I think K&N "wipe" test is false

[joel95ex]

I just got rid of the K&N's on my vehicles....I wiped the throttle bodies over time and yes they were clean, but then i thought, why would dust be sticking to it? If everything is dry, then dust wouldn't stick to it----forward to this morning, I got my AEM dryflow and wiped the intake tube near the filter end----DIRTY---well the K&N oil barely visible after the red dye went away was providing adhesive for all the fine dust that the filter was letting in... the rest was sucked into the engine. my recommendation: get rid of the K&N....if you really believe there is a mileage drop, just think of the money you'll save by keeping a "paid-off" vehicle running for a while..

 

[postjeeprcr]

 

[roushstage2]

"If everything is dry, then dust wouldn't stick to it"

Could you pretty please tell my black car that?

 

[ZiTS]

Simply brilliant reply!

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: joel95ex
(with the K&N)…..I wiped the throttle bodies over time and yes they were clean


So the K&N seemed clean - what period of time?

Originally Posted By: joel95ex
----forward to this morning, I got my AEM dryflow and wiped the intake tube near the filter end----DIRTY


So - you just were in the process of just installing the AEM and now you notice dust? How long was the K&N in there? OR was the AEM installed for some period of time?

Originally Posted By: joel95ex
---well the K&N oil barely visible after the red dye went away was providing adhesive for all the fine dust that the filter was letting in... the rest was sucked into the engine.


I though you saw no dust with the K&N??

Originally Posted By: joel95ex
my recommendation: get rid of the K&N......


Need a bit better explanation as to the logic above.

 

[joel95ex]

I knew someone would call me out on this post.

well i had the intake off to access various things like heater hoses and would always inspect the TB. It appeared clean and also when i wiped it, I couldn't see anything. I never really checked the end where the filter was..... when I removed the K&N to install the AEM dryflow, I could see some oil residue and wiped the surface.....it was black..... I am assuming that the oil and whatever they put in it, since it is tacky, allowed the dirt to stick to it. Now, if the K&N was really cleaning the air, even with oil on the tube, it should be clean. So basically what I am saying is the interior of the intake WAS being exposed to dirty air/fine dust. and with people's UOA's indicating Si, I decided to ditch the K&N's... Sorry

 

[joel95ex]

also....I was super tired at the time and couldn't get away from oil talk...

 

[GrampsintheSand]

We quit running KN's sometime back. We run Amsoil or AEM Dry filters now. Silicon dropped in all cars.

 

[widman]

I've seen way too many K&N filters kill engines in dusty conditions.

The OEM filters are not too restrictive. It takes a build-up of 25 water column inches of restriction from dirt, filter, and ducting to begin to reduce performance.