The K&N filters actually filter better when a slight head of dirt has accumulated. It's not necessary to clean and oil them all the time. The best way to oil is to lightly spray the oil, then let them sit for 1/2 an hour or so...then simply check to see if they are evenly oiled with no white areas left.

Its kind of amazing that this high quality gauze filter technology hasn't caught on in any of the air filtration applications where flow and filter efficiency are scientifically measured. ;)

You mean like when the military was fitting Apache helicopters for desert use & chose K&N after performing best in filtration tests?

Dear sir,

I work at K&N Engineering and have been receiving a lot of questions regarding our product's integrity, reliability, and effectiveness from information posted in the Ford-Diesel.com forums. It seems these forums contain a lot of opinions and not a lot of scientific testing or factual data. I would like to provide some information to you and your readers regarding the K&N product line.

K&N filters are tested by an outside, independent laboratory, Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Tx. They have been proven to stop at least 99% of particles on a SAE dust test. This test uses a range of particles from the 0 - 5 micron range up to 20 microns. For comparison sake, a paper filter stops 99% on the same test and the OEM minimum standard is 96%. Foam is generally the worst media with a typical efficiency rating of 80 - 85%. To get higher ratings, the foam must be more dense and consequently more restrictive. The "tack" characteristic of a K&N allows for increased filtration without loss of airflow.

The testing procedure used is SAE J-726 using ISO Test Dust. This test is the standard of the air filter industry. The test procedure consists of flowing air through the filter at a constant rate (airflow rate is determined by the application) while feeding test dust into the air stream at a rate of 1 gram per cubic meter of air. As the filter loads with dust the pressure drop across the filter is increased to maintain the prescribed airflow rate. The test is continued until the pressure drop increases 10" H2O above the initial restriction of the clean element (in this case .78" to 10.78" H2O). At this point the test is terminated. The dirty filter element is then weighed. This weight is compared to the clean element weight to determine the total Dust Capacity. The amount of dust retained by the filter is divided by the total amount of dust fed during the test to determine the Cumulative Efficiency.

* The K&N filter achieved the following results:
Dust Capacity 305 Grams
K&N Cumulative Efficiency 99.05 %

*Links to the filtration tests are on the K&N web site at:

http://www.knfilters.com/images/factstab1.gif

http://www.knfilters.com/images/factstab2.gif

So, what this proves is that you really cannot arrive at any intelligent conclusions by holding the filter to the light. That inspection is useless, pin holes are normal. In fact, those pin holes are what makes a K&N filter efficient. Within those holes, there are actually hundreds of microscopic fibers spanning them. When treated with oil, these fibers capture and hold the very fine particles. On the same hand, the fibers allow the filter to flow more air than paper or foam. Additionally, we have to understand that oiled fibers are translucent and are not easily visible to the naked eye. Spray some WD 40 on a sheet of white paper and you will see the effect. The K&N filter is four-ply cotton gauze unlike some competitors synthetic material filters. The synthetic material filters do not have the very small fibers that natural cotton does. Also, the oil in a K&N is completely absorbed into the media and there is no risk of contaminating electronic sensors as there is with Foam filters that can have oil pulled from the soaked media.

K&N got started over 30 years ago making filters for motorcycles and off road racers. The filters did so well that these customers wanted similar filters for their cars and trucks. K&N started making filters for these applications and here we are today making filters for just about any application on the market. If our filters did not work, we would not be in business growing every year.

K&N makes filters for Chrysler/Mopar, Ford Motorsports, Edelbrock, Rotax Engines, and Harley Davidson. K&N filters come as original equipment on the 2000 Ford Mustang Cobra-R. K&N even made filters for the Apache helicopters used in Desert Storm because of maintenance problems with the original paper design. If K&N filters work in these conditions they will work for you.

Thanks,

Rick Blum
Technical Support Supervisor, K&N Engineering

In my case the K&N was the obvious choice. These are nice pieces that worked well with my snout design. I've not had any issues with the hot wire or excess oil in the intake systems. I had my pipes out last weekend and they are very dry...no oil from the turbos or the filtration system is getting into the system. 12,000 miles on the twin turbo system and not a sniff of a problem with the filtration setup using K&N.

that says a lot for the "over-oiling" issue----;)


--Russ