$50 vs. $5 air filter

[McFuzzie]

Just a quick question. I was looking through different air filters online and saw a K&N air filter that was $50. It wasn't a special cone air filter or anything, just a regular "high flow" rectangle one. Is there a huge difference between that one and the $5 one I buy at my local parts store? I honestly can't see how the K&N filter can be that much better. I'm not running a aftermarket intake system or anything.

 

[--weezl--]

^^x2

<< anti k&n

simple answer, k&n flows better than paper when perfectly clean, flows the SAME as paper before it is visably dirty, and filters the same as paper(brand new paper) when it is nearly black, so if you want dust in your motor, it will flow more, if you want it to filter as good as a paper, you starve your motor of oxygen... save your money buy paper, OR

put an aftermarket or custom filter system on, which will give you more surface area for the filter... ie instead of a 1'x1' filter, put a new airbox on that has a filter that's 2'x1'...

 

[Big Jim M]

Times three

SAVE your money! K&N is all hype!
Big JIm

 

[Nhaz]

5 goes in to 50 how many times?

in other words. it will take 10 YEARS of buying a OEM filter to pay for 1 K&N which actually isnt as good.

No brainer in my opinion

 

[McFuzzie]

I figured it was all hype.

But I never thought of putting a bigger box in, I might look into that. Thanks mates

 

[mjonesjr]

5 goes in to 50 how many times?

in other words. it will take 10 YEARS of buying a OEM filter to pay for 1 K&N which actually isnt as good.

No brainer in my opinion

How many miles a year do you drive to only buy a new filter once a year?

 

[fastpakr]

How many miles a year do you drive to only buy a new filter once a year?

How often do you replace your air filter? 12 to 15k miles is pretty standard.

 

[mjonesjr]

In my Ranger I change it 1 time a year because I only drive it about 5,000 miles a year. In my wife's Jeep, it gets changed twice a year; every 6,000 miles.

The early year change is more of a precaution. However, the late summer or early fall change is almost a must since the farmers in the area are harvesting their crops creating a lot of dust in the area where we live.

 

[tonyjklh]

dont get a K&N filter. i had it before and never noticed a difference. standard filters also protect better in my opinion, and i would always go with the best protection if you do any kind of mudding or wheeling., ive had mud sucked up into my airbox so many times and never had any pass the filter. i end up changing my filter at least once a month because of mud. cant wait till i get a snorkel put in.

 

[Nhaz]

How many miles a year do you drive to only buy a new filter once a year?

I put 40,000 on my truck last year. I had 4 oil changes and 2 air filters. both times I changed the air filter it didnt really need it.

most people dont put 40,000 on their trucks in a year.

 

[--weezl--]

you put 40 000 km on your truck and only did 4 oil changes? i've put 20 000 on mine since september, and done 4-5 oil changes, and 3 air filters (mud contamination) going to be looking into one of those water socks

 

[fastpakr]

With good oil/filters and occasional sampling, there's no reason you can't go 10k on oil changes.

 

[Big Jim M]

Just for shits and grins

I'll post my milage on filters. First off I have owned several Bobcats. I run them in EXTREME conditions. After a week or so I pull the air filter and BEAT it against a tire to throw most of the crap out of it. Then I drive it again for a week or so till the thing begins to smoke from lack of air.. I then BEAT the hell out of it again! I do this for a few months till I need to change the oil.. Then and ONLY then I install a new filter.
Now for my on the road vehicles.. Street driven vehicles get 125/150,000 miles on a air filter.. NO PROBLEMS!
My off road vehicles get the filter examined regularly. Many times I shake the dirt/dust out of them and reinstall em. As long as they are passing the air needed to run the vehicle they are still doing their job. I have never seen a reason to needlessly install a new filter.
Big JIm

 

[AllanD]

Does the K&N filter flow more air than a similarly sized paper element? Yep, it does.

Is that "extra" flow going to make more power? Nope.

Where the faulty logic comes in is the idea that the factory would build a system where the filter wasn't big enough to supply the engine.

On Most Ranger engines the air filter isn't materially smaller than the filters used on 7.5liter (460) powered F-series trucks.

the difference between my 1988-94 ranger filter and the fileter used on the F450 I used to have is that the F450 filter was about 1" wider.

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[BlackBII]

How often do you replace your air filter?

When it gets too dirty.