Aftermarket air filter

[Epic-yoda]

I here a lot of people talkin about k&n air filters are crap, so what I am looking for is an air filter thats good anyone have suggetions on what and where I get one.

 

[o8k]

Ive heard quite a bit about that too. I personaly dont agree with that statement entirely however. But as they say it just depends.

K&N's will let in more dust and dirt leading to premature wear and tear on your engine. (Ive ranted about this somwheres b4 but i cant find the link). HOWEVER, depending on how long you plan do drive your vehicle, it may or may not matter. I will state im in the camp of " people who say K&N are crap need to relax and explain themselves better" Its prolly allright but you must know what your doing.

If your a "drive it like you stole it" kinda guy, yull surly wear somthing else out first and have to get a new vehicle anyways.

If you want your engine in tip top shape and last well past 150K, you may not wanna run K&N.

If your off roading a lot, yull surly suck in tones of dust and dirt (literaly) but then again off roading frequently wears out the other vehicle parts too.

Here's what ive chosen to do....

Use K&N for street & swap out paper for when im in dirt. Pretty simple. Im sure im still prematurely wearing out my engine but not near as bad as if running the K&N off road. And I enjoy doing pretty serious trails so im sure ill ruin my jeep some other way first. All depends on what your trying to accomplish. BUt YES K&N's will put more wear on your engine... I forget the correct numbers but take the following information for what its worth

For every tank of fuel say 20GAL you suck about 1000 gallons of air through your engine (asuming 50:1 Air:fuel ratio, i could be off here but insert correct values and still the concept is the same). Good air into your engine is a huge factor in its survival. But Use the filtration that reflects your long term plans for the vehicle.

 

[o8k]

got distracted while writing last post, also wanted to mention amsoil claims to have a pretty nice filter i bought one, but im not sure other than taking their word for it how to quantify that it works well... but they have all this tech diagram an nano filter hoop lah on the web site so maybe its good like they say...

hrm... thinking.... well when im on the trail and im tail gunner getting uber dusted, ive seen some dirt residue on the clean side, maybe i can check for less of that w the amsoil filter... stay tuned and ill post on it some time down the road.

 

[Epic-yoda]

Well thanks for your reply, I do alot of towing in the summer months with my boat so I want to get an aftermarket af and a flowmaster muffler. Besides why keep buying paper ones when you can buy one, know what I mean. I only offroad once in a while mostlt street.

 

[jelohead]

I have a 9" K&N cone filter, and have no complaints. i dont understand how an air filter can be so harmfull. mine is freakin FILTHY, and i get better gas mileage with it dirty than clean. less air suckin in = less gas bein used? i guess a dirty filter acts like a factory air filter/airbox, it restricts the air flow somewhat? plus, the K&N sounds way better! <grin>

 

[JeepJeepster]

Weve got a 1994 Grand thats had a k&n almost all of its life and it now has 160k of trouble free miles on it.

I agree that a K&N isnt for someone that lives in a really dusty environment(strip jobs, alot of offroad in dust conditions), but for someone that is on the street most of the time it will do just fine.

I have seen a very fine coat of white dust on the clean side of my K&N after being behind two other Jeeps on a gravel road. You could hardly tell my blue jeep was blue so it was some crazy dust.

 

[JJsKJ]

Why spend good money on something (K&N filter) that doesn't do its main job which is filtering the air. You would be better off just running a clean Wix air filter than wasting your money on a K&N if filtering is what you are really after. If you want a filter that Filters And flows better than cellulose filtering media, try an Amsoil Eaa201 drop in filter. Runs about $40 shipped to most places and is reusable and it actually filters out the crap that a K&N will let through.

I was a fan of K&N for a while until I got tired of cleaning out the dust in the intake tract when servicing the air filter. I also got tired of having an oil film in the air intake and having to spend an hour cleaning, waiting for it to dry and then re-oiling the filter. Ugh. Any of the dry air filters like AEM, Amsoil, or similar kick K&N's butt for overall flow and filtering ability. K&N is old & busted technology.

 

[Epic-yoda]

I think I will try that amsoil filter Thanks everyone

 

[AZKJ]

Does anyone have a good source for Amsoil filters? I'd perfer a retail store over an online purchase.

Thanks

 

[offrovering]

I have a 9" K&N cone filter, and have no complaints. i dont understand how an air filter can be so harmfull. mine is freakin FILTHY, and i get better gas mileage with it dirty than clean. less air suckin in = less gas bein used? i guess a dirty filter acts like a factory air filter/airbox, it restricts the air flow somewhat? plus, the K&N sounds way better! <grin>

no, if your air filter gets dirty and starts to let dirt/particles in, you will wear your engine down via oil contamination, that is the point of an air filter (let as much air in, but keep everything else out) and you also want more air in, more air is more horsepower, better performing engine.

 

[CRD4Liberty]

Also be advised the intake/exhaust upgrade has been done and tested on a dyno on the Libs, no much improvement there. Something like 2 hp and 4 ft lbs of torque. Tests were done by 4WD & SUV magazine last year. I'm gettting the Amsoil filter for it's filtering quality/reuse.

 

[offrovering]

true, and these arent sports cars, so do you really need a ton more horsepower from air??

i think my point was meant to read 'more clean air' is better on the engine than less air, and dirty at that

 

[Lashlarue]

Over the years I've put 500,000 miles on a number of vehicles with K&Ns, yet to have any type of failure or even have one burn any oil. My 92 Cherokee was pushing 100k when I traded it, ran as good the day I traded it as the day I picked it up at the dealer, actually better.Just prior to selling my last vehicle, a 98 Corvette, I checked the throttle body and it was spotless, not one spec of dirt in 34k. Don't believe the nay-sayers, if the K&Ns were so bad, there would be lawsuits out the ying-yang against them.There aren't!

 

[JJsKJ]

Over the years I've put 500,000 miles on a number of vehicles with K&Ns, yet to have any type of failure or even have one burn any oil. My 92 Cherokee was pushing 100k when I traded it, ran as good the day I traded it as the day I picked it up at the dealer, actually better.Just prior to selling my last vehicle, a 98 Corvette, I checked the throttle body and it was spotless, not one spec of dirt in 34k. Don't believe the nay-sayers, if the K&Ns were so bad, there would be lawsuits out the ying-yang against them.There aren't!

Lash, Where do you live? I would bet you $100 and a new filter that if you follow me through the desert out here in Cali or through Big Bear in the Summer when it is dry that you Will find so much dirt in your air tube w/ a K&N that it would change your mind. There are some places where it isn't as dry and you won't get the fine particle dust that we have here. I used to swear by K&N on my street cars and I never had a problem either but once I moved here it was a different story. Bottom line for me was why was I spending big money on an air filter when it barely does the job of filtering.

FWIW, A friend of mine used to drive his over 100,000 mile 69 Chevelle 350 w/out an air filter and that was with a hood scoop. The only thing he ever did to it was rebuild the top end at around 75,000 miles and added an Edelbrock intake, and Holley carb. It ran well and he drag raced it often. It had well over 100,000 on it when I moved out here in 1988. He continued to drive and race it for many more years and never had any problems (though as it aged it did get slower) When he rebuilt it the bearings and cylinder walls looked ok but the rings were shot. Thing is, he drove it on the street and in NJ where it is often damp so there is very little dust to worry about. I still wouldn't drive w/out an air filter and I still wouldn't waste my money on one that doesn't at least do its main job which is filtering. Cleaning and oiling them is a PITA too. K&N's are old technology that might have its place but not under my hood. I would run a Wix before investing in a K&N.

BTW, I just talked to Quinn from All J's the other day and he saw my Amsoil drop in filter. He asked about it as he was looking to replace his K&N on his TJ which he was tired of dealing with and seeing all the dirt in his intake. He will be picking up an Amsoil cone filter from me soon.