(save your money guys)


It's been slow today so I thought I'd pop in a subject that can get a bit hot on occasions, in order to get the word out to those who may be contemplating an aftermarket filter.

The K&N debate has gone on and on, with those who own them sometimes getting downright indignant against those who suggest they admit more dirt and essentially do nothing for performance.

Rather than just offering “my opinion” I submit this info to counter the big money tests K&N has all over the internet, as a part of their marketing program, and I do so in the interest of fairness and accuracy.

I think this pretty well backs up the claims from experts, that they do “little to nothing” in the way of performance, and they “DO” admit more dirt, even when tested with new oiled surface. What you have to watch out for, is the fact that oiled foam gets less effective as it gets dirty, and paper gets more effective. I therefore council my Volvo friends to “save your money” (and your car) and stay with the stock filter.

I can give you lots of council on this, from personal and other experience, but it looks like it’s my “personal opinion”, so I suggest you read the attached tests, make up your own mind before you put that non-spec filter on an expensive car.

If you can read and understand a tech paper, there should be no argument after looking at these links.



Mr. P

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest2.htm
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/napa1.jpg

>>>>>>>PHOTO AT BOTTOM OF POST<<<<<<
Look at the K&N, guess what? It's the one with the most dirt because it's the darkest.

Now look at the pressure drop tests, hardly anything that makes a differnce. Technically, they may be able to claim .0001 horsepower gain on a dyno, but everyone who has ever used a dyno knows that you can put an electric fan in front of the motor and even the cooling effect on the bare block will allow the motor to produce more power.




http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi...c&f=15&t=000117

>>>>>The following comments are from Anthony S, the engineer who did the actual testing program<<<<<< :



“Well I'll make a few comments.

1) I'll submit to you that surface area of the filtration material is not nearly as important as the total volume of the filtration media. Certain filters like the Mazda OEM would measure poorly in surface area, but have a significant volume compared to the others.

2) No test is perfect, and there are plans for future testing that will address some areas that will be easy to improve. These areas are already mentioned on the page. If you take them out of context and chop only one sentence out stating the test isn't perfect, then you are really reaching to say it is invalid. Believe what you like, but only real data proving the contrary will ever sway my findings.

3) There was a repeatability test performed on one of the filters to determine the relavancy of the filtration test. The results were the same for the repeat test. The repeat test was done on the Baldwin filter. This is mentioned in the test.

4) The deposits left by the K&N and Amsoil filters are not oil residue. I put a few drops of K&N oil on a test filter. It stays nice and red, and doesn't blacken even after sitting for 6 months on my shelf. The deposits on the non oiled filters are identical to the ones on the oil filters, only there is less deposit density on some compared to the others.

And yes, I am not inclined to take manufacturers words on anything, especially when it comes to the automotive aftermarket. Do you really believe Castrol's oil is synthetic? They say it is. That is just one example. Manufacturers are far to concerned with the bottom line profitability and care very little for the customer.

The list of aftermarket automotive suppliers that are no longer allowed to advertise due to FTC sanctions grows every year. Slick50 and Splitfire plugs come to mind. They claimed all sorts of wonderful stuff. People still purchase engine additives containing teflon too, only under a different name. 3M the manufacturer of Teflon says that it should never be used in an internal combustion engine. Of course, 3M isn't trying to sell me something for my car either.

5) As for the miraculous secondary filter. There is no such thing. Any secondary filter would've trapped particles passing through the first filter. I think next time I'll go with a Mazda OEM as they are white and not the orangish tint of the Fram. If you study systems engineering, statistic or redundancy, you'll find that putting filters in series always increases the overall filtration ability. If you have two filters that are 95% efficient and put them in series, you end up with a filter that is 99.75% efficient.”










.............and after all of this, there will still be the 25-year old "expert" who claims he saw a dyno test somewhere that proves the K&N filter will produce more power in "some" engines, and is willing to argue to the death to prove his filter really does work. “Good luck”

It's your car, your money, and your choice.

Regards to all,

Mr. P
__________________
Nashville, TN

2004 Volvo 2.5T AWD XC90, Ash Gold, Taupe, 7-seat, stock air filter

1990 Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet, stock air filter
1989 Volvo 740 GL 16-valve, stock air filter
1984 Porsche 944, burned the K&N, now running stock air filter
1983 Porsche 928S 5-speed, burned the K&N, now running stock air filter
1974 TVR 2500-M, stock air filter on aftermarket carbs.
1966 38' Chris Craft, twin 427 Fords, flame arrestor only
1956 17' Chris Craft, SBC, flame arrestor only