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Any Problems with K&N Air Filters

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Old 02-01-2003 | 08:43 PM
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Post Any Problems with K&N Air Filters

My car has 16k miles on it and about 1k miles ago I installed a K&N air filter. The car ran fine for about 800 miles and then all of a sudden the check engine light came on. A trip to the dealer revealed that the air mass sensor had to be replaced. The service tech said my injectors were wet with fuel because the mixture was off. The car now runs fine with the new sensor installed.

However, another service tech claimed that oil based filters similar to the K&N, can deposit oil into the injection system that could possibly damage the air mass sensor. This sounds reasonable but, I want to know if anyone else as either experienced or heard this before I reinstall the stock air filter.
Old 02-01-2003 | 09:36 PM
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A number of people have had problems with mass airflow sensors, a lot of them have had wet filters by K&N or BMC, presumably excess oil from the filter fouled the MAF.

Porsche believes there is a correlation, it has become part of the lore of the car. Certainly blot up any excess oil on that filter if you leave it in.
Old 02-02-2003 | 02:22 AM
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Thx NMoore. Hopefully, by driving my car any excess oil has been blown out. Later......
Old 02-02-2003 | 11:29 PM
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cmoss
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K&N: The equivalent of the late night diet ads, i.e. pure BS.

e.g. Why are there before/after never dyno results?

e.g. Why is the only "proof" of hp increase a white, bouncing ball in a tube?

Finally, if an extra 15 - 20 hp (usual K&N claim) is so easily--and cheaply (~$30!!!) obtained, why didn't Porsche so equip their cars.
Sorry, but I really despise K&N--which may be an indication of deeper issues...
Cheers,
Chris
Old 02-04-2003 | 02:26 AM
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cmoss,

I do pick up a hint but, very small hint of "issues" with the K&N. I agree that $.50 per hp is a pretty good deal. If true. But, the K&N makes me feel like I have a poor man's Turbo!! Yea, right..........
Old 02-04-2003 | 07:51 AM
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There is no extra horsepower from any of this stuff, not the K&N filter or Fabspeed exhaust or B&B or anything, If there was the computer would undo it anyway. AHH, but the sweet sounds....Just feels faster. Helps with shifting too.Chipping seems to be the only place left.
Old 02-04-2003 | 11:10 PM
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The K&N instructions are very specific about not over-oiling. You might be best off going thru the cleaning procedure and lightly re-oiling. I've got them in My BMW 850CSI, and I can't tell if they make a difference- except you never need to buy another new filter. AS
Old 02-05-2003 | 01:08 AM
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I haven't tried a K&N on my 996, and I'm not sure I will. But I do have one on my Harley, and it did add 6hp proven by dyno before & after.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by cmoss:
<strong>

e.g. Why are there before/after never dyno results?
</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">
Old 02-05-2003 | 03:34 AM
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Had a K&N on my E36 M3 and took it off. It was much faster without it. Might have been from a lack of heat shield though. I have one on my Miata and it made a noticeable difference. Go figure.
Old 02-05-2003 | 05:05 AM
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JakeMate,

Thats true on the E36-M3, if you install the cone-type and don't have the heat shield there is actually a loss of power because the hot air is less dense. I installed it (not the cone, the replacement filter) on my ex-E36-M3 and had a drop in gas consuption of over 1/100Km so it did something though no "noticeable" raise in power (but no loss either).
Old 02-05-2003 | 10:55 AM
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When you clean the filter and re-oil it, let it sit for a few days to allow the oil to soak in and also some will evaporate. This procedure keeps the MAS from clogging. However, under norman driving conditions, the filter does not need cleaning for 30,000+ miles.
Old 02-05-2003 | 12:21 PM
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FWIW, the guys on the 928 board have debated this long and hard. The concensus seems to be that there are a statistically meaningful number of MAF sensor problems associated with the K&N filters, very likely due to over oiling. If there is oil getting in the induction system, it seems fair to assume it may be fouling the mass air sensor wire.



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