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

[Jon D]

...and a lot more dirt. Have a look here

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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