I've run K&N filters in almost every vehicle I've had for the last 20 years. Never had a problem, never lost an engine. It's just a personal preference on whether you like paper or oil/cotton. K&N costs less in the long run if your cars sucks in that much dust. But if you live in that dusty of an area, you're going to need to clean or replace the filter a lot more often no matter which you choose.

 

so sounds like the consensus on this site is to switch back to paper. i have a k&n always came with the car, i am thinking of switching to paper because of your advise. is fram a good filter to go with there is always plenty of them at autozone. how often do you guys change yours?

 

Well correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought k&n filtered out more particles than paper?

 

I switched back to paper. For $7 I change mine every oil change, but its real dusty where I live.

 

Answer:

 

anybody have any actual reports to share?

 

I gathered my info through Patman, many years ago. His oil testing results and info was enough to convince me to ditch the K&N. He's been an oil & oil testing expert on this site for a long, long time.

 

huh....maybe I'll switch back, hate to admit I've been wrong all this time though

 

Well, I wouldn't think of it as a "major" concern in terms of the oil results. I mean, you should still have no problem getting 150-200k miles out of any modern engine that's been properly maintained all it's life. But the extra silicon (dirt) content in the oil certainly isn't a good thing, and will lead to a small amount of extra wear over 10s of thousands of miles.

So add that to the fact that since the power gains aren't enough to be felt (or even seen on the dyno or track with any sort of consistancy), and that any measureable gain would be marginal at best, plus the mess of cleaning the damn thing (always hated that) with the possibility of accidently over-oiling and fouling the MAF, it just seems easier & better to stick with paper, IMO.

 

Yeah, I was thinking about doing it last year along those lines, but I believed the kn hype about it filtering better than paper, but I trust oil analysis over a marketing statement. I think I'll buy a paper one next time to the store. Maybe I can sell my kn on ebay...

 

 

I use a Holley Power Shot. My MAF gets zero oil on it. I like it because it does flow better with a sealed FTRA. I agree with you guys out in the desert, paper is probably better for you.

 

Has anyone tried the air filters from Amsoil? They are supposed to be better than paper and cotton gauze. I haven't but was considering it.

 

to anyone who is digsgusted about how dirty your airfilter is.. CLEAN ITT!
If you have any kind of Ram air setup, i would hope you know that it will get dirty a helluva lot faster than if you didnt have it, no matter what filter it is.. If you're too lazy to clean your filter, go back to paper. Mine came with the K&N when i bought the car, I have my own ram air setup on it, and i wash my filter once a year if that. usuallly i just tap the filter on something to get any crap out and thats all i need. as far as oiling goes, i spray a light coating on it, and thats all she friggin wrote. no MAF problems or any problem whatsoever. hell, it even fits in my airbox! whattaya know! My bike came with a K&N filter as well, and i have no problems with that either

 

Is your "e" button broke?

 

I was happy with my amsoil 2 stage foam air filter, just cant' afford the 50 some bucks to buy another, i didn't want to reclean myself just seems like id put too much oil. When i had my oiled air filter from amsoil, i got to check the maf for oil and that was never the case, i did feel better throttle response so that was a plus.

 

He's just from the hood

Hmmmm.......me thinks Sharpe has been digging some graves

 

Ive had a few cars with K&N's. Never had any problems. Now the Gains are debatable on a N/A car but on a boosted car you really cant do any better than a open element K&N like filter.

 

I was going to do the same, my k&n seemed to get dirty pretty quick as well. Cleaned it best I could and put it back in though since I had a buyer

 

i have the holley power shot also and live in the desert very happy with the holley . had a k&n on an old car of mine here and had to clean it every two weeks gay