K & N Air Filters

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keithhk

Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2005
Posts
9
Hi,
? Has anyone installed a K&N Air filter on there Motorhome and if so did it help out with the preformance or the Gas mileage? And is there any chance that they could harm the engine with the oil film on them? I am speaking of putting this on a Chev Workhorse 8.1 Liter V8 Thanks for any info anyone might share with me.? Keith
 
From the last comparison charts I have seen on filter performance I would not recommend installing a K&N filter on anything.  Looks like they may improve airflow but with a penalty of also passing more contaminates.  Sick with the OEM filters.
 
There was a thread on this earlier.. So I asked my brother, He's got a bit more expierence with large (and small) engines than I do.

He told me that when he ran dirt bikes he used K&N filters, Most everyone he knew used K&N,  These bikes get torn down (and up) rather often.. He never saw any sign that the air filter was not doing it's job

Dirt bikes are considered servere service where air filters are concerned.

That said... I run a K&N on my car.. OEM on the MH
 
Lots of positive/negative comments here    http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php?topic=1809.0  might help.
 
Ron said:
From the last comparison charts I have seen on filter performance I would not recommend installing a K&N filter on anything.  Looks like they may improve airflow but with a penalty of also passing more contaminates.  Sick with the OEM filters.

The Turbo Diesel Register agrees with Ron: "More air = more dirt"
 
Some of the diesel manufacturers say that using the K&N filter is not approved and can cause disallowance of a warranty claim. I put a K&N on my 1998 Damon with a CAT engine and had no problems with it. I did not put one one my current engine.
 
You should only use a filter like the K&N if you are prepared to religiously service the filter, i.e. clean and re-oil it per K&N specs to keep the air flow good and contaminants out.  If you don't do that, you are better off with an OEM-type filter.

Personally I see little to be gained with a high-flow filter alone, but it will depend on the individual engine configuration. If you happen to have an engine with excellent exhaust flow but weak air intake, then a K&N might indeed help.  If your exhaust is already running at its max flow, then nothing you do on the intake side can help.  And a high flow filter can't help if the intake manifold doesn't pass the air anyway.  I wouldn't add a K&N except as part of an intake/exhaust upgrade package, e.g. a Banks kit. That way you get more air flow all the way through the system.
 
I will agree with Roamer... As I said, My brother told me he never saw any evidence of filter failure on his dirt bikes (nor did any of his buddies) running K&N's but I'll bet they cleaned and re-oiled them dang near every time they ran.

As for an engine manafacturer dissallowing a warranty claim due to use of a K&N filter... K&N has a few folks who would like to talk to that manafacturer..  Seems this issue has come up and thus K&N has retained some people to assist you in filing your warranty claim if it's denied specifically due to thier air filter.

Those folks are lawyers, and they work for K&N.  The filters meat or exceed all warranty requirements (per K&N) and standards

Of course as Roamer says:
"You should only use a fliter like the K&N if you are prepared to relgiously service the filter"

 
John In Detroit said:
As for an engine manafacturer dissallowing a warranty claim due to use of a K&N filter... K&N has a few folks who would like to talk to that manafacturer..  Seems this issue has come up and thus K&N has retained some people to assist you in filing your warranty claim if it's denied specifically due to thier air filter.

Those folks are lawyers, and they work for K&N.  The filters meat or exceed all warranty requirements (per K&N) and standards

John

I am quite familiar with the Magnuson-Moss Act. I never said that the engine manufacturer will disallow a warranty claim due to use of the K&N. I did say that the filter is not an approved product.  This could cause the manufacturer to give the owner a very hard time with a warranty claim and the claim could be denied if the filter or it's maintenance are shown to have contributed to the claim.
 
I've already made my comments about K&N filters on a previous thread, but would like to add someting additional. Skip Barber Racing School gets all their cars and engines from Dodge. These cars are returned to Dodge at the end of each racing season for resale as 'program cars' They all use K&N air filters. Jim Russell Racing School fields Mitsubishi and Mazda rotary engined cars. They too use K&N air filters. I can't believe that the Skip Barber or Jim Russell schools would use a product that would harm their engines; least of all would Dodge let them do so! Ask almost any amateur (and many pro) racecar engine builder which is the best air cleaner, and 99% of the time you'll hear "K&N", or one of the newer K&N wannabee's. They spend many thousands of dollars on their engines and, for the most part, also wouldn't use something that could potentially cause damage. Let's not forget that it wasn't too many years ago, before replaceable paper filters, that almost every car had an oil bath filtering system. Why? Because it worked! You would probably see them in use today if it weren't for 1) no room under the hood, 2) costs the auto maker more initially, 3) requires regular maintenance. Let's face it - some folks just won't spend the time or energy to clean and lubricate a K&N filter, but those are the same ones that will 'run' a paper filter for years on end and then wonder why their engine performance isn't what it used to be.

Lastly, I've heard about comparison charts several times now, but would very much like to see them for myself. Is it possible for someone to provide a link to them?

Thanks.   
 
Karl said:
Lastly, I've heard about comparison charts several times now, but would very much like to see them for myself. Is it possible for someone to provide a link to them?

I do not have said link, however if you follow the link to the other thread,  I belive it was included in one of the posts there... I do remember following said link to the chart you request, and it was everything the poster claimed it woudl be.

Did not make me scrap my K&N filter on my primary car though
 
I ran a K&N filter on my Ford Powerstroke for a little over a year. I never really noticed any appreciable fuel savings. I do believe I saved some money on replacement filters since I could clean my K&N. By the way; I live on a dirt road and pull various trailers throughout the week. About 1 year ago a friend recomended the TrueFlow air filter; so I thought I'd give it a try. The K&N is a gauze based filter while the true flow is a foam based filter. Both have specific cleaining instructions. While installing the True flow filter we cleaned out the air intake to the trubo. We found some grit that had obviously passed by the K&N. After installing the True Flow filter I noticed about 1 mpg better fuel economy and my exhaust temperature ran 50 degrees cooler. For my two cents worth; I'd avoid the K&N and either stick with the factory filters or go with the True Flow. I don't mind cleaning the filter and believe it is giving me better performance.
 
MTRancher said:
. After installing the True Flow filter I noticed about 1 mpg better fuel economy and my exhaust temperature ran 50 degrees cooler. For my two cents worth; I'd avoid the K&N and either stick with the factory filters or go with the True Flow. I don't mind cleaning the filter and believe it is giving me better performance.

I'll keep that in mind if I choose to go with a renewable filter for the MH.... I think I'll stick with the K&N on the towed though.  Mostly because that is what is in it now.

By the way... I did notice a slight imporovement, not as much as advertised but still there.  Mostly slightly better pick up espically when pulling a load
 
Another note to add on K&N Filters. When cleaning them never try to rush the drying process by blowing compressed air through them. The gauze filter will get damaged and the filtering will be severely compromised. That's the biggest down side to cleanable filters; you need to allow for drying time, it's not like just swapping out new/old ones.
 
I do recall some 6.5TD and 5.9CTD owners that did pre/during/post oil analysis when they tried the K&N on their turbo Diesels. They removed the new K&Ns due to elevated silica(sand/dirt) levels in the oil. Some contacted K&N and their reply was it was from over oiling the filter ::). When they switched back to a paper filter the silica levels returned to normal. It may not be so extreme in a gas engine that isn't allways drawing the large CFM #s as do Diesels.

Hmmm, reminds me. I've been meaning to replace that Amsoil filter in my Dodge/Cummins...
 
I think it may have been Fred that had a higher silica reading with K&N filters.  Hopefully he will jump in and provide some input from his experience.

 

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