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K&N filter

Mr._Bill

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This thread came along at the right time. It's been a year and 10k miles since I got the truck, so good time to change the air filters. I may get a K&N for the cabin air filter, but going to stick with OEM for the engine. With the thin oil being used, and living in the desert, I want to try and keep as much dirt out of the engine as possible.
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Cdemarac

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Oh yeah, Blackstone labs has several papers on how much more dirt is in the oil samples from engines with re-usable filters.
I bought a Jeep so I had a vehicle capable of operating in dusty off-road conditions. No way in hell Iā€™d ever let one of those filters on my truck.
 

SwampNut

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I bought a Jeep so I had a vehicle capable of operating in dusty off-road conditions. No way in hell Iā€™d ever let one of those filters on my truck.
Wait, are you using the M-word for K&N users? ... Don't make me say it. Mall crawlers?
 

Cdemarac

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Wait, are you using the M-word for K&N users? ... Don't make me say it. Mall crawlers?
I may just be. Unless we were talking a snorkel its not worth touching the factory filter.

And like you I like the piece of mind of grabbing the old dirty filter out of it and placing a fresh OEM filter in it.

I work in automotive testing for a OEM and if there was a relatively cheap way to reduce maintenance and increase performance while maintaining reliability and emissions. It would be on it from new
 

SwampNut

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I work in automotive testing for a OEM and if there was a relatively cheap way to reduce maintenance and increase performance while maintaining reliability and emissions. It would be on it from new
So...that $70 magnet I put on the fuel line won't give me a 7 MPG increase and more stamina?

Yeah, I was a gearhead from the 70s. Cars were so limited then, and you could do so much to make them better. Those days are over.
 

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Cdemarac

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So...that $70 magnet I put on the fuel line won't give me a 7 MPG increase and more stamina?

Yeah, I was a gearhead from the 70s. Cars were so limited then, and you could do so much to make them better. Those days are over.
I think the general public would be amazed at how much stupid testing goes on in an OEM.

Air flow benches are run for years with filter designs

Oil filters are tested

Seats are simulated someones sliding thousands of times, doors are slammed shut For months on end.

And this is before the part ever gets near being tested as a vehicle or complete engine.

Yeah thereā€™s some aftermarket improvements you can make. But a cheep filter that improves HP and engine reliability isnā€˜t going to happen.
 

kelkolb

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WXman

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I think the general public would be amazed at how much stupid testing goes on in an OEM.

Air flow benches are run for years with filter designs

Oil filters are tested

Seats are simulated someones sliding thousands of times, doors are slammed shut For months on end.

And this is before the part ever gets near being tested as a vehicle or complete engine.

Yeah thereā€™s some aftermarket improvements you can make. But a cheep filter that improves HP and engine reliability isnā€˜t going to happen.
Nope, it's one or the other. And I think Project Farm's video proved that. Paper filters like Wix and Purolator by far trap more contaminates and will prolong engine life. But, they also had the worst airflow, which makes sense.

The K&N destroyed all others in air flow and power, but, it also let far more contaminate pass through which will lead to more engine wear.

Can't have our cake and eat it too, so to speak. You have to decide if you want power maximized, or engine life maximized. Auto makers want engine life to be better/warranty repairs to be minimized which is why they use the filters they do. Enthusiasts on forums may want the most power they can find, which would make a K&N a good choice.

Personally, I like "performance" filters that don't require oil. That seems to be a good compromise.
 

Gren71

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Nope, it's one or the other. And I think Project Farm's video proved that. Paper filters like Wix and Purolator by far trap more contaminates and will prolong engine life. But, they also had the worst airflow, which makes sense.

The K&N destroyed all others in air flow and power, but, it also let far more contaminate pass through which will lead to more engine wear.

Can't have our cake and eat it too, so to speak. You have to decide if you want power maximized, or engine life maximized. Auto makers want engine life to be better/warranty repairs to be minimized which is why they use the filters they do. Enthusiasts on forums may want the most power they can find, which would make a K&N a good choice.

Personally, I like "performance" filters that don't require oil. That seems to be a good compromise.
i think there were some glaring flaws in the testing the fella in the video did. But i like your point about a happy median with non oil performance filters. Got any suggestions?
 

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Cdemarac

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Nope, it's one or the other. And I think Project Farm's video proved that. Paper filters like Wix and Purolator by far trap more contaminates and will prolong engine life. But, they also had the worst airflow, which makes sense.

The K&N destroyed all others in air flow and power, but, it also let far more contaminate pass through which will lead to more engine wear.

Can't have our cake and eat it too, so to speak. You have to decide if you want power maximized, or engine life maximized. Auto makers want engine life to be better/warranty repairs to be minimized which is why they use the filters they do. Enthusiasts on forums may want the most power they can find, which would make a K&N a good choice.

Personally, I like "performance" filters that don't require oil. That seems to be a good compromise.
I wouldnā€™t put it in my truck but hey if you want to spend 400 on a cold air intake for a Jeep or just the 100 on the filter who am I to judge.

Iā€™d be willing to put money on the line that the factory filter assembly and filter will out perform anything including the mopar performance filter. When you look at reliability and performance.

As I said there isnā€™t a cheep filter thatā€™s going to improve performance and engine reliability. K&n may flow better but in the long run your better running stock.
 

red/green hawk

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I've read as many articles/watched YouTube videos as I care to read/watch over the past couple days and I've come to the conclusion that there are just as many for as there are against. And almost all claim they know a mechanic who backs them.

As for offroading, pretty much all the videos I've seen people are crawling so slow they aren't kicking up a lot of dust. Most of the trails I go on are anywhere from 6000 to 8000 ft approximately and again I go so slow that there is no dust. Besides at higher elevation oxygen concentration is a lot lower so you need a better flow.

95% of the miles I drive are on pavement (yes that includes going to the mall), put about 6k miles on a year, and get an oil change every 6 months. Frankly I think all the city miles I drive are far worse for my engine than putting in an oiled air filter.
 

J_0ne

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I had a 2001 Silverado with I put a KN filter from the get go, the truck had over 300k miles and no engine issues ever. I did get better performance and reliability was never an issue for 19 years. This might not be everyone's experience, but I put KN filter on all my vehicles and never had an issue with them.
For my Gladiator I decided to order AFE's cone filter that fit in the factory box to give it a try. (link below)
https://afepower.com/afe-power-30-80280-magnum-flow-pro-5r-air-filter
 

SwampNut

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And almost all claim they know a mechanic who backs them.
I don't know one mechanic who backs them, but I only know three closely. In my area, dust is kicked up at anything over crawling speed. I have an air gun to hook up to my onboard compressor to blow out the Jeep after a normal trail run. My engine and cabin air filters look horrible at just half the mileage of what is recommended in the book, so I blow them out regularly, and run them for a bit if I can see through them, and replace as needed. Many things vary by the area we drive in, such as those rubber mats some people consider a must-have because they are always in mud. I see mud once a year, prefer cloth mats. If you drive in a low-dust area, you will have a different perspective.

My adventure bike has a stock oiled filter, but it has foam plus the fabric to trap finer stuff. Also it's a cheap bike.
 

kelkolb

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I ran the oiled K&N on my WRX for quite some time with no issues. As a precaution I'd pull the MAF every other filter cleaning and clean it as well. Never had a problem. Dad was an ASE Master Tech for 30 years and never had an issue with them either. I think a lot of the problems people have are from over oiling them. They don't need much.
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