K&N Replacement Air Filter

[drewski]

Interesting, thanks for sharing, what do you and @Spiniker recommend instead? Just the OEM filter?

OEM is fine however I am a Wix or Purolator One guy. Testing of these filters over and over have shown they do a great job of filtering the air. I'd stay away from any oiled filter. Any filter that claims more flow, you need to ask yourself how is that possible. There is only 2 ways, fewer pleats in the filter or the media is more porous. I'd lean more towards engine longevity vs the 1 to 5 HP gain you'd get with a "performance" filter. Good luck

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[BlueWaffle]

There is only 2 ways, fewer pleats in the filter or the media is more porous. I'd lean more towards engine longevity vs the 1 to 5 HP gain you'd get with a "performance" filter. Good luck

More filter area is another way to let more air in. S&b (I believe) has a paper filter that appears like stock BUT the front of the 'cone' is recessed with more media. That will allow more flow while retaining factory levels of filtration.

 

[Alanp970]

We are aware of the "urban myth" created by a few dealerships that a vehicle's MAF sensor can be contaminated by K&N filter oil. No evidence has ever been provided to support this "myth" and years of diagnostic testing by K&N has shown that not only is this allegation not real, it is not even possible. In our opinion, it is an excuse for a dealership and/or the vehicle manufacturer to avoid a legitimate warranty repair. In the last 4 years, we have sold over 10,000,000 lifetime air filters and received only a few hundred calls from consumers who are having dealership or service provider challenges.

https://www.knfilters.com/maf/massair.htm

Nothing like a quote from the company in question to prove their innocence Tobacco companies denied their products caused cancer once upon a time too. I’ve personally seen MAF sensors coated in oily grime with K&N and other similar filters. Some could be cleaned and returned to normal operation but some had to be replaced. Still cost the owner of the car a trip to the shop but hey they got to my shop a tenth of a second faster with that performance filter

 

[drewski]

More filter area is another way to let more air in. S&b (I believe) has a paper filter that appears like stock BUT the front of the 'cone' is recessed with more media. That will allow more flow while retaining factory levels of filtration.

Yes you are correct. I didn't list that as the OP was taking about a stock air box. You aren't going to get that much more volume in a stock box. As far as S&B's claim about "a cone" I'd have to see some independent testing on that to believe it. I have found manufactures make fantastic claims about their products that can be misleading at best and some flat out lies. I will say S&B acknowledges that they only test their filters with ISO coarse dust in the ISO 5011 testing. They do not test their filters with ISO fine dust. So be aware any test data or efficiency claims are for coarse dust only. The ISO testing they do also is in house. They do not send it to a 3rd party for an independent result.

 

[Hemisfear]

(Personal Opinion) I'm never putting another oiled filter on again, that stuff goes everywhere in your intake and coats sensors, all the while filtering like crap...

 

[BlueWaffle]

Yes you are correct. I didn't list that as the OP was taking about a stock air box. You aren't going to get that much more volume in a stock box. As far as S&B's claim about "a cone" I'd have to see some independent testing on that to believe it. I have found manufactures make fantastic claims about their products that can be misleading at best and some flat out lies. I will say S&B acknowledges that they only test their filters with ISO coarse dust in the ISO 5011 testing. They do not test their filters with ISO fine dust. So be aware any test data or efficiency claims are for coarse dust only. The ISO testing they do also is in house. They do not send it to a 3rd party for an independent result.

That's good info.. I was considering getting an s&b in a few more thousand miles... I guess I can trash that idea. Bummer.

 

[mdainsd]

Just got one. Over an inch longer than stock. You would have to crush it to fit the stock air box. Its going back.

 

[CactusBob]

I wouldnt buy those type of filters. They can mess with your mass airflow sensor and cause, engine to run a little rich also they dont filter out all the dust. "Ford tech, mackuloco" on youtube showes why. I had one in my 04 f150 and it seemed to dirty the oil too guickly

There is no MAF sensor on the Bronco.

 

[DALOLA]

I think the K&N reusable filter might make sense for the cabin filter (HVAC), I have one of those, but I would not use it for the engine air filter on a DD street vehicle. Very poor filtering performance, and your stock engine is not restricted by the OEM paper filter, which has superior filtering performance. Just makes no sense to me....

 

[gbub]

I have a 2002 Ranger with over 300K miles on it that has had a K & N air filter on it since it was new. That vehicle has seen many miles in dusty off-road trails. That engine still runs as good as new and does not burn any more oil than it ever did.

I am careful not to over oil it after cleaning and have never have any problems with MAF contamination. I think it may still have the original MAF in it. When I clean the filter, I wipe the inside of the intake tube with a white cloth and do not get any signs of any type of contamination.

I have also had oil analysis tests done on an engine which had a K & N air filter. There was never any indication of dust contamination. Sure a filter can be over oiled and cause problems. That is operator error not a bad filter. I find it very easy to properly oil the filter and if someone cannot do it correctly, they should not be using one.

That being said, I will not be using a K & N air filter on my Bronco. It will be the first vehicle I have owned since the mid 80s that did not have one. The reason? I have been told by a very reliable source that has a commercial fleet of trucks with turbo engines that he maintains. Those trucks are used in very dusty conditions. They tried K & N air filter on them and found over time the very fine particles that pass through the filter impinged on the surface of the turbine and cause enough damage that they went back to using good paper filters. I have also heard from people that run K & N air filter on turbo powered cars with no issues. I decide it is not worth taking a chance. However, my N/A engines will still be using the K & N air filters.

 

[DALOLA]

I have a 2002 Ranger with over 300K miles on it that has had a K & N air filter on it since it was new. That vehicle has seen many miles in dusty off-road trails. That engine still runs as good as new and does not burn any more oil than it ever did.

I am careful not to over oil it after cleaning and have never have any problems with MAF contamination. I think it may still have the original MAF in it. When I clean the filter, I wipe the inside of the intake tube with a white cloth and do not get any signs of any type of contamination.

I have also had oil analysis tests done on an engine which had a K & N air filter. There was never any indication of dust contamination. Sure a filter can be over oiled and cause problems. That is operator error not a bad filter. I find it very easy to properly oil the filter and if someone cannot do it correctly, they should not be using one.

That being said, I will not be using a K & N air filter on my Bronco. It will be the first vehicle I have owned since the mid 80s that did not have one. The reason? I have been told by a very reliable source that has a commercial fleet of trucks with turbo engines that he maintains. Those trucks are used in very dusty conditions. They tried K & N air filter on them and found over time the very fine particles that pass through the filter impinged on the surface of the turbine and cause enough damage that they went back to using good paper filters. I have also heard from people that run K & N air filter on turbo powered cars with no issues. I decide it is not worth taking a chance. However, my N/A engines will still be using the K & N air filters.

What was your primary reason to use a K&N filter? (serious question)

I think most people do it for cost savings, $50 once vs $20 every 20-30K miles. That's the reason I use one in my HVAC. But pass-thru particulates aren't so important there, I have no allergies.

 

[cetiritas]

I purchased the long life K&N disposable filter. KNF-0634

It’s been fantastic and perfect fit. Can feel the difference over factory filter.
I’ve been screwing around with the oiled filters for over 30 years and tired already. This one is much better.

 

[zombie]

(Personal Opinion) I'm never putting another oiled filter on again, that stuff goes everywhere in your intake and coats sensors, all the while filtering like crap...

You know you're supposed to let the filter sit for awhile after you oil it, right?

I'm running K&N filters in my Ducati, my Mustang, my Bronco and my Viper. No issues with mess on any of them.

 

[gbub]

What was your primary reason to use a K&N filter? (serious question)

I think most people do it for cost savings, $50 once vs $20 every 20-30K miles. That's the reason I use one in my HVAC. But pass-thru particulates aren't so important there, I have no allergies.

Actually the primary reason I started using K&N air filters was because I am lazy. I like being able to go 50K miles between refreshing them. On my race car I did it to have less air flow restriction and I clean it more often. I am not sure there is much cost savings. You still have the cost of cleaner and oil every 50K miles or so, in addition to the initial higher cost of the K&N filter. I suppose over 300K miles there is considerable cost savings.

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