i just installed a K&N intake kit on my 98 dodge 2500 ctd 4x4. i was getting low 15's mpg in town. after installing the intake kit on my first fill up i got 17.5 mpg in town. the only other upgrade i have on this truck is straight pipe exhaust.
You are aware that K&N filters don't filter as well as stock filters. A K&N is a downgrade on filtration. It will probably help with some minor power and mileage but you are now allowing the engine to suck more dust. Sorry to post something bad on a thread about something good. Harley
Another vote against the K&N's and any other type of oiled guaze. They just don't filter as well, a BHAF or Amsoil nanofiber is the only thing I would use. a 2mpg jump sounds really large for real world mileage, not saying your incorrect, but that just sounds abnormally high. I would imagine the old fitler was dirty. You probably would have seen 1mpg with just a fresh paper filter, and then gained another little bit from the K&N.
buddy at work has an 05 and put his K&N intake kit in, he got 2 mpg also. so i dont know what to tell you guys but its working for me. ive ran K&N in all my trucks and have never had a problem.
I run K&N filters havent had any problems with it got about the same mileage off my super duty and my old stock filter was only 1000 miles old my wifes Tundra picked up 4mpg off of it filter was about 2000 miles being a stock type filter.You cant go aslong at K&N boasts on cleaning them but I will say I'm very happy with mine and wouldnt change.
I'm not saying they are bad filters, I'm just saying I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole. If all a person does is drive around in the city and is a city slicker, it probably doesn't make much difference, as the vehicle will see little dust anyway.
I agree with Bobby on this one. I would recommend either an Amsoil nanofiber filter or an AFE Pro Gaurd 7. This is the only oiled gauze filter I am aware of that meets the Cummins spec for dirt stoppig as it sits, no crap wrapped around it. The Amsoil filters are availble in many sizes so if you start to find dirt or dust in your intake pipe or turbo inlet you can get an Amsoil filter to replace the filter on your intake kit, so alls not lost.
Sounds comparable to what I once read here about gaining about that much mpg for going to synthetic oil. :stir:
synthetic fluids is my next uprage, just got my winch bumper on tonight, ill post pics of it tomorrow, to dark to take pics right now.
The products I believe in, like synthetic oil, have zero drawbacks and actually work. Try running a decent synthetic one day, you'll likely change your outlook. Torquer, we have identical year/model/option trucks....what kind of mileage do you get on the highway without the smarty?
RJF - I ran nothing but synthetics for years in my '79 K5 (the one with the TPI406) and was as anal with that truck as I am with my Dodge - and tracked every tank of fuel with that as I do this one. NEVER saw any mileage improvement while doing what I called DOE (design of experiments) with the K5. And to be honest, I was overboard with how tight I kept my information to the point that my wife thought I was losing it. The only thing not synthetic in my Dodge is the engine oil. I have no doubt and fully buy in to synthetics being awesome. I just have never seen a 10% fuel mileage improvement (which is what 2mpg with a 20 mpg truck would be) nor do I believe it is possible PURELY with changing to synthetics. As far as the mileage, with the Smarty I get around 19 mpg mixed highway/city - no real change whether it is higher percentage of either. I did one trip down to Medford last fall and got almost 22 ALL highway (EZ only adder). Again, I have tracked every single tank of fuel since I bought the Dodge in an Excel spreadsheet, hand calculated mileage and adjusted for tire size (before I had Smarty and could adjust via the programmer). Very consistent. Way back when I had no power adders (stock) I averaged around 19, then with the EZ it gave me maybe .5, then went to Smarty and for a month got around 18 (on #9 enjoying the throttle response), then back up to 19 when I added the injectors. Along the way did fluid changes to synthetic and never saw any improvement. Added a leveling kit and seems I lost .5ish somewhere in there. Now whether you get 20 or 22 mpg, you can't say we have the same truck and you get better because of Amsoil. Too many variables from truck to truck (such as my 2.5" leveling kit, driving style, tranny setup, tire size, etc.) to 'prove' anything. I am simply stating above what I saw with both the K5 and now the Dodge (tho I've not run the Cummins with synthetic, if 2 mpg were there I surely would - maybe I'll try it for one oil change). Here's a challenge for ya - send me one oil change worth of Amsoil and I'll try it.
