Do K&N air filters work? Are they worth the extra $$$? Do the computer on the truck have to be reset (ie, lift battery terminal) in order for the truck to sense the difference? Will it gain any more mpg?

Thanks

2001 Ford F150 XL Supercab 4x2 positive traction 123 000 kms

 

I noticed better throttle response when I installed a drop-in filter on my 01.

Look at it this way...when it gets dirty, you pull it, wash it out, let it dry, and re-install it...you just got back the money you would've spent on a stock replacement.

The inlet tract is quite good on those pickups. They pull the air from the fender wall and not the engine bay, which means cooler inlet temps.

 

Well I work in the Summit warehouse... And, i can tell ya this, we ship more of those out then anything else lol

 

I put one on my 99 7.3L and did not find any difference in engine performance and only minimal(1MPG) MPG increase.

The other thing I didn't like was that it needed to be reoiled ($16.00 kit) not just rinsed with water to clean it. They may make them now to not require oiling, but check first. This was a pain in the you know what.

I will stick with the stock air box from now on. Just replace the filter and you are good to go.

I do not feel they are worth the extra bucks, but that is just my opinion.

Even FE352 from Summit Laughed at how many they Sell.....

 

lol well yeah... ive talked other ppl into useing them on there trucks to see what they did, so i didnt have to waste the money... same thing, no noticable diff. unless you have the worst intake in the world i wouldnt buy any...

 

K&N with CAI yes it will help but not worth the money. Now drop in filters. I dont think they are worth the money in any way shape or form, I'd rather just put a new one in instead of recharging that thing. I figured i'd see the hype and i just wasted money. Dyno testing showed 0hp gain with the drop in unit, and i got the same fuel mileage. I know abunch are proud of their do no discard sticker for their K&Ns but I wont be fooling with them anymore.

 

I put my stickers on my beer fridge.

 

i wana sticker....

 

Seems I remember reading another thread about this and someone said the oil had a tendency to mess up a sensor wire in the throttle body. Don't recall if it was mass air or speed density though, whichever one that has that has that wire running across it. Oh yeah- I'm a carb guy...... -Pete

 

Read this:
http://www.az-zbum.com/dyno.results.airfilter.na.shtml

 

The K&N filter is nothing more than a here-and-now update of the theory behind oil bath filtration used beginning in the early 1900's. Big screen element oiled with a "special" oil you keep buying and buying and buying and buying and... well, you know.

So does it work? Yes, according to the rules of dust entrainment on an oil coated surface. Does it work in K&N's version as well as K&N says it does? Probably not. Because the entrainment media is not thick enough to entrap enough of the smaller dust particles. On the other hand, air flow is likely increased a certain amount over the paper elements due to larger voids of the K&N filter thus the miniscule increase in HP and torque... bit more air, bit more power.

Now, here's a left field idea for you... I'm betting that a properly designed and sized oil bath air breather assembly properly maintained with the proper oil will outflow both the paper elements and K&N... AND... clean the air better than either.

Paper elements are good until they clog up... which they start doing as soon as you turn the engine on the first time. K&N just costs too much and keeps on costing. The oil bath system merely requires YOU, the owner, to properly maintain it... along with the rest of your vehicle. For this reason I run FoMoCo oil bath breathers on all my V8 and I6 gas and diesel engines, both Ford and Dodge. My engines are clean, last a long time, and build the power they're meant to with no problems. And I spend NO money on air filters. Not a dime.

Before anybody starts ragging on oil-bath filters (which hardly anybody today even remembers seeing, let alone knows anything about) please read up on them and inspect one. When you see how they're made and how they operate you'll understand how they redress the paradox of most filters in providing minimal airflow restriction but also maximum cleaning.

 

Look at older tractor oil bath filters and I can understand what you mean. I had an old 63' ford 4cyl gas tractor with oil bath and that thing would catch alot of dirt and ran like a champ with over (just a good guess because the hour meter was suspect) 28,000hrs.

 

The problem with using oil-anything filtration is the possibility of oil getting past the filter and on to the MAF element...I only mention this because I have experienced this myself and found a few others that have had the same problems with the same type of filtration.

Like I stated before, I did notice better throttle response on my '01. And when it gets dirty, I just wash it, let it dry, install it and go.

 

460me, that data is very close to what I saw with my engine when doing some dyno pulls. I had a opportunity to do some pulls cheap and had an new paper element ( 3 X 12 ) on the carb. I guy that was there asked if he could put his dirty K&N on to see if there was any difference, about 3 HP. I have 2 K&N filters on the shelf, I also kind of like the easy maintenance of replacing the filter rather than cleaning and oiling. If I get in a position where I think +3 HP will make a difference I swap for the day!

 

They are good for on road vehicles. Offroad, they let too much dirt through. i have read reports. I'll see if I can find a few and post them here.