Do K&N air filters really filter?

[68SWB4x4]

Originally posted by Dropt72Shortbed


well i was interested in the amsoil filters after reading all this, but now im not sure how biased the info is.

true so very true

[Church]

Originally posted by Dropt72Shortbed


well i was interested in the amsoil filters after reading all this, but now im not sure how biased the info is.

Sorry you feel that way. I guess facts can be BIASED. I figured that some of you would want to know about the K&N filters. All I'm saying is I would rather filter my air with a cheese cloth than with a spaghetti strainer! I dont care if you buy from me or not, all I wanted to do is shed some light on the filtering characteristics of the "infamous" K&N air filters. Period!

[Bamm]

Dropt72shortbed- Just the element, yes $40-45. A bottle of K & N Air Filter Cleaner that they tell you you must use, $10.00 more dollars, and then the K & N air filter oil that you must use, $10.00 more dollars, =$60.00 or more. Look I knew that when this post started there would be some upset K & N owners that would rip any study or test that was presented, and I can accept that. I can always agree to disagree. But I think some of you guys are going a little far by judging the integrity of other members who happen to sell parts. I don't believe CHURCH started this thread in an attempt to sell parts, but rather to voice his opinion on air filters and to show what information that he had. Whether or not you choose to believe amsoils tests, thats up to you, but don't come down on other board members for info that amsoil provided. And furthermore, the tests that I referred to were done by an independent car magazine, one that gets paid for advertising for K & N, do you really think that they would come out with a test that showed that K & N filters only had a slight advantage if it weren't the truth. We are talking about a company that helps pay Hot Rod magazine's bills. I myself was really surprised that they printed the results of the test like that, i figured that if that was really how the test came out that they would have just trashed the test rather than upset a paying advertiser like that.
if it wasnt a K&N id now be onto my 3rd filter which would be equal to the price of my one K&N.
Walmart purolator 14 x 3 element $7.50 x 3=$22.50 without the hassle of washing, cleaning drying and pre-oiling. And again, K & N 14 x 3 element- Advance Auto $45.00, K & N Filter Cleaner 1 bottle- $9.99, K & N Pre-Oil- $9.99=$64.98. Nowhere close. I'm not taking up for amsoil filters, I don't use them, and if you use K & N filters and like them, please continue, I just wanted to voice my opinion................JB

[Dropt72Shortbed]

Originally posted by Bamm 24
Dropt72shortbed- Just the element, yes $40-45. A bottle of K & N Air Filter Cleaner that they tell you you must use, $10.00 more dollars, and then the K & N air filter oil that you must use, $10.00 more dollars, =$60.00 or more.

true true, i forgot about the cleaning kit, ive had one lying around here for awhile, it is a $20 kit but it lasts for like 7 or 8 cleanings cause ive used it on my last few vehicles a few times and the bottles are still 1/4 full. so yes prices wise your not going to be saving any $$ for quite a while.

Look I knew that when this post started there would be some upset K & N owners that would rip any study or test that was presented, and I can accept that. I can always agree to disagree. But I think some of you guys are going a little far by judging the integrity of other members who happen to sell parts. I don't believe CHURCH started this thread in an attempt to sell parts, but rather to voice his opinion on air filters and to show what information that he had. Whether or not you choose to believe amsoils tests, thats up to you, but don't come down on other board members for info that amsoil provided.

hey im not upset about anything, i even stated that i never believed K&N had much hp gains over any filter in the first place. however the dyno charts with actual numbers were posted by church, that same post also states "I RAN A DYNO" so hes the one who plugged it in, maybe they are honest numbers maybe they are biased, i dont honestly care.

as for the test with the ratings of 1->5. i can clearly see that the amsoil outperformed the filtering ability of the K&N. but compared to the other filter, UNI, i guess thats a regular automotive store brand $10 paperfilter correct? the K&N out performed it both ways.

now if someone could answer my question of wether amsoil filters were cleanable and reusable i would consider using them. if theyre around the same price of a K&N (last time i checked i though i saw the amsoil oil was expensive) and not reusable then im probably not going to use them

Walmart purolator 14 x 3 element $7.50 x 3=$22.50 without the hassle of washing, cleaning drying and pre-oiling. And again, K & N 14 x 3 element- Advance Auto $45.00, K & N Filter Cleaner 1 bottle- $9.99, K & N Pre-Oil- $9.99=$64.98. Nowhere close

ok now youre talking apples to oranges. i though the tests we just looked at were showing amsoil was better than a K&N, no ones showed me any evidence that walmarts air filters are better or the same. and if you are going to take into account the hassle of washing and cleaning and drying and oiling, (only takes 30min, 20 of which your just waiting for it to dry) then we could also factor in the hassle of having to drive to walmart, park, walk in, get the filter you want then wait in line then drive back home which. im sure this could be brought to a minimum if you bought them in bulk for the future, but taking cleaning the filter or purchasing new filters into account is petty and negligible

i will take churches dyno chart as evidence that the amsoil filter amde more power than the K&N. as for the charts and tests that were given that have NO numbers to back them up, those are pretty worthless. evaluating stuff on a 1-5 basis or a bar graph with no numbers can be very misleading, like i said before the different between two filters in one category could be like .01% yet one bar on the graph could be twice as tall, or the one brand was give a 5 and the other a 4 over .01% difference. with out numbers those charts and tests dont tell you much.

i will note that when changing the oil on my blazer i noticed that K&Ns oil filters were marked for 91% efficiency and frams X2 filters were marked for 96% efficiency, considering they were the same price and the fact that i run synthetic so i can go longer without changing my oil, i decided to go with the fram x2 filter since it says its good for 7,000 miles.

[Bamm]

ok now youre talking apples to oranges. i though the tests we just looked at were showing amsoil was better than a K&N, no ones showed me any evidence that walmarts air filters are better or the same.

Purolator is the brand that I am referring to, I just said Walmart because that is the place that I usually buy mine. And yes I usually buy about 3 at a time, and keep them in my shop. I have been looking for the Hot Rod magazine that had the tests that they ran on the filters, but I haven't found it yet. I know other guys on the board have said that they read the same article. Church started the thread out talking about amsoil, I came in and started referring to the purolator filters vs. the K & N filters. And yes I was a little trivial with the washing, oiling and soforth on the K & N, but still the fact is $22.50 vs. $64.98. $40+ bucks in my broke-butt case is a lot of difference for just a slight advantage, if any..............JB

[Chevyman69]

Good points on all accounts here, but here is how I look at it. I run an Accel in the 92( coincidently its an Amsoil filter, just yellow not grey) and have been happy with it from day one, that was over 4 years ago. I have spoken with many parties one of which for all out airflow would never run a K and N, he was a dyno operator. But then there is the filtering thing, look at what is in that K and N filter, a oily glorified kleenex. So how much dirt can that stop, lots maybe, but i doubt it. I look towards the industrial side of things, where things that are used in dirt , will have a paper filter usually accompained by a foam prefilter, or some engines just run a straight oiled foam filter. Even simplr motors like B and S small engines and quads run foam filters and I have torn them down after a long service life and the cylinder does not show damage due to excessive dirt consumption, and most were is dusty dirty environments there entire life. For you highway guys that live on blacktop may not care how well it filters, you don't ingest the amount of dirt an offroad engine does, but even so you still get a lot. I would prefer to run a filter that I am sure is pulling out dirt over a supposed performance filter that really other than in there own testing is usually beaten for filtering quality on my engines. BTW I have a K and N in my 2000 GMC truck and have been watching it closely and if it shows evidence of dirt getting by, it will go back and be replaced with an Amsoil. My personal opinion if you like K and N whatever, but just because lots of people have them doesn't mean they are the best filter for actual filtration.

[71-longbed]

do they sell purolator air filters at walmart ...all i've seen is fram .... if not where at??

[68 Suburban]

I put the Accel (Same as Amsoil) fiter on my burb and have been very happy with it. It was a lot cheaper than the K&N filter too.

[Lippyp]

Don't K&N offer an extra "wrapper" type pre-filter for off road use to trap more of the larger particles? Probably a good idea if you're using your truck in very dusty conditions.

[Mike Culpepper]

Good discussion!
Just curious.....what makes the Amsoil 2 stage filter , well.....2 stages?
It looks to be a single piece of foam with a metal inner mesh "backbone". Is the foam the first stage and the metal the second?
Mike