Got K&N air filter and a turbo...
- Thread starter RLDSL
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Ironman03R
Full Access Member
Why do we have to have a K&N filter bashing thread every couple weeks anymore? Its just personal preference, like oil brands. Some of you guys hate these things, some love em.
I'll say MY experiance has been good, 75K trouble free miles on it in this truck. I clean it when the filter meter tells me to.
I'll say MY experiance has been good, 75K trouble free miles on it in this truck. I clean it when the filter meter tells me to.
In all fairness, I won't just bash the things, Like Grandma used to say, "a place for everything and everything in it's place"
Back when I used to race, a K&N on a carbureted gasser is a mighty handy thing... let's all the air in that you could ever want and keeps the bugs and rocks out.Especially when running an active open front hood scoop, big improvement over no filter at all, or just a screen like a lot of folks used to run
Cheaper Jeeper
Full Access Member
Sorry, but I still have a hard time buying the horror stories about K&N based on the opinion of one diesel mechanic who doesn't like them (for whatever reason).
My Banks Turbo has a K&N in it and it is a custom piece made by K&N for Banks - nothing else will fit. Banks has a good reputation and I just don't believe that they would risk it by using K&N in their kits exclusively if there were an issue with how well they filter.
I also have a pretty strong feeling that their engineers know what is and isn't good for their turbos...
My Banks Turbo has a K&N in it and it is a custom piece made by K&N for Banks - nothing else will fit. Banks has a good reputation and I just don't believe that they would risk it by using K&N in their kits exclusively if there were an issue with how well they filter.
I also have a pretty strong feeling that their engineers know what is and isn't good for their turbos...
TLBREWER
Windy B Ranch
Has anyone tried the new AFE filters made from their "Pro Dry S" filter material? I'm not too big on the oiled filters either, not because of bad experience...just preference. I admit I do have them in two of my vehicles. I'm looking at the Pro Dry because it's washable and non-oiled and now they offer an OEM replacement for my Dmax at a lower cost than stock or paper. If anyone has used them, I'd like to hear. Maybe I should just try one on one of the IDI's?
Tom
Tom
Yes, Banks knows exactly what they are doing, and they are in the PERFORMANCE products business, not the longevity products business. And they are the best in the business, and they include in their kits what the majority of their customers are going to want according to exhaustive research so they can appeal to the largest number of customers. They're not in the business of making cars and trucks go for hundreds of thousands of miles without failure, they are in the business of making them go insanely fast for periods of lessor duration, and they do a great job of it.
They know that if they didn't include a K&N, MOST of the customers would think it a ripoff and would just buy one elsewhere anyway and they wouldn't be getting the money on it. It's the popular filter and it's what people want and I seriously doubt they would be able to talk very many performance nuts out of the things.
Kind of reminds me of way back in the late 70's when I was running a machine shop and these kids would wander in with an engine and the remnants of their recently broken open piggy bank and a laundry list that familiarly echoed the last 24 months of hot rod magazines build tips. A quick look and I knew they had no idea. They wanted us to build a dang dragster engine that might last 6 -12 light runs, 1-3 hard ones before teardown...for a daily driver...no clue.
I didn't mind taking money for a custom engine from someone who had it and knew what they were doing with it, but about twice , three times a month I'd have to sit one of these guys down and explain, yes, all these fancy custom engine things in the articles will make you go real scary fast , but after you've tromped on the thing a handful of times, it's gonna be gone...along with all your money. Thankfully, almost all of them were talked down to reasonable performance engines that were still fast enough to get the job done without coming apart at the seams (a quick ride in my GTO was usually enough to get their attention...after they got through changing their shorts
.
Diezel_Cowboy
It's not like a real ***!
I'm with IRONMAN,
I've been running K&N on dusty back roads/farm for years and never had a problem with them. How do you like them apples? Personal preference only..........no data to back up any claims of inadequate filtering..........go ahead show me the links tell me how bad they are but you will NOT convince me otherwise since my own experience has been the opposite of yours. It all goes back to personal preference some like them some dont.........always been that way and always will be that way.
I've been running K&N on dusty back roads/farm for years and never had a problem with them. How do you like them apples? Personal preference only..........no data to back up any claims of inadequate filtering..........go ahead show me the links tell me how bad they are but you will NOT convince me otherwise since my own experience has been the opposite of yours. It all goes back to personal preference some like them some dont.........always been that way and always will be that way.
Here's a nice link
Completely independent non corporate sponsored test, simple easy for anyone to see results. Note the mealy mouth response the guy got from K&N over it.
As per K&Ns own info, being able to trap "99% " of what an OEM type filter will trap is not as good as 100%. that 1% of extra dust sneaking by adds up over time.
I personally ran a pretty extensive test with a vehicle with different air filters and different oil filtration systems over a couple years a bunch of years back, with oil analysis, but over a handful of moves all the paperwork has gone by -by, but the results in a nutshell were dirty oil much faster, to the point of not useable with the K&N and standard filtration, and with bypass filters, the oil would stay clean and useable, but the bypass filters would have to be changed 2-3 times as often.
Diezel_Cowboy
It's not like a real ***!
Did you even look at "Bob's" last picture .................all those look the same to me!
That article doesnt prove a thing nor does it change my mind.
You can keep tryin if you want youre just wasting your time
ya robert, and----------its that measley 1%--which is the FINE dirt particles that eat the rings---youd almost think some of the people that love a K&N, are sponsors for them---no analitical mind at all--just believe any and alllllll hype. flame away
Some people smoke tabacco and live to 100 years. Others kick the bucket early. Using a K&N is like was stated. Individual preference, and what works for you. There is no point in debating if they are any good or not. There is plenty of evidence on both sides. If your personally trying to decide to use one or not, my advice would be to ask someone who drives YOUR ROADS and has a similar vehicle and see what they have found. Driving habits play a part too. Personally, when I drive into a cloud of dust, I slip it in neutral and coast through. And I'd do that no matter what filter I'm running. It's just good sense. I like running an open element because you can see if it is sealing good, and how dirty it is without opening anything. A lot of those Banks and other square intake boxes leave a lot to be desired in that department.
Thats why K&N makes a sealing grease. I use it on my factory air box to make sure it is sealed.
It's exactly that little fine 1% that over time is cumulative.
I don't know why people get so defensive over the things. Heck, I've still got one in my '93 Volvo 940 turbo, and I've known all along about the possibilities of damage, but I have no plans of taking that one out, because that darn car still makes me giggle like a little girl when I blip the throttle I do run synthetic in the thing and change at short intervals to try to offset it a bit.
You play , you pay
I don't know why people get so defensive over the things. Heck, I've still got one in my '93 Volvo 940 turbo, and I've known all along about the possibilities of damage, but I have no plans of taking that one out, because that darn car still makes me giggle like a little girl when I blip the throttle
I do run synthetic in the thing and change at short intervals to try to offset it a bit.You play , you pay
Cheaper Jeeper
Full Access Member
Yes, Banks knows exactly what they are doing, and they are in the PERFORMANCE products business, not the longevity products business. And they are the best in the business, and they include in their kits what the majority of their customers are going to want according to exhaustive research so they can appeal to the largest number of customers. They're not in the business of making cars and trucks go for hundreds of thousands of miles without failure, they are in the business of making them go insanely fast for periods of lessor duration, and they do a great job of it.
They know that if they didn't include a K&N, MOST of the customers would think it a ripoff and would just buy one elsewhere anyway and they wouldn't be getting the money on it. It's the popular filter and it's what people want and I seriously doubt they would be able to talk very many performance nuts out of the things.
Kind of reminds me of way back in the late 70's when I was running a machine shop and these kids would wander in with an engine and the remnants of their recently broken open piggy bank and a laundry list that familiarly echoed the last 24 months of hot rod magazines build tips. A quick look and I knew they had no idea. They wanted us to build a dang dragster engine that might last 6 -12 light runs, 1-3 hard ones before teardown...for a daily driver...no clue.
I didn't mind taking money for a custom engine from someone who had it and knew what they were doing with it, but about twice , three times a month I'd have to sit one of these guys down and explain, yes, all these fancy custom engine things in the articles will make you go real scary fast , but after you've tromped on the thing a handful of times, it's gonna be gone...along with all your money. Thankfully, almost all of them were talked down to reasonable performance engines that were still fast enough to get the job done without coming apart at the seams (a quick ride in my GTO was usually enough to get their attention...after they got through changing their shorts
Yeah, well, I'm no teenage kid without a clue, if that's what you're implying....
All I can say for sure is that my truck is an 86, and the Banks kit I have on it has a manual copyrighted 1989. The manual is so old-school that all of the illustrations are hand-drawn instead of being CAD drawings. They couldn't even email me a digital copy - all they have are paper photocopies of the original that they had to send by snail-mail.
I'd about bet my paycheck the turbo has never even been apart. I started to try to take the downpipe off it when I did my tranny swap and the bolts were so frozen I could feel the first one I put a wrench on start to yeild - as in twist off rather than unthread. I decided not to take it apart and unbolted the mount from the head to lift it up instead.
She still makes 5-10 PSI under moderate load, and seems to be working just fine to me.
I also have a Jeep Cherokee with over 216k miles on it. I bought it with 169k on it and put a K&N in it right off the bat. Nearly 40k miles later and it still runs as good ad the day I got it, and it has seen some SERIOUSLY dusty use...
That's been my experience, so take it for what its worth.
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BigRigTech
Diesel junky
Paper or cloth, you can dust an engine with either one. I've seen truck engines go bad over night when the rig was run over the dirt roads in northern Newfoundland & Labrador...These where trucks with large dual filters...The key is this - if the filter is plugged the engine willl still pull hard and get the air it needs....Thus sucking the dirt in every little crack and seam that it can. A clean filter wether it be cloth or paper is the key and a good seal at any joint is a must.
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