K & N air filters

Submitted: Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 19:54

ThreadID: 39411 Views:4635 Replies:11 FollowUps:3

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shaen

Hey all,
I have an oiled K & N air filter fitted to my 4.2 Nissan. Can anyone provide conclusive advise whether to use it or revert to the OEM paper type.

Cheers

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Reply By: TerraFirma - Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 20:05

Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 20:05

Reuseable K&N filters offer superior breathing and filtration as long as you clean then properley and re-oil them accordingly. Should the cleaning process be ignored then they like all filters would cause a degradation in performance.

AnswerID: 204717

Reply By: Exploder - Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 20:43

Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 20:43

Same as above, they work fine as long as they are serviced and are oiled correctly.

In Dusty conditions I just check mine more regally and if need be give it a tap out and put another thin spray of oil on till I can clean it properly.

If you are operating Earth moving equipment or do extensive travel in very dusty conditions then a K&N would not be the best but for general 4Wding and outback Trip use I find they are fine.

Get a K&N filter Recharge kit and you will never need another filter.

Cheers.

AnswerID: 204727

Reply By: Ady - Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 20:49

Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 20:49

K&N filters work very well in the cities and suburbs but are not recomended for dusty outback conditions. So if you go bush use the original paper filter and when you get home go back to the K&N.
C'ya

AnswerID: 204730

Reply By: Hairy - Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 21:06

Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 21:06

I live in Alice Springs and have used K&N and Uni-filters for about 17 years on some really dusty roads. I wouldnt even consider changing back to a paper filter.
Cheers

AnswerID: 204735

Reply By: Member - Blue (VIC) - Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 22:12

Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 22:12

On many forums this seems to be the standard "petrol v diesel v patrol v LC v waeco v engel" I've seen enough "independent" tests on the net to make me wary... The way I look at it is if I name K&N and blatantly state that they (from memory) only have a 92-93% overall filtration rating down to around the 1 micron area, I'm leaving myself wide open to litigation on the grounds of defamation... Since I've never heard of K&N taking legal action, I can only conclude that the tests are somewhere near correct.

Of course, like anything else, there will be many yay & nay sayers so the final decision is up to you.

AnswerID: 204749

Reply By: Andrew-rodeo - Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 22:18

Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 22:18

The only problem Nissans had with K+N air filters was on models with air flow meters. Apparently the oil from K+Ns would coat the hot wire in the air flow meters and they wouldn't work.
Cheers Andrew

AnswerID: 204752

Follow Up By: Exploder - Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 22:45

Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 22:45

This is userly due to over oiling the K&N filter. My MAF is 4-inch away from the air filter K&N type and I have never had a problem in 60,000K of using it.

FollowupID: 464620

Reply By: Glenn WA - Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 23:18

Monday, Nov 13, 2006 at 23:18

K & N filters are the ducks nuts...if looked after correctly. Dirt bikes have been using them for years. Go get your self the correct cleaning agent and air filter oil, follow the instructions and you will only ever have to replace it after it has worn out from cleaning.

AnswerID: 204772

Reply By: _gmd_pps - Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006 at 04:12

Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006 at 04:12

read for yourself

www.duramax-diesel.com/spicer/index.htm

K&N has bad airflow and low dirt retention compared to others ..

I have no experience with K&N other than some mechanic friends in the US
confirming abvove test ..

have fun
gmd

AnswerID: 204802

Follow Up By: ross - Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006 at 10:11

Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006 at 10:11

I wwas always sceptical of the K&N claims and when I found the site in the link below I knew why.

"Each test filter was used in the same car, on the same roads for 500 miles. The darker deposits indicate poorer filtration, and lighter ones better filtration. That said, both the cotton gauze type (K&N) and foam filters (Amsoil & Jackson Racing) showed the same levels of filtration. Both performed poorly compared to the fiberous or paper filters (Napa, Baldwin, and Mazda). "

Site Link

Note the owner of the site is a mechanical engineer and has quality assurance credentials.

The K&N fillters were designed for racing where engine rebuilds are common,almost weekly and a high level of airflow is considered more important than a high level of filtration.
As the above site shows, flow and filtration are closely linked.

FollowupID: 464710

Follow Up By: ross - Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006 at 10:15

Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006 at 10:15

Again these results show the same trends. More airflow,more dirt into the engine.

Site Link

FollowupID: 464711

Reply By: Truckster (Vic) - Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006 at 11:37

Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006 at 11:37

I tried them in my GQ in the configs of:

k&n BOTH main filter/precleaner
k&n precleaner/Main paper
k&n main/ Pre paper

No more power, no better, if not worse filtering (raced bikes for ~10yrs, so know how to oil em properly) with fair wack of crap on the wrong side of the filter in the airbox, and in the ductin from precleaner to main, so went back to Paper.

Sticking with paper in the GU now too.

AnswerID: 204860