in my 04 v10 i put in a K&N air filter. i got a little better gas mileage, not much but a little. i recently took it out to clean it and i cleaned it numerous times and it would not come copmletely clean. any one else had this problem?

 

A K&N filter may pass a bit more air at high rpm's but it also passes much more dirt.

 

You really don't have to clean a K&N until it's so dirty it can't pass air through.

Matter of fact, the dirtier it is, the cleaner the air is going into the engine

How did you clean it? Did you use the K&N cleaning kit?

I had a big birthday-cake in my '74 highboy. It got BLACK over the years. I went to clean it, and it just wouldn't come back to clean. The filter is cotton sandwiched between screen - it stains. Once it's stained, it's like trying to get your favorite t-shirt clean after changing an automatic transmission on your back in the dirt ... if you know what I mean...

I'll tell you a story. Bought a '96 t-bird 4.6L brand-new in Oct '95. About a year later, I put a K&N in it. Drove it another year or two, up to around 20K miles or so. I cleaned the MAF and it was pretty dirty ... thought it was just the K&N.

I cleaned the MAF in my 2001 V10 at 20K miles that had only run the stock Motorcraft paper filter. Hmm... MAF was just as dirty as my 4.6L that ran the K&N.

(I won't mention that the K&N came overoiled from the factory and fouled the MAF within 2K miles... that's another issue that they seem to have taken care of QUICKLY. After that initial fouling, it didn't put any more dirt on the MAF or the inside of the intake tube than my 2001 V10's stock paper filter.).

 

I would spray mine with the k&n cleaning agent, let it sit for 10 min or so then rinse it off with warm water. Let air dry then spray with the oil. I had darker spots on it too. It never looked totally "new".

 

I have been trying to convince others of that fact for years. No thanks on the K&N, I'll spend money on the paper.

 

they are not that bad if you also use the prefilter

 

Paper filters suck, and clutter up our land fills. I've used k&n for years with no problems. I f they didn't work, they wouldn't sell so many, unlike tb spacers.

 

Sorry but ,I have to dispute the mileage claim from a K/n/
You would have gotten the same or better with OEM filter.

K/n filter as said lets more air through right ,what do you think the computer in your truck does seeing that air ? It adjust the fuel ratio to compensate for it ,to get the air/fuel ratio towards a 14-1 Stoich mixture !
The injector pulse width is lengthen to get it
More air in means more fuel needed to not cause a lean

You may see a slight hp change (very ,very small) ?????????

you saw a mileage change because your filter was dirty,not just because you installed a KN .
I change MC filter every other oil change now! and see my mpgs go up every time!

Stay away from fram paper filters they are junk

Just my 2 cents on this
Rich

 

I can think of a lot of things that don't work as advertised and still sell like hotcakes. If you are worried abouit cluttering up land fills, you are not using your local recycling center. Mine go in the recyclables bin and are smashed and recycled.

Proven fact: clean paper flows as well as oily gauze. They also won't foul the mass air sensor.

Show me some proof they actually give you better HP in the working rpm band of a truck engine.

 

The proof is that most people that use them like them, and keep buying more of them. Your on crack if you think a paper filter flows as good as k&N. My auto parts store had an air tube with a fan at the bottom with a ping pong a ball in the tube. With any paper filter the ball didn't move, with a k&n, the ball floated toward the top of the tube. Every performance engine builder, drag racer, offroad racer, and street rodder uses k&n, or simular product because they flow better, either your right, and the world's crazy, or............?

 

Wendell,no need to get on the personal side of things !

I also don't believe gimmicks like that of a air filter test
did they alow you to put the paper filter on their gimmick?

No one is disputing they flow more air ,only the mileage claim!
and they do cause maf contamination
Rich

 

K&N filter will give you a little boost in MPG not huge but .3-.5 mpg and gives a nice sound under acceleration kind of a growl. Now as far as filtering you have to follow the instruction but if you do they do as well as a paper filter. That is what the oil is for it attracts dirt. Don't believe it leave some oil on your valve cover next time you do a oil change and see how fast it collects dirt. I don't know how many good ole farmboys are out there who might now what a oil bath air cleaner is but for those who don't know it is a large wad of cotton stuffed in wire mesh that sits in a bowl of used motor oil. now I have used these and see these tractors used in very dust dirty conditions go 40-50 years and never have a engine rebuild. my point same concept the oil attacts dirt. Now as far as the stained filter just that a stain the 100,000 mile is under ideal conditions and must of us will have to clean and reoil more often so it might just be your time is due for a new filter not sure on the miles you have put on it conditions you use it in I would say 50,000 miles give or take and it would be time to start thinking new filter. I guess it's a plastic throw away world so those who don't believe keep using your throw away filters.

 

I just get so tired of this argument, and yes he did say paper flows as well. If you don't like k&n, don't use it. Those who do use them are not going to be convinced not to because of this forum. Yes they can foul up your maf, if not oiled properly, and how well they actually filter is debatable. For these reasons, I'm now using aem's oilless high flow filter. But still have never had a problem with k&n, It's just the oiling thing gets to be a hassle. I don't mean to be disresectful to anyone, it's just that this has been debated to death, with no ones mind being changed, for, or aginst for the post part. K&n may fall short in some area's, but flow isn't one of them. The auto parts store let you take any paper filter you want off thier selves and install it in the tube. You can do the test at home with a tube, a ping pong ball, and use the blower end of a vacume cleaner. But does that mean thier the best filter, "NO", it just means they flow well, but if a filter doesn't do a good job at filtering dirt, what good is it, so there's where the debate lies, not how well it flows.

 

[QUOTE=birddog16]K&N filter will give you a little boost in MPG not huge but .3-.5 mpg and gives a nice sound under acceleration kind of a growl. /QUOTE]

Give me your reasoning behind this statement!(mpg part)

I gave you mine why I disagree.

Rich

Wendel ,I agree with you on air flow

 

Those are the numbers I gained swithching from paper to K&N. Why the increase? My guess comes from better air flow in the 2V .. Have see K&N used on 4.6 with no change in MPG. My MPG are hand calc. on every tank.