K&N air filter
- Thread starter Sonicator
- Start date
There is no gain from drop in filters alone, no matter what they tell you. Cars have electronic MAF's that regulate the air flow in conjunction with the throttle body. It will only pull the amount of air it needs. The stock airbox has already been designed to be good at what it does. Also, oil based filters can release oil residue into the intake manifold coating the maf and could potentially cause issues. Also, the filter elements on these drop in KN filters are wider allowing more fine particles to enter.
But not to scare you, it would take many many miles to start seeing the after effects of this. What the KN filter does do, is make it easier to clean and replace.
If you're looking for power gains, invest in a CAI, even then, the best gains will only be only unlocked with a tune.
But not to scare you, it would take many many miles to start seeing the after effects of this. What the KN filter does do, is make it easier to clean and replace.
If you're looking for power gains, invest in a CAI, even then, the best gains will only be only unlocked with a tune.
suitcasejefferson
New member
I strongly recommend against using K&N filters (if they can actually be called filters) on any street driven vehicle. Their claim to fame (besides the name) is that they are "high flow" Yes, they do flow more air, but they also let a lot more dirt through as well. And on a computer controlled EFI vehicle they will make no difference in performance. They were originally designed for carbureted race cars, which had other modifications as well, to take advantage of the increased A/F flow. Then K&N discovered a lucrative market in people who just had to have race parts on their street cars.
The way I understand all this is, that any high flow air filter or cold air intake system which would let in more dirt than the OEM 2'' thick air stifling filter is a bad choice? Not sure. High performance vehicles that come standard with a cold air intake, Ex. Mustang gt 500 are destroying their engines?
You're driving an economy car not a Mustang. And even though they have these giant cone filters, the box itself is sealed. Also, it isn't "destroying" the engine per say. The point of the matter is that oil filters let in larger particles and bits of oil vs your standard paper/charcoal one. Long term build up on the MAF may be a concern, maybe some build up on the valves. Also the average Mustang owner isn't driving it for 100k+ miles so they don't really have that as a concern. I'm sure cleaning your MAF, and maintaining the filter will suffice, and if you're not planning on doing any tuning it's a lot easier, and arguably more effective, to just use the paper filters that come from the factory. GM engineers are not stupid, they may suck at building interiors but they know how to build an engine well.
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suitcasejefferson
New member
The stock air filter on a Mustang is a far cry from a K&N filter. First of all, the car was designed for the filter it has, and that filter does not let nearly as much dirt through as a K&N. I do not see an air filter as a tuning part on a street car, it's job is to keep dirt out of the engine. K&N filters were originally designed for race cars, which are abused on a regular basis, and rebuilt fairly often. K&N Air Filter Review - Debunking the Myths (and why OEM is better)
