False. I've posted dozens of UOAs from multiple vehicles all with K&Ns with single digit Si values. Exceptions are repairs where sealers were used or higher Si oil (HPL).
Not all oiled filters are similarly bad to K&N...
- Thread starter SubieRubyRoo
- Start date
My Sportwagen. UOAs since new. K&N since new and recently AEM Dry-Flow with an intake switch. Uptick in Si trend at right around 75K when I started using HPL that shows ~10ppm in VOA creating a new baseline. My UOAs from all my vehicles can be found in the UOA sub with an easy search.
1) K&N air filters don't filter as efficiently as paper/OE filters as verified by standardized testing.
2) K&N air filters flow more than paper/OE filters verified by standarized testing.
3) K&N air filters *can* yeild slight power increases in *some* applications/conditions verified by dyno.
4) There is no testing or data to support that the decrease in filtering efficiency by using a K&N (correctly/maintained) decreases engine life in any meaningful way - at least none I've ever seen.
5) The blanket statement that use of a K&N always yields higher Si in UOAs is not substantiated.
That's the whole K&N debate as I see it at least in a TLDR format. I don't get the drama. Use one if you like the noise/looks/extra 1 hp/sticker/whatever. Don't use one if you are concerned about maximizing filtering efficiency. It's really that simple. I will continue to run them on all 6 of our vehicles as I have for the last 25 years problem-free.
The pulsating thing giving better efficiency..maybe? Obviously needs actual testing to show vs. just a hypothesis as the video with the legendary engine builder describes. In my head I can *kind of* see this...a porous media (cotton gauze) with oil on the fibers to trap dirt as it passes through being vibrated or the air flow being pulsed (lack of better word) allowing the dirt to have a higher chance of contacting an oiled fiber vs. passing through? Who knows. I will leave this to our friend at Project Farm to figure out as I'm sure he can rig up a sweet testing apparatus that will anger everyone here and get threads locked/deleted or members ban-hammered
2) K&N air filters flow more than paper/OE filters verified by standarized testing.
3) K&N air filters *can* yeild slight power increases in *some* applications/conditions verified by dyno.
4) There is no testing or data to support that the decrease in filtering efficiency by using a K&N (correctly/maintained) decreases engine life in any meaningful way - at least none I've ever seen.
5) The blanket statement that use of a K&N always yields higher Si in UOAs is not substantiated.
That's the whole K&N debate as I see it at least in a TLDR format. I don't get the drama. Use one if you like the noise/looks/extra 1 hp/sticker/whatever. Don't use one if you are concerned about maximizing filtering efficiency. It's really that simple. I will continue to run them on all 6 of our vehicles as I have for the last 25 years problem-free.
The pulsating thing giving better efficiency..maybe? Obviously needs actual testing to show vs. just a hypothesis as the video with the legendary engine builder describes. In my head I can *kind of* see this...a porous media (cotton gauze) with oil on the fibers to trap dirt as it passes through being vibrated or the air flow being pulsed (lack of better word) allowing the dirt to have a higher chance of contacting an oiled fiber vs. passing through? Who knows. I will leave this to our friend at Project Farm to figure out as I'm sure he can rig up a sweet testing apparatus that will anger everyone here and get threads locked/deleted or members ban-hammered
Project Farm - now "SAE/ISO" YouTube "certified" ... at least that's what many people watching it must think, like the "legendary engine builder" who talked about PF more than once in his video, lol. Might want to put "Project Farm" on that bingo card, lol.I will leave this to our friend at Project Farm to figure out as I'm sure he can rig up a sweet testing apparatus that will anger everyone here and get threads locked/deleted or members ban-hammered
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For a typical vehicle driven on paved roads, silica dust should only contribute to less than 0.1 ppm of the silicon that is measured in a UOA. These vehicles won't show obviously elevated silicon in a UOA even if their filters pass 10 times more dust than OEM.
In really dusty environments, poor air filtration will be more noticeable in a UOA, and efficiency will be much more relevant to engine wear.
It's already there dude....on the latest iteration in the cleaning thread.Project Farm - now "SAE/ISO" YouTube "certified" ... at least that's what many people watching it must think, like the "legendary engine builder" who talked about PF more than once in his video, lol. Might want to put "Project Farm" on that bingo card, lol.
Which is the Achilles heel of all UOA, that they are only representative of the particlar engine under the specific conditions prior to the test. People extrapolate them into universal truths here all the time.
And yes atmospheric dust concentration is highly variable by geography and other variables.
LoL ... that thing changes on a daily basis. Last time I saw it, no PF. Maybe you should dedicate a thread to it.
BTW, no two squares should have the same entry (ie, number in the case of a real Bingo card). You should make the top of the columns read "B I T O G" across the top just like a real Bingo card Reads "B I N G O".This from the M1 vs. Penzoil cleaning thread. Need to make this easy to win man so multiple use of single things is the way. I like "B I T O G".LoL ... that thing changes on a daily basis. Last time I saw it, no PF. Maybe you should dedicate a thread to it.
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Sooo, you have an air filter that never gets dirty.. or you seldom make any kind of effort to change it.
Guess where the dirt goes? pc
PS. After being a service writer for too many years, most drivers rarely (if ever) keep an eye on their
whatever mobile.
Guess where the dirt goes? pc
PS. After being a service writer for too many years, most drivers rarely (if ever) keep an eye on their
whatever mobile.
Who are you responding to? Quotes....use them.
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- Sep 2, 2016
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I think I'm in agreement after seeing that K&N filters aren't as bad as people make them out to be. However, what do you gain from using a K&N filter over an OE filter? They are more work to clean and the cost savings seem immaterial. You also forgo FCP's lifetime warranty on the air filter.
More flowwwww brooooo. It's been dyno proven ad nauseum. So I clean it a few times over the ownership...this isn't a major time suck here we're talking about. Also get to argue with BITOG curmudgeon about it not ruining your car which is big value-ad!
Only time an air filter or any other intake system change will "give more flow" that makes any real diffefence is when very near, or at wide open throttle. Obviously, anyone into lots of WOT use could benifit from a less restrictive intake system or filter - and of course if the engine tune was also changed to take full advandage of the increased air flow and volumetric efficiency. I think a lot of people who don't really understand engines think that just dropping in a K&N or modifying the intake system gives them more power just cruising around at low throttle openings.
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