Plus I understand the "Green" lets in less dirt than KN or stock filters. Did it come with an intake tube as well, or just the filter?

 

I'm kind of "half N half" about the benefits of intakes and filters. I think in cold weather you'll get some hp boost, but not much. My truck runs great, but the other night we had a cold snap here in muggy Arizona and the truck really jetted out. The response and power was very noticeably better. Thus the intake will give you a bit more cold air in winter which helps the engine. I think the exhaust only helps if you get headers or turbochargers. It allows freer flow through the whole system with smaller exhaust pipes may not give full advantage. Keep in mind I am far from being a technical mechanical expert in here, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night!!!

 

I just replaced the factory element, I left the stock intake.

 

so how do you know that all this extra dirt is being let in? on my prior two rangers (01, 03)i had a k&N fipk and loved it. never saw any dirt in the air intake tube or around the throttle body. everyone has their own opinon as i do and each to their own. to me the cold air intakes are worth the money and i have yet to see any engine damage in relation to them. just my opinion.

 

if more air goes in more dirt goes in.

 

isnt that what the oil is for, to pick up the dirt and etc. while the filter is letting more air in compared to a paper filter?

 

I was actually curious as well, on whether you benefit or not, from what I can see in these posts, it doesn't appear that anyone has really seen any difference in performance, just a lot of concerns about damage in the future from using one?

 

First change to my cars or trucks is the k+n, none have ever had a problem all have gone over 150k then got board with them or crushed by big truck into gruadrail and it had 125k no oil being burnt mostly fords ,in my experince, not just opinion worth the money Tested the k+n on my 01 5.4 by removing the stock filter starting the truck then puttint the stockfilter while it was running the idle dropped slightly and then came back to normal did same with k+n and heard no change tried them both 4 times same results .get the k+n

 

You might want to check out this site on K&N filters. It has some interesting info.

http://mr2.com/TEXT/kn_filter.txt

 

Woah - flashback... I wrote the performance chip installation procedure on that site(http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/upgrade/chip.htm) - the green E34 in those pics is what I just traded in on my 04 FX4 super crew.

somegeek

 

It amazes me at the amount of people that say they see no point to an intake and exhaust, and how K&N lets so much more dirt in. I see these as untrue. More air does not equal more dirt. I have had K&N's on all of my cars, my ATV, and they are awesome. I have NEVER noticed a spec of dirt buildup inside the filter or intake tubes. I always run a prefilter on the K&N, as I think that is one of the best things for them. The way I see it is that you have to do both intake and exhaust at the same time to gain the full benefits of each. If you let more air in, but dont let more air out, it isnt doing as much, and vice versa. When you do both, the air that you are letting in is able to get out more effieciently. I have always had good experiences with K&N, even with my ATV in some of the dustiest conditions you will see. As long as the K&N is oil, and I recommend the prefilter, it will outperform stock filters anyday. And the best part is the dirtier the K&N gets, the better it works (to an extent ).

 

Isn't life always like this? There will always be someone who does a test that says K&N's work. Others will do some that say they don't. Case-in-point...the tornado thing. How many "dyno tests" have shown HP increases, yet tons others have shown no increase.

Here's my opinon. If you really want to know what to expect, you could drive your truck up the street with no filter at all (yea yea, just don't do it in a dust storm). Notice any difference? Probably not, so then think that adding anything else, K&N or not, will only slow the air down more. That being said, I still use k&n's in all my cars. Maybe it's just in my head, but at least I feel better knowing that my engine isn't working as hard to pull the air in compared to the stock filter, which probably helps HP and MPG on a fractional level. If it makes you happy, then do it. if not, then don't. K&N would not be allowed to sell something that they knew was harmfull to a vehicle.

 

Driving without a filter at all would be a good test, but I have another one to try:

With a clean OEM paper filter, hook up a vacuum gauge to the intake (between the filter and throttle body, the hole for the IAT works well). Now run at high RPMs and WOT, and see if you ever measure any vacuum at all.
The end result, NO, you will not measure any vacuum, showing that the OEM
paper filter is supplying all the air volume that the engine is requiring!! So, why would you want to put out all that money on a K&N with a risk of damaging your engine, either by dust, or contaminating the MAF sensor with oil???

Just my $0.02....

 

Bob...

That's interesting. Rather than try to go against what you're saying (because you're probably right), I'm just curious as to the physics around that. There is obviously SOME sort of vacume because air is rushing into the engine. The engine is going to pull whatever amount of air it needs, regardless of what's in the way...otherwise it would not run. What makes the difference is how the engine works to get that air. Does it add more fuel? Does it add less fuel to match the lesser air? I would guess that the computer will adjust its fuel output to the amount of air coming in. If it means dropping HP tp achieve that, what does the coputer care? It will just to reach it's optimum running condition. Allowing the air to flow better allows the computeer to re-adjust it'self to account for the availability of the air, not the fact that it's getting more than it needs. Think of it this way...we breath pretty effortlessly through our mouths. Now try breathing through a straw. It's hard to continue breathing normally that way, right? But instead of keep trying to breath normally, we would change our breathing habbits to a slower, longer, less forcefull breath. That way, it's easier for us, easier on the straw (no vacume) but we are less efficient and can't perform at our optimum (I sure couldn't run a mile breathing through a straw)....

again, not trying to prove anyone wrong here, just brining up alternative viewpoints.... sorry for the bad spelllling

 

Okay I just put one in and took the truck for a ride. The only guage I have to judge with is "seat of the pants". There is a difference that you can feel. The best way to describe it is it feels more responsive. Is it going to shred your tires ... NO! Will it significantly decrease your 0-60 ... NO!. Is it worth it? Depends on your "seat of the pants" guage. I do not regret the purchase and will probably get one for my Explorer.