SeanR

I pulled the K&N that came with the new to us, '90 for obvious reasons. The dang thing did not fit, and was filthy. When I took it off, here is what I found. Now I wonder how long it will be before I have to buy a new one, or have it rebuilt.

Intake was full of oil residue and garbage. The 1st picture is after I had already grabbed a bunch off the screen with my fingers.

All the debris around the filter on the garage floor came from this one. It was oil caked too.

If you guys are running them on the S4's, be sure to check for this, and please don't use much oil in them.

Bill Ball

Nasty.

mark kibort

I pull lbs of sand, rubber and bugs out of my KN, and dont even see any dust in my air box bottom. you see the dirt all over the base? that thing just doesnt fit, simple as that. you are getting as much air out of the leaks as you are through the filter. and WHO and the heck oiled the filter to begin with? its a very light coating on the top and maybe even lighter or none on the bottom , maf facing surface.

the clamps can be loose as well

send that filter back to KN and get a new one, or see if the straps are not working

mk

Iris and Kevin

I use K&N in both my cars, and no dirt gets by them on either the supercharged or the stock Euro. Was that thing in upside down? That's an awful lot of dirt on the side you show facing us, which is the side that should be facing the MAF and not the incoming air. If that's the case, it's no wonder it didn't fit.

Iris and Kevin

On second look, yes absolutely. You wouldn't have all the crud stuck between the fins, so it had to have been in upsidedown. The larger lip faces up, and stops the filter from falling into the air filter housing, and seals the perimeter of the filter; the skinnier side faces down.

SeanR

I just replaced it with a stock one, then I don't have to worry about anything.

I've got 2 of these K&N's sitting around. Might have to give them away some day.

RicerSchnitzzle

Untill you pay for next years filter and I clean mine for free...

I used the shorter 911 straps on my airbox to get a very, very tight fit with the K&N. K&N provides higher flow rate at WOT with less filtration in return. Oil issues are operator error only.

Mrmerlin

I would recommend that anyone with a MAF remove the KnN filter , the performance gains are not worth the potential damage it may cause to the MAF and poor fittment , the factory filter works fine , and in most cases as little as the cars get driven the filter just wont get dirty due to lack of use. Any way i know there will be some on here that wont accept this , thats OK i use a the factory filter in my car and in any car that i tune up. Stan

SeanR

I agree with this, obviously. I've already replaced the MAF on the '88 and it apparently has used a K&N for a long time. Now can I prove that it was due to the oily filter? No, but I'm not going to chance it. And after seeing the mess, and hearing people state that the K&N does not do anything extra for us, it's not worth the problem. How long and how much does it take to replace a filter? 20 bucks and 3 minutes? Well worth my piece of mind, as opposed to having a $300+ part to replace.

Ketchmi

I have used K&N's for years without any problems. It's as simple as being smarter than the filter...

Do not over oil them, make sure your box seals to the filter. If it doesn't seal then it doesn't matter what filter you use (or don't use as would be the case). I don't really care if it provides any more horsepower or not, I clean them frequently and cannot see forking out $30+ each time.

ErnestSw

nice avatar

mark kibort

the paper filter is a pretty BIG restriction. anyone that tests otherwise on the dyno, more than likely has leaks. again, ive done the pressure drop tests with a sunx pressure sensor, the difference is sizable. PLUS, for racing, im cleaning the filter that is almost 80% clogged after only two run sessions or a race. (sand, rubber, rocks, etc) with a paper filter, its much more tough to clean periodically.
again, it seems this filter was installed upside down and oiled incorrectly.

for a street car, its debatable, because the power thing is not that critical

mk

Nicole

Sean: You are a brave man!

I've gotten hate mail for saying people should not buy them... from someone who probably gets a few $$$ of commission for selling them to unsuspecting owners.

John Struthers

No hate mail from me...:<)
while the rehash does get old...real old, the flicks basically prove several things that the K&N
proponents have been saying all along.
1. Ensure a good seal. That lip is there for a reason.
2. Ensure that the overpriced filter cover straps still have enough tension to hold everything in place.
Or find a suitable replacemnt strap set.
3. DO NOT OVER OIL! I've gone thru week long talcum powder dust storms out here and everything
past the K&N is clean and dust free.
4. If you have a 85' and on sHARk you have a Mass Air Sensor (MAS) aka Mass Air Flow Meter (MAF) with attendant hot wire, as opposed to the early model 81'-84' and separate 80' Air Flow Meter
(AFM) without the hot wire. So from 85' to 95' make the judgement call against a K&N to reduce the chance of oil damage to the hot wire if you are concerned.
FWIW
(not an excuse) I think there is an archival history of oil damage to the hot wire due to the crank vent rebreather/recycle system routing -could be wrong. GURU's?
Finally, Sean a few years ago some one said they chunked thier K&N in a plastic bag and tossed it on a shelf -what for, if it was a POS?- I offered to to pay the shipping but never got the 'Junk filter' or reply.
That always made me wonder about that guy...
How long from ownership to filter/box inspection did that nasty business take?
It does/did look awful and I can understand your concern.


The pro side of the K&N house whill 'probably' stop pounding the con side if the thread titles would be
a little more ...reasonable.

SeanR

JohnS

That's just it, the pro's might be able to out weigh the cons, IF, if the people using them were responsible, attentive, or smart.

I'm just giving my exp with two, not one shark, but 2 that I purchased with these filters. Both of mine were not taken care of, and had issues. Add that to all of the DFW crowd, Rog and Shocki, doc to only name 3 of, I dunno, how many we have here, that swear against them. I think I'll take personal exp and the voices of the people that have used them, reported no improvements and potential damage from the use of them........well, as the bible.

Why would you wish that a post put on an forum geared to educational expierences, sharing of information, not be put up or reworded? Sure, you may have had good luck with K&N, you may take the monthly time to deal with the potential issues as a part of your preventative maintanence. If I thought the benifits were to out weigh the cons, then I would too. With these, I don't see it.

Yes, I'm still a noob around rennlist, but I'd like to see the dyno numbers that show the K&N to be benificial. I'm sure for some of the guys who race (Kibort, et al) it might prove some better breathing. I'm sure also that these guys take the time to ensure the filter is in tip top shape, damn near daily.

Those of us who don't race, don't check the filter weekly, it's not something that we need, should want, or have to deal with. Typically, a nice commercial comes up saying how we will gain 10% more HP with a certain product. So it is slapped on the car w/o a worry about the potential hazards for doing so. If people were to read the fine print, then there would be no issues, but in reality, most do not.

I know this issue has been hashed, rehashed and today beat up again. So be it, if it saves another person the purchase price of a new MAF, then I feel I've done some good for the community.

Oh, John, I'll bring you one to 3rd coast, no shipping costs and you can have it. I'm not cleaning it though.