[n2Oddw8P]

Does it really matter anyways? They come with a freakin' killer warranty. 1 million mile warranty!!!

As long as you dont void the warranty, you never have to buy another air filter again. Just take the K&N out every now and then to clean it out. Save you a bunch of money in the long run and will cut back on the amount of air filters you throw away.


If you did a cold air intake, I could see an HP improvement though mostly for high powered vehicle like V8's and Turbo'ed cars, though very minimal for the average user. Even if it was just 5hp, you probably really wouldnt notice it unless your car is already underpowered. Though if you just popped the K&N in your air filter cover box thingy, it would be the same as if you got a regular air filter.

You guys are saying
K&N = better air flow = more gas = less mileage
which does seem very logical

Though you could also look at it like this
crappy air filter = worse airflow = struggling engine to get power = more gas used = less mileage.

So just test it out. Which ever is more efficient power/economy wise, use that one.

[DailyRingtone]

cars are slow. dont try to make your car go fast, because in the end. bikes can beat cars everytime.

[12Cickprior]

What??? more economy?

It draws more air in, more air = more fuel (hence the supposed bhp increase) so more air + more fuel = more mpg?

Ok..... [rolleyes]

Yes, more economy. And you're thinking about it the right way.
It takes less throttle input to get the same air flow as a filter that doesn't flow as well. Less throttle = less fuel = more mpg.

I'm not sure how better to explain it, but yes there is a very real possibility you will increase your MPG! Pretty much any engine "breathing" mod will do this, including a more free flowing exhaust. On my Accord I had an AEM V2 intake, MR header, and custom exhaust. I gained about 3 MPG over stock after all of that.

As for my take on K&N.
The filter does NOT filter as well as a paper filter. Yes it lets more air in, but it also lets more dirt in. Also as mentioned earlier, and improperly oiled filter can mist oil on the MAF sensor, which many modern cars have.
That said, unless you live in a non-dusty area and are always careful not to over oil, I would recommend the K&N simply for the fact it's a buy it once and never replace it product. And if you buy it at the right time / place, they'll even through in a re-oiling kit for free, further reducing cost of ownership.

[lisualsethelp]

I put one in my Dodge Ramcharger - 360 V8. The only thing I noticed as far as numbers decreasing was my bank account balance.

[Cricequorie]

My car came with a K&N so I cannot comment on added performance or increased MPG,
but I do know that it is really nice being able to just wash the filter.

[Flefebleaft]

cars are slow. dont try to make your car go fast, because in the end. bikes can beat cars everytime.

until you get on a real track

[pennadyFeet]

Don't use them in really dusty enviroments, cos the guaze filter is not as fine as a standard paper filter,

On an engine that has an engine management chip, they should be fine because the ecu should automatically adjust the fuel ratio to match the increased airflow.

They work best with a cold air feed, since cold air is more dense than the hot ambient air thats in your engine bay.
Ever notice why your car runs better and has faster accelleration on a cold morning than a hot one, thats because of the cold dense air being drawn into the carb.

Scroll down this page to understand it better.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wdensity.htm

"Effects of air density on airplanes, baseballs, race cars."

If you combine a cold air feed and a K & N it can increase accelleration but will decrease mpg a little, (in my experience).

But a K & N by itself, that is sucking in warm ambient engine bay air, may actually decrease performance.

Because the air is not as dense as the air outside of the engine bay.

[DailyRingtone]

until you get on a real track

pfffff, please. Valentino Rossi FTW.

[Sthjrderfida]

pfffff, please. Valentino Rossi FTW.

Are you him?

[DailyRingtone]

Are you him?

sometimes i like to think so.

[anaisdannyxys]

ok let me clear this up a drop in K and N filter will make ZERO difference in anything exept its reusable. I have an AEM intake and cost 205$. besides the fact that it makes the engine very loud theres ZERO fuel consumption difference and MAYBE 2 hp at best. and if you guys dont now what an aftermarket intake looks like its the big silver tube. also they dont have to be cleaned for 50,000 kms

[12Cickprior]

ok let me clear this up a drop in K and N filter will make ZERO difference in anything exept its reusable. I have an AEM intake and cost 205$. besides the fact that it makes the engine very loud theres ZERO fuel consumption difference and MAYBE 2 hp at best. and if you guys dont now what an aftermarket intake looks like its the big silver tube. also they dont have to be cleaned for 50,000 kms

That's completely, 100%, entirely, and utterly dependent on the car and the product itself.

Just because YOU in your application didn't see a different in fuel consumption, and you didn't see a different in HP doesn't mean others, in other vehicles, with other products, wont.

As I already stated, I did see a difference, not just in decreased fuel consumption, but in increased power as well. Now, in the case of the AEM V2, there's an increase of something like 6 HP. Nothing spectacular, but it was noticeable. However, on a RSX type S is closer to a 20 HP increase.
Likewise, on the Legacy GT there's much debate as to any benefits, as some products (such as the SPT intake) have been proven to decrease power with increased noise to boot.

Ultimately though... a CAI and a simple replacement filter (what this thread is about AFAIK) are two different beasts.
I wouldn't expect anything but a lifetime re-usable product from a simple replacement filter.

[pennadyFeet]

ok let me clear this up a drop in K and N filter will make ZERO difference in anything exept its reusable. I have an AEM intake and cost 205$. besides the fact that it makes the engine very loud theres ZERO fuel consumption difference and MAYBE 2 hp at best. and if you guys dont now what an aftermarket intake looks like its the big silver tube. also they dont have to be cleaned for 50,000 kms

I absolutely don't agree at all.
Unless you have a direct cold air intake reaching that K & N, then its not working as well as it could and you might as well just have a bog standard air filter.

A cold air intake, needs to be sited so that cold air comes through it from the outside of the engine bay and travels directly into the K & N, as in the pictures below.





It also needs siting out of the way of any possible water ingress, behind the grill is fine, next to the rad.

There are a ton of cold air images here and probably all recommend a direct cold air feed from outside the engine bay, the one posted by stealth unless it has a direct cold air feed, is next to useless for getting the best outta a K & N filter.

http://images.google.co.uk/images?cl...=Search+Images

Seems like its not only the cold air that is dense around here! [rofl]

[Lkemybab]

What do you guys think about the chances of a Cold Air Intake actually causing hydrolocking? Are the chances abysmally low if you install it properly?

[giturbewan]

I absolutely don't agree at all.
Unless you have a direct cold air intake reaching that K & N, then its not working as well as it could and you might as well just have a bog standard air filter.

A cold air intake, needs to be sited so that cold air comes through it from the outside of the engine bay and travels directly into the K & N, as in the pictures below.





It also needs siting out of the way of any possible water ingress, behind the grill is fine, next to the rad.

There are a ton of cold air images here and probably all recommend a direct cold air feed from outside the engine bay, the one posted by stealth unless it has a direct cold air feed, is next to useless for getting the best outta a K & N filter.

http://images.google.co.uk/images?cl...=Search+Images

Seems like its not only the cold air that is dense around here! [rofl]

you would be better off using a ventury to increase airflow into the engine because as air enters the ventury it speeds up reducing pressure and as air pressure drops in cools too

that hole is nothing more than a crude air ram

[12Cickprior]

What do you guys think about the chances of a Cold Air Intake actually causing hydrolocking? Are the chances abysmally low if you install it properly?

There are, for some CAIs, an air bypass valve you can add to prevent hydrolocking.
This will not work on all CAIs (V2 is an example), but for the majority of them, it will.

http://www.aempower.com/ViewCategory.aspx?CategoryID=20

Without a bypass valve, it's a definite possibility. If you submerge the filter (figure 2-3 feet of water) you're almost guaranteed to hydrolock.

[Sthjrderfida]

Dont bother with an open cone as shown above, it'll just draw hot air in. Hot air = bad.

Cold air = more dense ... therefore theres more air going into the engine.

Your better with what I have:



Though again, if your car is standard... its pointless.

[12Cickprior]

Dont bother with an open cone as shown above, it'll just draw hot air in. Hot air = bad.

Cold air = more dense ... therefore theres more air going into the engine.

An open cone in the bumper (a.k.a. a cold air intake) will draw in cold air.
An open cone in the engine compartment (a.k.a. a short ram intake) will draw in hot air
An open cone in the engine compartment with a shield (kinda like what you have) will draw in cooler air, though it's still not as ideal as a proper CAI.

[edit]
And what do you mean by "standard"? If you mean naturally aspirated, that couldn't be farther from the truth. If anything, there's a larger possibility of being pointless in a forced induction car.
In a n/a car air is drawn into the engine via a relatively modest vacuum created by the engine itself. As such it can be affected quite a bit by an aftermarket intake, as smooth surfaces and limited bends will help increase air velocity.
A turbo/supercharged car on the other hand suck air in quite differently. It doesn't matter how the air is being drawn in, as long as the intake isn't restricting the air flow. This goes directly back to my comment about the SPT intake earlier. Testing showed that the stock legacy intake doesn't restrict airflow, even as boost is increased. And because of the MAF placement and air straighteners, it provided a very consistent and reliable MAF reading. The SPT intake on the other hand, is curvy, has no air straighteners, and has the MAF placed within inches of a bend. Because of the poor design, and the fact that the increased diameter provided no benefit over the stock intake's diameter, it's little more then a waste of money.

[Meenepek]

What??? more economy?

It draws more air in, more air = more fuel (hence the supposed bhp increase) so more air + more fuel = more mpg?

Ok..... [rolleyes]

The more airflow allowed to reach the throttle body does NOT cause you to use more fuel (haveing a lead foot does). It allows for a better air to fuel mixture and yes in some application increasing mpg from 1-3 mpg.

So if you interpret your saying to an automotive stand point (not trying to start something just stating facts) running with a restricted airmedia you would use less fuel due to less air flow then? Not true hence why you replace them when they need to be changed. So a less restrictive airmedia will improve engine responsiveness over a stock restrictive paper media and add minor mpg improvements in certian applications.

And to the original poster K&N airfilters are a decent airfilter even with out a cold air intake. I have one in my 95 GMC sierra Z71 and pull on average of 20 mpg compared to the 18 mpg i got useing fram or stp filters. I have on open cone K&N on my 95 neon and well it sucks with the air intake that is on the car. It is position right above the exhaust manifold (hence a hot air intake heh) but sounds nice when you floor it. That application i lost mpg from 25mpg to 18mpg city driving. The mpg would be better if i had a better intake or even if i had the stock air intake.

[treawittelf]

My next oil change and filter is comming up and I was considering just buying a K&n to replace the stock filter. Has anyone done this? Does it really give you more pep? Does it change the sound? Thanks for your input..there 20 bucks more then a generic filter and would love some opinions!

ummmm am i the ONLY person who read this as "My next oil change and OIL FILTER"

Becuase knowing polo, maybe he doesnt know that there is an oil filter and an air filter? everyone seems to think becuase he said k+n filter that he knew what he was talking about?