K&N air filter worth the money?

Hardly BS, its been documented is several comparison tests. Sure when they are new they have less pressure drop but as they load with particulate the blind off faster and become more restrictive much faster than a paper element.



Its not like a K&N will instantly blow up your engine. but they certainly are not worth the money they charge. Best to stay with a simple paper element.

ezrider714 wrote: "most restrictive and poorest filtering" are at opposite ends of the spectrum .........

Sort of, but not really. The test I see shows the K&N initially being the least restrictive (see 1st image below), so in this case it is true that initial restriction and ability to filter are at opposite ends of the spectrum. However, the K&N filter becomes most restrictive as it is used (see 2nd image below). Even tough that seems counter-intuitive, there are reasons it could happen. For example (I'm not saying this is the case) - if it has less filter media that media could become clogged quicker regardless of the size of the particles. It would be very helpful and reduce confusion if the study mentioned why the K&N becomes most restrictive, but it doesn't.

However, the study does state:
"The AC Delco filter test ran for 60 minutes before exceeding the restriction limit while the AMSOIL and K&N tests each ran for 20 and 24 minutes respectively before reaching max restriction.

In 60 minutes the AC Filter accumulated 574gms of dirt and passed only 0.4gms. After only 24 minutes the K&N had accumulated 221gms of dirt but passed 7.0gms.

Compared to the AC, the K&N “plugged up” nearly 3 times faster, passed 18 times more dirt and captured 37% less dirt. See the data tables for a complete summary of these comparisons."

It also states "oiled reusable (filter) types, had an exponential loading response before reaching maximum restriction. These filters had a lower initial restriction, but they became exponentially more restrictive under a constant flow of dirt."

So maybe the oil itself combines with particles to form a mud that restricts flow? Ed

Seriously, thank you for all of the replies. After looking at all of the comments, I think I will go stock. Stock as well with my air box. I just want a good running bike that will be reliable. You guys are a wealth of information. That is why I ask questions. Someone here has done each thing before !!

The restriction by the very nature will be better filtering, if less air total can pass thru the filter, less dirty air can pass thru also, which makes it better filtering, As i stated earlier I have used 1 for over 35 yrs and 63,000 miles, have never had to rebuild the engine and compression test numbers are within spec
People whose living depend on going the fastest use K&N religiously, if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me. .
Ever get caught in a torrential down pour that soaked a paper filter to the point it won't pass air at all?? Even after drying out. At that point they show their true colors :ohmy: That's when I switched to K&N and never had that issue again
I guess everyone can blow their money how the see fit on their bikes, I'm just reporting my experience using K&N's on several bikes over the past 35 years..
Fancy bar graphs mean nothing without the supporting data., such as engine rpm's, total flow in cfm's the size in microns that can pass thru the filter...etc
I use them on all my vehicles 2 and 4 wheel kind, have yet to be shown a meaningful test that encompasses real world conditions, they can be cleaned much more often than you can change a paper filter unless you have unlimited funds to purchase paper ones constantly :ohmy:
YMMV
EZ

Yup.
Steve

ezrider714 wrote: The restriction by the very nature will be better filtering, if less air total can pass thru the filter, less dirty air can pass thru also, which makes it better filtering, As i stated earlier I have used 1 for over 35 yrs and 63,000 miles, have never had to rebuild the engine and compression test numbers are within spec
People whose living depend on going the fastest use K&N religiously, if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me. .
Ever get caught in a torrential down pour that soaked a paper filter to the point it won't pass air at all?? Even after drying out. At that point they show their true colors :ohmy: That's when I switched to K&N and never had that issue again
I guess everyone can blow their money how the see fit on their bikes, I'm just reporting my experience using K&N's on several bikes over the past 35 years..
Fancy bar graphs mean nothing without the supporting data., such as engine rpm's, total flow in cfm's the size in microns that can pass thru the filter...etc
I use them on all my vehicles 2 and 4 wheel kind, have yet to be shown a meaningful test that encompasses real world conditions, they can be cleaned much more often than you can change a paper filter unless you have unlimited funds to purchase paper ones constantly :ohmy:
YMMV
EZ

In other words, F the scientific data. The science shows that K&N's let more dirt through to your engine than a good paper filter. But because someone has used K&N's for some time and their engine hasn't blow up that discredits the facts right?

Nothing to see here folks, please disregard the dust behind the filter... move along now!

I usually do a custom air box/intake that way you can buy a cheap performance air filter but a really large one with more surface area which = more. K&N is over peices, but does same thing as cheap no name aftermarket filters do

Tyler, excellent pic. When I worked on cars for a living, we seen that a lot, bad Mass air flow sensors from performance intake setups.

But, I will say, theoretically speaking, you can have a filter flow more air, but filter the same. It would just have to be larger in size than a stock filter.

I put K&N, MSD and other simillar products in the same category, so much hype, fake studies and fanboyism to break thru to the truth. They pay the hotrod mags and give them freebies, so you know they get stellar reviews in return

Most of the time it was a bad install of the CAI that caused problems. I did see one where the filter got submerged. It stalled the engine and there was water in the throttle body when I took it apart. Lucky though the engine wasn't damaged. Other time I had one come in with a filter the guy put WAY too much oil on, not the filter's fault though.

To be fair K&N isn't going to destroy an engine, I had heard that the ford racing performance intakes come with a k&n that had blue dye in the oil... not sure if that's true. At any rate they just are not worth the money they charge IMO.

I used to own a supercharged Saleen Mustang. It came from the dealer with Saleen's version of a K&N. I guess the blower must have ground up all the excess dirt before it got to the engine. :silly:

:woohoo:
You funny.
Steve