Anyone running a reusable K&N air filter on their F-150 PS? Mine has been installed for about 45,000 miles, seems to work well. Just washed it and re-oiled at 52,000 miles. Anyone else have any experience, opinions?
K&N Air filter?
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
They don't filter any better than the paper ones, in-fact they probably filter less, however can save you money as they are re-useable. Contrary to what the packaging might say, they won't give you more HP haha.
#Laytunes, I concur that these filters won’t give you more horsepower but please provide data that they filter less. Oil based filtering is on par if not better. I’ve used these things (again, because I don’t want to worry about maintenance regarding this filter. Try changing the filter in a Tahoe or Escalade!! Time consuming and lots of cussing) for about 500,000 miles in various vehicles and never ever never ever had an issue with dirt in cylinders. I owned a VW beetle years ago which had the original oil bath air filter. No element!! Abrupt air chambers that force dirt into the oil.
There's lots of info out there on this. here's a video. Scroll to minute 13:30.There was also an official study done on this which is included below. If you read the conclusions, you'll find the following quote: "The filtering efficiency test conducted on OEM and K&N air filter shows that OEM air filter exhibits superior air filtering qualities compared to K&N filter."
Which Car Air Filter is Best? Let's find out! Fram, K&N, Wix, Purolator, & AC Delco showdown - YouTube
Effect of OEM Style and Aftermarket Performance Air Filters on Vehicle Parameters (sciencedirectassets.com)
I ran K & N for years on both GM and Ford, until realizing they don't filter fine dust. I live in the desert southwest and we are plagued with super fine dirt/dust. Think finely ground baking flour. I noticed the intake(s) had a "film" of powder when I ran my fingers across it. I have swapped to Donaldson on all my vehicles and no more intake dust. (Donaldson makes the Ford OEM severe duty filter option for Super Duty as well as many heavy industrial/military filters). The baby diesel takes Donaldson P622149, it's almost an inch taller than stock Motorcraft and still leaves plenty of room in the airbox. If you live an area void of super fine dust K & N would be ok, but for places like my dusty area I cannot recommend.
@Dijit a true oil bath, like used on old VW bugs and still on my old GM farm truck, is unbeatable in severe dust conditions, dust simply cannot get through the 50W motor oil. This is why so many industrial loaders and earth-moving equipment use them! 😁
@Dijit a true oil bath, like used on old VW bugs and still on my old GM farm truck, is unbeatable in severe dust conditions, dust simply cannot get through the 50W motor oil. This is why so many industrial loaders and earth-moving equipment use them! 😁
So can anyone explain why I’ve ran these things for over 500,000 miles in various vehicles? Why hasn’t K&N been sued for a product that doesn’t do what they say it does? @mascrappo, do you think that the desert SW has cornered the market on fine dust? I live in Oklahoma, where it’s windy as ****. For 61 years!! No failures due to inadequate filtering of intake air. Come on gentlemen, use your brains and spit out some common sense.
@Laytunes, so you advocate a product that does more than what is needed? Obviously filtering more compared to the K&N isn’t buying you more since I’ve got 500,000 miles with no failures. NONE. So you have to fret about replacing your filter (or watching that idiotic indicator pop up to tell you!) while I hum along with 50,000 miles before I THINK about cleaning it up. If you keep trucks/cars like I do, I’m money ahead with less stress.
I don't fret about it, it's an air filter, I change it every 40,000 km's and don't think about it otherwise (it literally takes about 2 minutes to complete the job start to finish, not very stressful). It's proven that the OEM filters clean out more dirt, and aren't sensitive to how well you clean and oil your K&N, so that's what I use. If anything the OEM ones bring peace of mind. No matter which one you use it's not likely to make a difference either way, but I drive a lot of dirt roads, any the silicon in my oil is always low with OEM, so I know they filter well. Can't say the same for K&N, and neither can the studies apparently. But it's your truck you do what you want.
Just sharing my opinions and experiences as asked, and yes most of the western US has said dust. I'm glad you like them, they are just not my air filter of choice anymore. Best regards!
Yes works great
Well, lots of interesting discussion on that question.....
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
