Oiling K&N - Need Advice Quick!

[NC2Stay]

I am doing my first K&N air filter cleaning. I have it cleaned, and drying now. Have a spraying question:

Which side do you spray the oil on - in or out? The cleaner bottle or oil can doesn't say.

And, yes, I know to spray sparingly!

Thanks, Bob

 

[PLRX]

The filter/cleaning kit comes with instructions

Here Bob

 

[6 Shooter]

Outside . . . 2-3 light coats . . .

 

[Vettefan87]

Whatever you do DO NOT spray the inside of the filter with the red oil. Do not spray the inside, just mist the outside so it is pink, no need to junk that stuff on there.

 

[vetteboy86]

Yeah, I kind of act like I am putting a light coat of spray paint on. Kind of like when you want no runs. Just a couple quick bursts.

 

[NC2Stay]

Thanks all for the help. It seemed to come out OK.

But I am wondering if it is worth the effort. A couple of extra HP doesn't mean that much to me, and I don't drive enough that the cost of replacing the filter is going to break me - much less than 1 tank of gas now ad

I will leave it in for now, but will have to think about it in the long term.

Thanks again for the help.

Bob

 

[Mac]

Some folks swear by K&N but give me good old fashioned paper filters anytime! If they look dirty, replace & toss the old one. It's that simple.

-Mac

 

[vetteboy86]

I guess it depends how often you think that a paper filter would need to be changed. I clean mine twice a season, once in the spring, and then again late summer. I guess for me it is worth the extra cost up front.

 

[WNH]

I am doing my first K&N air filter cleaning. I have it cleaned, and drying now. Have a spraying question:

I let mine sit and dry for a day.
It avoids any oil getting up into the MAF.

 

[WhalePirot]

But I am wondering if it is worth the effort. I will leave it in for now, but will have to think about it in the long term.

Here, here. My sentiments, plus the paper comments, exactly.

 

[BarryK]

I'm sure I'll get a lot of disagreement on this but when I was considering a K&N for my car I did a little research on here and based on that you couldn't GIVE me a K&N air filter and I'll stick to a basic paper filter. In fact, I just changed out my 40yo stock recleanable, reoilable foam filter with a paper filter. It would take a lot of paper filters before coming up to the cost of buying the K&N and since I only change mine once a year that would be a lot of years before I'd end up saving any money by using a K&N. More importantly, as JohnZ said regarding the K&N's, physics can only work one way....... K&N filters can claim a few additional HP gain by using them because they can flow more air. Flowing more air can only happen by filtering the air LESS. Less filtration means more dirt being allowed into the motor. What is the real gain of any possible increase in HP if it's also allowing more dirt into the engine as the long term affects of this can't be good.
So, less filtration with the K&N plus they are very expensive compared to a standard paper filter. HMMMMM, I'll stick to the paper ones myself thank you very much!

 

[Chris Kennedy]

I used to use a K&N in my '81, but have decided against them in my '89. Basically, I have come to the conclusion that they are essentially one of these automotive gimmicks that get a reputation as being something you must buy in order to be considered "cool" and a real high performance guy (ditto some brands of shocks and tires etc.---we've all seen this). That is, they have this reputation until the first person asks "what gives", and the whole facade falls apart as people start fessing up that they've wondered, too. I could never feel a difference in their performance, they are expensive, and in order to make them cost effective (at least in theory) you have to buy all that cleaning and oiling junk, store it somewhere, and then worry about whether you are re-oiling it properly so it doesn't gum up the air flow sensor. What a hassle. Also, on a purely asthetic note, have you ever noticed how the packaging for these filters, the K&N symbol etc look like they all came out of the 1960s/1970s psychedelic era, or something out of "That 70s Show" on T.V. ? It's weird, and makes me wonder whether the company is stuck there, itself.

/s/ Chris Kennedy

 

[magoo]

I never fell into the K&N trap but I thought I was the only one. Way too much trouble and questionable value. The amount of driving I do and the conditions I drive my vettes in doesn't even use a new filter each year and the paper isn't even dirty. It's good to hear knowledgeable people supporting those ideas.

Mike

 

[Vettelt193]

I'm sure I'll get a lot of disagreement on this but when I was considering a K&N for my car I did a little research on here and based on that you couldn't GIVE me a K&N air filter and I'll stick to a basic paper filter. In fact, I just changed out my 40yo stock recleanable, reoilable foam filter with a paper filter. It would take a lot of paper filters before coming up to the cost of buying the K&N and since I only change mine once a year that would be a lot of years before I'd end up saving any money by using a K&N. More importantly, as JohnZ said regarding the K&N's, physics can only work one way....... K&N filters can claim a few additional HP gain by using them because they can flow more air. Flowing more air can only happen by filtering the air LESS. Less filtration means more dirt being allowed into the motor. What is the real gain of any possible increase in HP if it's also allowing more dirt into the engine as the long term affects of this can't be good.
So, less filtration with the K&N plus they are very expensive compared to a standard paper filter. HMMMMM, I'll stick to the paper ones myself thank you very much!

K&N filters (as well as the other brands similar) filter air differently than paper filters... it isn't necessarily less

 

[BarryK]

K&N filters (as well as the other brands similar) filter air differently than paper filters... it isn't necessarily less

ok, i'll bite. how do they filter air DIFFERENTLY?
air has to go thru something, anything, whatever the material may be, to be filtered and that creates somewhat of a barrier of the airflow. The more barrier the more filtration but of course also less airflow. K&N markets their filter as greater airflow and therefore greater HP gains. Physics is physics no matter how you want to look at it and greater airflow means less filtration.
I hope I'm not misstating John, but I recall when this discussion came up before he mentioned that at the Viper plant he runs they tested the K&N filters for use on the Viper cars and their testing concluded that the K&N air filters were actually filtering LESS than other (paper) filters and therfore they choose not to use the K&N for that very reason.

in fact, I just found the thread where John posted about this:

http://corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73664&highlight=K&N

John's response is post #3

 

[Vettelt193]

From K&N's web site:

In addition, the way that dirt collects or loads on the K&N filter is very different. A paper filter exhibits "surface loading" which means dust collects only on the surface of the media. In contrast, K&N filters exhibit "depth loading". The multiple layers of cotton fibers provide many levels of dust retention. This characteristic allows the K&N filter to hold significantly more dirt per square inch of media than the average paper filter. Utilizing these scientific principles, K&N has been able to design an air filter that is very free flowing while also being highly efficient at removing dirt from the air.
-------------------


There is other information about dirty vs. clean filters and the differences too.

 

[BarryK]

sorry, anything on the actual K&N website i'm going to consider nothing more than their own marketing stuff used to sell their products. Of course they are going to say that about their own product.
I'll take independent testing analysis such as done by the OEM's like John mentioned when they did their own testing for OEM applications over K&N's own testimonials on their own product.

If you use the K&N and you are happy with it than more power to you and I wish you all the best and i'm sure it will continue to work fine, but for myself, i'll stick to the regular paper filters.

 

[Chris Kennedy]

This discussion reminds me that I have often thought how good it would be for one of the car magazines to run a test on these sorts of products---you know, K&N vs. other filters, different brands of spark plugs etc. The basic idea is to compare "real world" things such as this, rather than run all the articles about some new concept car, or $200,000 Aston Martin, etc. I subscribe to Corvette Magazine (the new one out of Ross, California) and Autoweek, and while I like Corvette Magazine and they seem to be moving in a practical direction, Autoweek is hopeless. Every issue seems to be about some ultraexpensive car or the latest in Porsche's confusing line of cars (most at the six figure level).

/s/ Chris Kennedy

 

[NC2Stay]

I opened up a real can of worms here. Thanks all for your comments.

But I have to admit that while I was spraying the filter (and wondering if I was doing it right) I kept thinking "Why?". As I said earlier, the extra HP (if any) really isn't an issue. Probably the only reason I am using it is because she came with it.

My mechanic kinda cringed when I mentioned that I was going to clean and re-oil the filter. He made it very clear that I shouldn't over-oil it, and it seemed like he had some prior bad experiences.

So, I have made my decision: I am going back to paper, and will pick up one (hopefully!) at the local store soon. I will probably re-clean the K&N and offer it for sale, along with the cleaner and oil.

It's just not worth the issue to me.

Bob

 

[Chris Kennedy]

You didn't open a can of worms---you actually did us all a favor. It's sort of like that story "The Emperor's New Clothes". Until someone asks "what gives", everyone simply says the same thing for fear of being odd man out. For me, it was gratifying to see that others of us had the same sort of questions and doubts about the K&Ns.

/s/ Chris Kennedy