Bobway

I found an interesting post on another forum, and thought you guys might find interest and want to talk about, just don't flame me for it, because I didn't do anything I swear.

The following are two messages from a current thread on K&N filters,
on CompuServe's Automobile Forum:

Fm: George Morrison 75521,22

"I was responsible for evaluating re-usable air filters for a major construction/mining company that had hundreds of vehicles ranging
from large earthmovers to pick-up trucks and salesmen's cars. This study was embarked upon due to the fact that we were spending
upwards of $30,000 a MONTH on paper air filters. Using them one time then throwing them away.. I initiated the study in that I was convinced that a K&N type filter or oiled foam would save us many dollars per year in filter savings, man hour savings, and of course engines as these would filter dirt better than paper. (yes, I had
read the K&N ads and was a believer)"

"Representative test units were chosen to give us a broad spectrum from cars right through large front end loaders. With each unit we had a long history of oil analysis records so that changes would be
trackable."

"Unfortunately, for me, every single unit having alternative re-usable air cleaners showed an immediate large jump in silicon
(dirt) levels with corresponding major increases in wear metals. In one extreme case, a unit with a primary and secondary air cleaner,the secondary (small paper element) clogged before even one day's
test run could be completed. This particular unit had a Cummins V-12 engine that had paper/paper one bank and K&N/paper on the other bank; two completely independent induction systems. The
conditions were EXACTLY duplicated for each bank yet the K&N allowed so much dirt to pass through that the small filter became clogged before lunch. The same outcome occurred with oiled foams on this
unit."

"We discontinued the tests on the large pieces almost immediately but continued with service trucks, foremen's vehicles, and my own company car. Analysis results continued showing markedly increased wear rates for all the vehicles, mine included. Test concluded,switched back to paper/glass and all vehicles showed reduction back to near original levels of both wear metals and dirt. I continued with the K&N on my company car out of stubbornness and at 85,000
miles the Chevy 305 V-8 wheezed its last breath. The top end was sanded badly; bottom end was just fine. End of test."

"I must stress that EVERYONE involved in this test was hoping that alternative filters would work as everyone was sick about pulling out a perfectly good $85 air cleaner and throwing 4 of them away
each week per machine..."

"So, I strongly suggest that depending upon an individual's long term plan for their vehicles they simply run an oil analysis at
least once to see that the K&N or whatever alternative air filter is indeed working IN THAT APPLICATION... It depends on a person's
priorities. If you want performance then indeed the K&N is the way to go but at what cost???"

"And no, I do not work for a paper or glass air filter manufacturing company nor do I have any affiliation with anything directly or indirectly that could benefit George Morrison as a result.."

(from another message in the same discussion)

"John: K/N filters have been independently tested for PERFORMANCE
i.e. FLOW and yes, they do indeed flow better than paper or glass elements. From my very extensive (and expensive) field testing, on real live equipment, the K&N (and other re-usable) do NOT filter DIRT as well as paper/glass. Period.."

"John, there is not one equipment manufacturer in the WORLD who is using K&N's (or other) on off-highway or mining equipment. I am talking about engines costing hundreds of thousands of dollars
exposed to the dirtiest conditions that exist; these pieces of equipment are built with cost no object in respect to their
induction systems. And John, paper or fiberglass is THE standard. The only way to get positive filtration is to screen it. If you need to filter to 4 microns, you have to have a four micron screen. In the K&N (and others) it MAY filter to 4 microns but with its 18th inch opening, the filter MAY allow an eighth inch chuck of dirt in also. And it will.."

Prolene

Thanks for that thought provoking post. Fwiw, I have been concerned about filtration ability as well and run stock filters and change to JR only on meet days and such.

The stock airbox also traps particulate debris, some smaller than sand, in the first compartment. The right angle turn for the charge air tends to be too extreme for particulate material and the debris will hit the box opposite the front intake and fall to the bottom of the first compartment. Since I put the cai on, much debris has been accumulating in the first compartment.

For those running K&N or JR, I would recommend keeping that partition between the two chambers of the airbox.

Allan Haggai

Thanks for sharing that Bobway. No Flames bud!

These tests seem very useful for vehicles that operate in horrible conditions. I wonder if those conclusions are useful to a performance car owner that never even takes his car on a dirt road? I mean, will the pinch of dust that will have passed through my K&N in 100,000 pampered miles effect the life of my engine? Maybe not! However, if I owned a Cat D9, I'd stick with paper!

Tanqueray

Well, that post means that I won't have to bother trying to get a lousy 1hp increase at the cost of future engine wear. It always made sense to me that engine manufacturers would include filters which maximized performance while filtering at the necessary level. I guess this guy proved it.

Thanks for info, Bobway.

chazzy

Well, this post is without empirical evidence, but I always knew this and now I can finally point to something to those people who swear by K&N filters. Of COURSE it flows more air ... along with everything else!

The K&N ads claim that they get better at trapping stuff as it gets dirtier ... at the cost of not having trapped the same particles earlier when it was clean as well as cutting down on air flow.

I have no doubt that someone can design better intakes and air filters. I just don't think that the K&N designs are it.

s2grnd

As far as I know there is no correlation between air cleanliness due to filtration media size difference and wear metals showing up in oil analysis on road going vehicles. Yes, paper clogs faster and pulls out more particulate if it is constructed of a quality medium. Foam filters will allow more flow as they tend to be more porous with less filtration. Wear metals showing up in oil analysis points to poor lubrication design and/or out of spec operating temperature, not dust in the intake.

tlee1234

Interesting, sorry to bring back such an old post, what you guys think of this?

I was thinking of getting a k and n drop in filter for my stock intake, maybe I

should rethink?

s2k_ed

i have a k&n drop in filter myself on my MY00. but after reading this... i might have to re-think...

s2k_ed

i have a k&n drop in filter myself on my MY00. but after reading this... i might have to re-think...

ahrmike

I have a OEM filter...

it appears to have a similar construction to KN filters...? or is it just me.

its a paper filter that is oiled...im assuming if it wasnt oiled it would have just as large openings as the KN? someone correct me if im wrong...


btw, i also think KN said something along the lines of...what goes through the KN is xtremely small and is pretty much nothing...iirc.