Not pleased with K&N Air filter!

Hi all, I went to clean my K&N air filter, and found a truck load of dirt in my venturies. The K&N when held up to the sun, looks like swiss cheese. This is the first time I've removed it, and I used the K&N cleaning/oiling kit, and did not blow it out, but let it dry overnight. IMO, the K&N is a real POS! I'll try a foam type next.

So I did some net research, and I'm going to try a PiperCross filter. I'll post my findings next week. Here's a pic.

 

Bummer to hear that your not impressed with it. Kinda makes me reconsider getting one. Maybe I'll have to fork out the extra for the BMC?

 

There's always going to be someone that has a bad experience with a well known product at one point or another. Sorry it had to be you. I know people that swear by LG for appliances and TV's but I'll never have another one in my house based on my experiences with them. Sometimes shit happens.

I have a K&N in my bike, I think about 4 or 5 years old, and no problems.

We could "assume" they make a decent product for the most part. They've been around for years, most have heard of them, and they are used from street to performance. So they must be doing something right.

Would you consider contacting them for a replacement, or too fed up with your previous/current experience?

 

I would never run one myself if I could help it. If you live in a dusty environment the just do not cut it.

 

are you running a bored out intake box? Has there been any dust or debris in the air? A bug hitting the thing just right may cause that, and have seen similar issues with high dust in the air on my car's filter (same material and concept). I would check your filter more often than not to make sure you aren't pulling anything larger than dust into the vents.

 

I've also used them for over 25 years. I've done some reading online and have found dozens of other folks, that have had the same issue. I think most folks that use K&N filters, use them because they fall for the hype(as I did). I know that foam works better, as when I was racing and rebuilding my engines, the carbs with UNI pod filters were always cleaner then the K&N pod filtered carbs.

When I bought this K&N for the VFR, I could not find a foam filter. But after reading up on different filters, I came across the PiperCross, and remembered my own results with foam VS cotton.

So I'll give the PC a try.

 

No problems with my K & N and it's 7 or 8 years old now...

 

I love it when people don't know how a product works and then bad mouth it. I've been using K&N since 75. So have a lot of racers. Some even know how they work. Some of the engines I've taken apart that used them for years showed NO signs of wear do to dirt/grit. That's if you oil them properly.

May be people ought to educate themselves on things they buy. Talk to dessert and off road racers and ask them how bad they are. May be the companies that have copied that design are also in on the scam.:hss:

Here's info from K&N.

Filtration 101 - A Deeper Cut

Most people believe that all air filters function on a go/no go basis where dirt particles that are larger than the openings in the filter media are trapped while particles that are smaller than the openings can pass right through. A dry paper air filter does function in this manner. That’s why paper filters are so restrictive to air flow. The openings in this type of filter have to be very small to filter efficiently.

The oiled cotton media used in the K&N air filter functions in an entirely different manner. There are scientific principles that determine how an air filter removes dirt particles from the air stream. The first of these principles is known as interception, which applies to dirt particles traveling with the air stream. Air flow will always take the shortest path and as the air is forced to flow around the filter’s fibers some of the particles will contact the sides of the fibers and be captured. These particles are then held in place by the oil or tacking agent in the fiber.

Another principle is known as impaction, which mostly affects larger or heavier dirt particles. Impaction occurs when the inertia or momentum of the particle causes it to deviate from the flow path. In other words the heavy particles do not follow the air stream around the filter’s fibers but instead they run straight into the fibers and are captured.

The most important principle for our use is diffusion, which deals with the laws of physics that govern the motion of very small dirt particles. Small particles are highly affected by the forces in the air stream. Forces such as velocity changes, pressure changes, turbulence caused by other particles and interaction with the air molecules cause these very small particles to become random and chaotic. As a result, these particles do not follow the air stream and their erratic motion causes them to collide with the filter’s fibers. This phenomenon enables an air filter to capture dirt particles that are much smaller than the openings in the media. In addition, the way that dirt collects or loads on the K&N filter is very different. A paper filter exhibits "surface loading" which means dust collects only on the surface of the media. In contrast, K&N filters exhibit "depth loading". The multiple layers of cotton fibers provide many levels of dust retention. This characteristic allows the K&N filter to hold significantly more dirt per square inch of media than the average paper filter. Utilizing these scientific principles, K&N has been able to design an air filter that is very free flowing while also being highly efficient at removing dirt from the air.

Independent Laboratory Test Results

In order to verify our filters maintain filtration levels necessary to protect your engine, we test our filtering media through independent laboratories. The testing procedure used in the past was the SAE J726 air filter test procedure established by the Society of Automotive Engineers, however this procedure was recently superseded by testing procedure ISO 5011.

We have included a detailed example of test results using the SAE J726 procedure. These results are for two individual air filters that each demonstrated among the highest overall filtration level we have achieved with our media.

Independent Lab Flat Filter Test Results - Click Here!

Independent Lab Round Filter Test Results - Click Here!


You can read more here:http://www.knfilters.com/filter_facts.htm#MYTHS

 

FWIW, the stock filters are pretty good and flow just as much air as a BMC. They are just more costly over time. The washable filters need to be oiled more often than one might think. Once the oil dires out, there really isn't much filtering going on.

My local shop fabricated a plexiglass filter testing box so that you can actually see how much air a filter will, or will not, flow. Gauges are used to indicate differential pressure. The Honda filter was just as good as the BMC, and actually much better than the K&N. The VFR filter comparison was done with a brand new BMC, a new K&N, and a brand new OEM filter. All were cleaned, air dried, and oiled correctly prior to the comparison. The Pipercross was not part of the game.




.

 

Also where the K&N shines is when they are filthy dirty. Most filters (stock) really lose a lot of flow. The K&N type don't.

 

Thanks for your opinion, or at least K&N opinion. I did not claim to be a air filter expert. I'm only showing what I found and believe to be true. In my case, I pulled a K&N filter that had been in service for a bit over 3 thousand miles, and found a lot of dirt in the air box and on the venturies. There was little to no dirt when I pulled a OEM filter out the last time.

You can post all of the propaganda examples you like, It wont change the facts. Those facts are DIRT! and lots of it. So from where I'm sitting, I'm not the only Ignorant one on this forum.

 

Which is probably a good thing, considering the characteristics it exhibited right out of the box.

All the information I provided was real world. I've never been a big drinker of the marketing Koolaid and I've also never believed that just because someone has used something for a long time, that it's worth a shit. Glad you feel that the K&N has worked for you.

.




.

 

It is a stone cold fact that a K&N filter in a sand or trail bike application is suicide. Take for what it worth for your street bike. I will stick with the paper filter.

 

what should my friends say that run open velocity stacks on their flat slide carburetors for decades and tens of thousands of street miles? I like air filters, call me superstious, I use K&N with no issues on my bikes. Seen some other after market ones turn to shate, Uni Filters come to mind there. Anywhoo, its like the oil question, everyone has a navel and an opinion right; and you know what they say about opinions...

 

I have 3 K&N filters for my vfr. Ive tried light oil, med, and high amount of oil. I always have oil/dirt in the stacks and on top of butterflys. Clean or dirty its the same result.

Once its time to replace my oem filter Im cutting out the paper and either putting foam material or finding a size filter that fit and glue it in place.

 

I've been using BMC since it was the cheapest filter you could buy at Chaparrals... In fact at the time it was exactly 1 dollar cheaper than a UNI.

...ah crap, did I just age myself?

However, I do have a sweet K&N on my Corvette Stingray. ... Only 'cause the lid is also made of filter material, and I have a ram air scoop. Plus I only drive it when its raining, right after rain, or heavy fog. You know, when there's "0" chance of dust.