K&N Air Filter - worth it?

[switch]

K&N Air Filter, is it worth the $75?

Some people swear by the performance increase -- more oxygen = turbo kicks in at a lower RPM. Others say that they have dyno tested with & without the K&N and there was ZERO performance increases.

What is your opinion?

(it would be going in my '02 WRX 2.0L turbo AWD)

discuss.

[Sai]

is it a drop in or filter or full cone? well anyhow i have had them both, i use to use a drop in k&n air filter it did sh*t all lol! but i have a blitz intake(cone) samething pretty much as a k&n cone :P It made a lil difference not sure about the wrx's though but on my supra u could hear the bov after it was really cool :)

p.s i dought u will notice if the turbo even kicks in at a lower rpm
but by guessing ur paying 75 its just a drop in filter / cone replaces ur OEM intake

[THREE40SEVEN]

Its not an opinion, its application specific... Very few cars can benefit from these filters. Factory turbo car... maybe.
My car, stock engine.. No. 2hp is not a gain in my book.
I'd say about 90% of vehicles out there will not benefit from a k&n.
If you have an engine that requires 400cfm and has a stock filter that flows over 500cfm, installing a 700cfm with do nothing.

[THREE40SEVEN]

Oh... i forgot to say that the k&n wins the award for the most hyped product that does next to nothing.
Plus the fact that they mess with mass air meters...

[alloroc]

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

Make your own conclusions.

[EK 2.0]

the thing you have to remember is...K&N's only make a difference at WOT...during regular loafing around town your stock Subaru will be just fine....But yes I also do agree that a drop in K&N will not do much if even anythiing...you would have to go with the idea of a full cone type filter...Whether a K&N, BLITZ, which are Stainless Steel aren't they??...or HKS or whatever you end up choosing...

[ramminghard]

the reason i like K&N is because they can be used forever. Just pull it out and clean it and its like putting a brand new filter back in.

[EstoMax]

Originally posted by alloroc
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

Make your own conclusions.

intriguing... wish they dyno tested as well.. but it seems that the less pressure drop(more hp) means less filtration.. wihch means engine life could b reduced

max

[Moonracer]

Originally posted by ramminghard
the reason i like K&N is because they can be used forever. Just pull it out and clean it and its like putting a brand new filter back in.

That's what I was thinking

[alloroc]

Originally posted by EstoMax


intriguing... wish they dyno tested as well.. but it seems that the less pressure drop(more hp) means less filtration.. wihch means engine life could b reduced

max

Note that the actual difference in pressure drop was extremely small. Not enough to equal extra HP. If you ran both a larger plenum than stock and ensured that the engine was getting colder air you may see an increase of 3-5 HP especially at lower speeds or after the car has been sitting idling for a long time.

[CRXguy]

Damn, did price go up? I got mine for under $60 last year(drop in filter, '03 WRX).

[THREE40SEVEN]

Originally posted by ramminghard
the reason i like K&N is because they can be used forever. Just pull it out and clean it and its like putting a brand new filter back in.
And everytime you wash them, the cotton/material will break down, and its filtration properties go doen the tube....
But hey, its worth that .002 sec in the 1/4, right;) :D

I'll use paper unless i NEED more flow..

[James]

I just got a K&N, and i know i noticed it a little bit, but thats only because my paper filter pobably had 100,000k on it!, it was gross! :rofl:.....for actual performance, it probably dosnt do a whole lot, but i just modified my airbox, so with the K&N its ALOT louder now, sounds like a mini-me VR6! :D

[Zero102]

Personally, I prefer the K&N's, the one in my car was installed about 5 years ago (so I was told, only owned it for 8 months), and I cleaned it again when I bought it, still looks like new. The paper filters for my car are $25/each, the K&N was about $60, plus $20 every 4 or 5 years for a new cleaner kit. Bit of a money saver, the more often you change your filter (normally) the more cash you save.

[vtec.stz]

well all i can say is when my car had the K&N and intake pipe running behind my battery where there was cool air being directed to it, the car would do about 105km in 2nd gear.

Now with a shorter intake pipe (closer to the motor and its heat) and a crap filter on the end has reduced that speed down to 95km.

In the long run it will b cheaper also but how long do you keep a car these days?

I also must add it makes my Vtec sound so much deeper and nicer :thumbsup:

[gpomp]

Originally posted by vtec.stz
well all i can say is when my car had the K&N and intake pipe running behind my battery where there was cool air being directed to it, the car would do about 105km in 2nd gear.

Now with a shorter intake pipe (closer to the motor and its heat) and a crap filter on the end has reduced that speed down to 95km.
How does an air filter affect your gear ratios?

[Roaring G60]

Originally posted by vtec.stz
well all i can say is when my car had the K&N and intake pipe running behind my battery where there was cool air being directed to it, the car would do about 105km in 2nd gear.

Now with a shorter intake pipe (closer to the motor and its heat) and a crap filter on the end has reduced that speed down to 95km.

In the long run it will b cheaper also but how long do you keep a car these days?

I also must add it makes my Vtec sound so much deeper and nicer :thumbsup:


Yes this is a very scientific method of tuning your car!!!
:banghead: a better way though is to use reverse as the gear you test in because it is a very large ratio and therefore stress the motor more makin it easier to see that your being a idiot

[THREE40SEVEN]

Originally posted by Roaring G60



Yes this is a very scientific method of tuning your car!!!
:banghead: a better way though is to use reverse as the gear you test in because it is a very large ratio and therefore stress the motor more makin it easier to see that your being a idiot
Hmmmm... Makes sense.. I'll try that:D

[Alpine Autowerks]

the oil from a aftermarket air filter can ruin your air mass flow sesnor by contaminating it, some new cars have a decal under the hood to warn of such problems.

[cocoabrova]

Originally posted by gpomp

How does an air filter affect your gear ratios?
:rofl:
I think he's saying that with a better-flowing intake setup, the car pulled and/or revved-out better, as opposed to a shitty setup:nut:

[CelicaST-162]

Originally posted by Alpine Autowerks
the oil from a aftermarket air filter can ruin your air mass flow sesnor by contaminating it, some new cars have a decal under the hood to warn of such problems.

true, but that is if the air filter media is OVER oiled

[Toms-Celica]

About the worst investment I've ever done

[ACS-e36]

drop in filter... NO
cone filter with CAI... YES

[THREE40SEVEN]

Originally posted by CelicaST-162


true, but that is if the air filter media is OVER oiled
Not true ;)... Yes, MANY people over oil their k&n's, but i've seen issues with oily MAFs from factory oiled filters. Im one of them.

[ZMan2k2]

I vote yes, but not for performance reasons. On my car, the K&N filter costs $37. A paper filter costs $18. Three paper filters, in about 20k kilometers, pays for the K&N as well as the cleaning kit. So for me, cost was the benefit, performance, not so much.

[turbo444]

k & n one of the original and best out there

[Alpine Autowerks]

Originally posted by ZMan2k2
I vote yes, but not for performance reasons. On my car, the K&N filter costs $37. A paper filter costs $18. Three paper filters, in about 20k kilometers, pays for the K&N as well as the cleaning kit. So for me, cost was the benefit, performance, not so much.

i have a porsche 944 block with cylinders worn out from dust (cone filter) cost the owner $8k to rebuild....I'n not econ major but the math looks simple to me

most of the current benz bmw audi v8 and all porsche engines have an unlinered aluminium block that is VERY sensitive to substandard filtration and cotton gauze does not filter as well as paper. and alberta is a very dusty place.

[1badPT]

For a N/A engine, breather mods in general are hard to justify. If you are after a more aggressive sound, and possible savings you get from a reusable filter, and the shiny tube that you'll see every time you pop your hood open(CAI), then the K&N filter is a very worthwhile investment. Chip tuning on the other hand can net you a very useable ~5hp per cylinder through advanced timing (high octane fuel will be required though).

To answer switch's question, for a turbo engine, a good filter MAY make a difference - it all depends on the flow rate of your current air filter, and whether the K&N filter will increase flow or not. Regardless of how great of a filter you get though, chances are you won't see large gains. It all comes down to whether you are willing to gamble up to 2 bills on a POSSIBLE 5HP gain.

Side note: CAI's for most cars actually pull hotter air than the stock setup because the stock setup for most cars pulls air from the fender. Most CAI's pull air from the engine bay, and even if you pull from the front of the engine bay, the air has already gone through your power steering line, radiator, plus any radiated heat from the engine itself - add to that the fact that most CAI's are made of metal which conduct heat faster than plastic.

[tegdream]

meh get it if you need a new one or have money to burn, otherwise no point really!

[EstoMax]

Originally posted by Alpine Autowerks


i have a porsche 944 block with cylinders worn out from dust (cone filter) cost the owner $8k to rebuild....I'n not econ major but the math looks simple to me

most of the current benz bmw audi v8 and all porsche engines have an unlinered aluminium block that is VERY sensitive to substandard filtration and cotton gauze does not filter as well as paper. and alberta is a very dusty place.

OK, im not getting a cotton gauze filter. staying with paper.
unless someone here wants to prove me(or others who just read this) wrong.. and alpine seems like he knows what his talking about.

max:eek:

[rage2]

Originally posted by EstoMax
OK, im not getting a cotton gauze filter. staying with paper.
unless someone here wants to prove me(or others who just read this) wrong.. and alpine seems like he knows what his talking about.
Alpine Autowerks built my 944 motor. It uses K&N cone filter. It works fine, and has been pretty much indestructable even with my abuse :).

The 944 in question, the filter came loose on the bottom side, not visible. Sucked in a lot of dust.

As long as you maintain the K&N well, it's fine IMO.

[EstoMax]

oh ok.. so yeah no filter is bad.. that would kind of explain the dust problem.. alrigth.. i might get an intake at some point afterall

max

[ZMan2k2]

Originally posted by Alpine Autowerks


i have a porsche 944 block with cylinders worn out from dust (cone filter) cost the owner $8k to rebuild....I'n not econ major but the math looks simple to me

most of the current benz bmw audi v8 and all porsche engines have an unlinered aluminium block that is VERY sensitive to substandard filtration and cotton gauze does not filter as well as paper. and alberta is a very dusty place.

Right. I can understand how an aluminum block car, with an improperly maintained filter, would suffer alot of damage from dust and debris being sucked into the intake. But I'm not using a cone filter on my car. I have a panel filter that goes into the stock airbox. Every second oil change, my filter gets cleaned and re-oiled. I know that's way more than the manufacturer suggests, but I'm a little anal about that sort of thing. So as I said before, for me, it isn't the performance that I might feel with my butt-dyno, it's the cost of replacing the paper filters that makes it worthwhile to me. As long as the cotton gauze filter, cone or panel, is well maintained, it should be just as effective as any paper filter.

[LancerShelby]

Originally posted by ramminghard
the reason i like K&N is because they can be used forever. Just pull it out and clean it and its like putting a brand new filter back in. That is the only benefit for these. Since some stock replacement filters are like $25, it doesn't take long for it to pay for itself.

[hockeybronx]

Hey I put one in with my short ram intake kit for my Jetta. It has no turbo or anything but compared to the factory air box I noticed a bit of a difference. The main difference is around 3000 rpm as it has more pull now around those revs. Go for it for sure, it's worth it.

[yohan4ws]

dyno testing has proven the K&N to put out more power when it was dirty .. :S

I dunno ... They have a good name, a lifetime warranty, you buy one filter and a recharge kit and your good to go ...

for aftermarket air intakes, sure .. why no t.. but for stock applications it wont do much if anything at al l.. you will notice a very slight difference in power but it'll disapear very soon because its that insignificant.