Unpopular fact; K&N filters are the wrong choice

My data is too slow to load pages on yt right now. And no WiFi at new house. Luckily I can still load the forum😋. One good source for this info is the testing that project farm did. This guy does it right. For those who want to check it out, go on YouTube and look up project farm. You can find the vid he did on air filters. You will also finds loads and loads of other product testing. I know I know. “Oh some guy on YouTube” seriously, check it out. If you care about protecting your engine.
Here’s another one


Seriously, just look it up. The info is out there. And easy to find. If you want to find it.

manbearpig said:

I mean, I've had one on my truck for well over 100k miles, and am getting closer to 300k without much issue. Their heat shield weatherstrip and mounting hardware is not the best.

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I think it would be interesting to see an oil analysis after 10 or 15k miles with a K&N vs a stock or other brand.

manbearpig said:

I mean, I've had one on my truck for well over 100k miles, and am getting closer to 300k without much issue. Their heat shield weatherstrip and mounting hardware is not the best.

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I have no doubt. But for my money, I want protection, not looks, or whatever status comes with running one of their filters. I’m not saying that that is why you do. But I think most people do because they believe their vehicle will be faster and because they think it will impress people that they run K&N.

Life is a Enigma said:

I didn't buy my K&N for looks or the so-called horsepower gain but to me it helps the 4.3 breathe better over the stock air box. And since I added the K&N with 3 in exhaust I increase my gas mileage about 30 to 40 miles more per tank over the stock airbox and exhaust. With the stock air box and stock exhaust I was getting about 200 to 225 miles to a tank with the K&N and 3-in exhaust after the catalytic I'm getting about 265 to 280 miles per tank depending on how heavy my foot is that day.

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Hey that’s great. The more Mpgs the better. Also, remember guys, I never said it’s gonna destroy your engine. I just want people to know that the filter that claims to be the best actually sucks at it’s job. Trust me I knew this post would ruffle some feathers. I’m not an idiot. But I also know we are all car guys, and many of us are mechanics. Which means we like to learn about cars and engines and everything that comes along with that. So even tho I know most of us are going to be highly opinionated, I still wanted to get the info out there.

Jayhawke said:

my two cents worth- between myself, my father(45 yrs for GM before "retiring " to build 1/4 mile monsters and my uncle(circle track nut)- we have tried K&N and found not much improvement over quality paper- and worse performance when in a dusty/dirty enviro(off pavement). But as @Rhotpursuit mentioned, most end users do not follow the instructions and end up with a oily mess.

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I believe it. There aren’t many people who really do everything they are supposed to do with stock vehicles, much less the added requirements once you start modding stuff and playing with aftermarket. Thanks for sharing your experience👍

bk2life said:

Next youre going to post about flowmasters not being that good either..

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Haha that’s funny. Nope. I love the sound of flow master. Also, I wasn’t posting about K&N just to go against the grain. I posted it because like 90% of people here say they have one or list it as a “mod” or have it on their list of future plans. Of course if more people knew that it wasn’t really doing anything but letting in more dirt, they probably wouldn’t go spend 10 times as much on it as a high quality filter.

PeteD said:

Sum stuff works good for sum applications , but not others. There's too many variables in the vehicle modification game to have absolutes.
Sum stuff works as good as or better than similar , but more costly products. That info is good to know..

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I agree. And thanks. Just wanted to get it out there for those who would want to know.