Kennedy Diesel (who convinced me to put in the UNI) and other performance shops that once pushed K&N, UNI and others like them have backed WAY off on them in recent years, and some no longer even sell them.
     
    BadDog, May 25, 2006
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  19. Subdriver

    Subdriver Well-Known Member

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    Dupe... sorry.
     
    Subdriver, May 27, 2006
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  20. Subdriver

    Subdriver Well-Known Member

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    AMSOIL partnered with Donaldson last year to develop a new line of nanofiber technology filters for light trucks and cars, the
    AMSOIL Ea Air Filter. Ea Air Filters’ synthetic nanofiber media removes five times more dust than traditional cellulose filter media alone and 50 times more dust than wet gauze filter media. AMSOIL Ea Air Filters have a service life of 100,000 miles or four years, whichever comes first.

    To determine the exact AMSOIL filter for your vehicle, you can check here:
    AMSOIL Online Product Application Guide
     
    Subdriver, May 27, 2006
    #20
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