My son just did some air filter tests on a flow bench at his college, and I think the highlights of the results are worth sharing. It saved me making a $$ mistake - I was just about to go cross reference the measurements of my air filter and buy a K&N prior to wading into adjusting my mixture and performing air/fuel ratio tests.
He tested a number of the name brand air filters. The flow bench was set for about 130 cfm. The K&N filters had by far the highest flow, but passed between 7 to 9 times more particles than the best standard filter... ugly! He was using the plain sandy soil from along the roads here in southeast Michigan to test with.
The highest flowing filters of the ones with the best filtering ended up being FRAM filters.
I picked one up already. :rck:
Daytrepper
04-04-2007, 03:08 AM
Interesting. So the small increase in power you get from a K&N filter will accompany increased engine wear over time due to the extra dirt getting in.
Did he test a Mopar filter? (not sure, but made by wix(?) I am running them in both vehicles.
Dodgevanman
04-04-2007, 08:20 AM
Very interesting. I have a K&N filter in my '94 and I keep it oiled. Was the K&N filter you tested oiled?
I really haven't been able to tell much difference in power with the swap. I may just go by a regular air filter and put it in. I use Purolator filters on my vehicles.
QQB825
04-04-2007, 10:07 AM
same with K&N oil filters. they only filter down to 20 microns, where as the Mobil 1 filters filter down to 10 microns.
i use a K&N air filter in my van. time to be re-oiled...
stev
04-04-2007, 12:24 PM
Ram4ever,
How were the Purolator filters when tested? They tend to compete very well with the Fram brand. I only ask since the Fram filters were once part of Allied-Signal (Chemical) years ago and were developed back then. Now Honeywell owns the Fram, Autolite, Prestone and Bendix lines of products.
Stev
Ram4ever
04-04-2007, 05:33 PM
I talked with my Son again about the test results and he said he'll write down what all information he can for me when he goes back up to the college and retrieves it.
My general take on the purpose of the tests was to prove that what is good on the controlled environment of a track isn't necessarily so desirable for street or off-road use.
9832 Intrepid - I asked about the Mopar/Wix filters and he didn't recall them as being one they tested, but he didn't remember all of the brands they tested. Teenagers, you know... :crazy: We'll have to wait for him to bring back more details to be sure.
He mentioned the K&N vs FRAM comparison to me specifically because it stuck in his memory as being such an unexpected outcome. He and I both had thought of FRAM as a rather basic generic brand; apparently that was undeserved!
Oh, and yes - the K&N filter tests were performed on a properly cleaned and oiled filter, using K&N oil.
I was surprised at the result for yet another reason; I used to use an old World War 2 flathead 4 Willy's Jeep in the Philippines to drive to work through sandy rice fields, (the "long way" - tons of fun! :D ) and it had a big old oil bath air cleaner which I thought was really hot stuff. It was about the size of a coffee can and full of metallic tinsel, like a brillo scouring pad, all covered with light oil. It also had a small tray of light oil at it's base. It seemed to do well in that environment, but it was a pretty small engine - not much heavy breathing going on. I guess maybe if you can keep the air velocity low enough through the filter media by having lots of filter surface area you might be OK.
I'll post more on this when I get it.
B-300
04-09-2007, 05:10 PM
Did they use the Fram air hog or conventional paper element in the test?
I have used a K-N filter on my van for years since I was replacing Fram filters about every 10,000 miles... I live about a mile off pavment on a dirt road.
--B-300--
Ram4ever
04-09-2007, 05:47 PM
They used the standard orange boxed paper element Fram filters.
BTW, their Instructor stated that when K&N's were dirty, they didn't even flow as well as the paper elements. A pretty strong statement, but he was an Engineer for one of the big three up here around Detroit, and is still regularly used as a consultant.
I'm still waiting for my son to get the rest of his results back to me, and then I'll post the rest. No ETA as of yet.
slkfis
04-11-2007, 08:11 PM
I have a K&N on my 95 B 2500 but have a problem getting KN oil. What do you use instead?
thxs
slkfis
van-nut
04-11-2007, 09:52 PM
slkfis -
Try calling a few local motorcycle dealers for the K&N oil. These filters are pretty popular with the bike crowd, too, and most shops will either stock it or can get it for you. If all else fails, you can mail order it from many of mail order motorcycle outlets.
Pete
B-300
05-16-2007, 12:12 AM
I'm still waiting to see the test results. Is anyone else?
--B-300--
stev
05-16-2007, 09:07 PM
Yep
van-nut
05-16-2007, 10:12 PM
:metoo:
Pete
Ram4ever
05-17-2007, 10:38 AM
Sorry I haven't been able to get more info out to you; despite my prodding, my Son finished his semester without recovering the results. He does have another semester to go in his automotive studies, along with some other requisites for his degree, but that's all in the fall. I'm not sure whether the Instructor will be there in the interim or not. I emailed him last week about my making preparations to repair their Sun distributor tester, but he hasn't replied. You'd think he would - I can't repair it if I can't access it!!
When I find out something I *will* relay it to the forum. Sorry for the letdown. It's difficult to work with teenagers at times. He gets it honestly; sorry to say I was a full-blown teenager once upon a time...
