K & N Drop In Filter -- Thoughts & Discussion

[danewilson77]

So......every now and then....I will drop in a K & N filter....when I get bored.

For the last few months....my gas mileage has been 24.7 or 24.8 mpg. On the weekends, when I am cruising around town.....its at 24.7 mpg......and then, when I go into to work after a day or so....it goes back up to 24.8 mpg....and stays there till the weekend.

Pretty rock solid if you ask me.

Last night I put the K&N in....and my gas mileage when from 24.8 mpg to 25.0....in 100 miles....

I understand that this is probably due to the rise in air flow.....but my concern is the quality of air flow......and the possible Krap out of my 3 liter.

What do you guys think?

[kayger12]

Comes down to the fear factor, I guess.

I was always too concerned about krap getting into my motor and oil contamination of the MAF.

I guess you could run it for a while and then Blackstone your oil and see what the silica level is compared to past analysis...

[danewilson77]

Yeah....honestly......my gas mileage going up like that scared the crap outta me today.

[Mtnman]

Dane, My mileage jumped 1.5-1.7 mpg's since I got the BMW performance intake..... Dont kow how that weighs in on your thought process, but 2/10's of 1 mpg isnt too big of a jump. I am assuming the bmw intake is not damaging my car. (this one is a paper filter, non oiled)

Is your k&n oiled?

[danewilson77]

Oiled.....yes.

[Jon D]

Dane

Been running a K&N since I got the car at 20K .. no codes not a big deal if you installed it correctly. I would not sweat it. They have been around a long time and what they really do is let more air flow [good thing especially when combined with an exhaust :) ].

The problem I think really is that they cost more than paper filters for the manufacture to install and require a different kind of maintenance rather than throw away and replace. Unless you live in a high dust area don't think it's an issue. I know I don't worry about mine.

[kayger12]

They have been around a long time and what they really do is let more air flow [good thing especially when combined with an exhaust :) ].



...and a lot more dirt. Have a look here (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm)

[Jon D]

...and a lot more dirt. Have a look here (http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm)

I guess there are trade offs. More airflow = More POWER

or

Less Dirt = Less Wear Long Term.

Guess I come down on the power side.

You make your choices live with the consequences.

FWIW I have owned cars with K&Ns for over 100K and they were still running fine when sold.

[kayger12]

I guess there are trade offs. More airflow = More POWER

or

Less Dirt = Less Wear Long Term.

Guess I come down on the power side.

You make your choices live with the consequences.

FWIW I have owned cars with K&Ns for over 100K and they were still running fine when sold.

Understand where you're coming from. Ran a K&N in my motorcycle for years with no issues. I thought about doing it with the ZHP and just staying on top of the silica numbers, but opted for the Performance Intake instead.

[danewilson77]

I quickly looked at the link before I had to run out to dinner (for the best carne asada burrito ever-pics on demand)...anyway I didn't see the comparison or any of those to paper drop in.

Prolly missed it.

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[danewilson77]

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/IMG_20110202_184606.jpg

[danewilson77]

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/IMG_20110202_185212.jpg

[kayger12]

Lol-- I'd say YOUR intake is working just fine!

[pyreguy]

:rofl

[Jon D]

Lol-- I'd say YOUR intake is working just fine!

So was mine ran out for BBQ ribs for dinner. Consumed a full rack ... Mmmmmm

[danewilson77]

Some intermediate data...

250 miles on a half of a tank of gas (seemed like I was getting roughly 220 miles prior to K&N). MPG is up to 25.2 (initial 24.7) and is still climbing.

[JohnnyGraphic]

I personally stick with the OEM paper filters. IIRC, Supercharger tuner ESS Tuning posted that they recommend the stock OEM paper filters over aftermarket filters.

Johnny

[danewilson77]

Final calculations......I used 14.011 gallons and averaged 26.3 MPG.....I think it was 363 miles or so......

MPG was by calculating....not OBC.

[Dotpage]

any updates on the consumption?

[danewilson77]

Did some pretty spirited driving around town, and took it up to 120mph......drove like a top.

I'm sitting at 25.1 mpg ecu.

Last calculated after 3/4 tank was 26.3....

I think the smart way to go here is just clean it more often and don't over oil....

[Darin Worthington]

I would put my .02 in for the K&N:
I have been running one in the E-28 for over 15 years and I would have to say roughly around 175k miles to date. Everytime I change spark plugs at the Inspection II I do a compression test for G.P. From the last one done about 2 years ago, I haven't lost anything with using a K&N from what I have seen. I have ran the piss out of that car up and down the autobahn, all over the U.S. and it gets cleaned every Inspection I and I haven't seen anything but more HP and better gas milage.

[danewilson77]

Good review. Thanks Darin....

What say you to cleaning more often?

[Darin Worthington]

I just cleaned it when you would normally change the regular element is all, and that would be around 15-20k. It might have been a little overkill, but it seemed to like more air flow with the extra cleaning.

[danewilson77]

Ok..thanks.

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