K&N Air Filters = bad bad bad bad!

[DuckStang]

More air plus more fuel equals more power in ANY engine. That point should not even be argued. Port and polish to a rc engine is exactly for that.

And yes, i completely agree, foam filter on a rc car is the way to go. Simple as that.

 

[charliejp]

More air plus more fuel equals more power in ANY engine. That point should not even be argued. Port and polish to a rc engine is exactly for that.

And yes, i completely agree, foam filter on a rc car is the way to go. Simple as that.

I don't think anyones arguing your point. How much more fuel/air could a RC engine take past it's PEAK?

 

[ohmygahitscoby]

Actually I thought it was more air = running leaner. This will worsen the performance of the engine and you will have to retune.

 

[DuckStang]

You're wrong scooby. More air and more fuel is more power. Running leaner, to a point, will actually give the engine better performance at a lower durability cost. Lean is mean.

Charlie, how many motors you know of, especially "sport" motors that are tuned to their peak?

 

[robmob]

You like to argue no matter what don't you DStang?

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Damn........ so so true..... But bottom line. K&N, especialy on RC aint worth a damn. But i still wouldnt let that crap anywhere near my 1:1 diesel motor.

 

[aj200415]

Sometimes I just love the interweb...

EPIC BURN....yes, its been a long time since iv been on here...but the noobs still think they know what there talking about...AHAHAHA...when will they learn?

 

[cwest3355]

Why would they? ANY oiled filter is going to leave oil residue on a MAF sensor... it's not really a "problem" all you have to do is clean your MAF sensor once a year with electrical contact cleaner if your vehicle is sensitive to this (like mine is)[/QUOTE]

Does your engine start to studder when it is dirty

 

[2revo1maxx]

I prefer not to clean my maf sensor. K&N filters will not give you noticable power on any engine.

 

[sandiegan]

just cleaned my MAF sensor yesterday. took 3 mins. using electrical contact cleaner like cwest said.

 

[Mr_Byte]

@Alpine: 1994 Dodge diesel. 270,000+ miles. K&N from day 1. No problems.
I DRIVE my proof, daily.

As for MAF contamination, the K&N website addresses that here: http://www.knfilters.com/MAF/massair.htm

Essentially, the claim that the oil will contaminate a MAF sensor is BS, caused by either a lack of knowledge, or the desire to (over)charge for a repair. Most dealerships can't properly test a MAF for failure in the first place. K&N has proven this with all the "failed" sensors the dealerships have bothered to send in, around 100. I guess the others, when presented with a company equipped to prove or disprove their claim, backed out.

K&N over-oiled a filter, then sucked on it at 1000CFM, which is WAY more than your engine will draw thru it. The oil doesn't come off, period, according to them.

All I know is that I also run K&N on my mini van, and no problems there either.
And my '64 Spitfire is happy with K&N, runs lots better, more power, but we're talking carburetors there.

As for on R/C, yes, they do in fact claim their filters are good on R/C. The oil is what makes the filter work, just as on foam.
(http://www.knfilters.com/audio/audio_book_mp3.htm) then search for "controlled" and you'll see the blurb.

Running an un-oiled K&N filter is asking for engine failure. You may as well run without a filter at all.

I use foam, and I run K&N oil on it. No problems.

I don't run K&N filters on my nitro motors, simply because the foam works well enough for me, and K&N filters are pricey.

But if do, I'll post my results here. I'm betting on the K&N.

There's too much rumor, opinion and hearsay on this thread. Until someone comes in with proof and pics, (or it didn't happen, and even then I'd be a skeptic unless I did it myself, given the amount of passion on this subject) then the fact is no one really knows one way or the other.

Maybe if someone approached K&N and asked them to settle the matter, by running tests...

 

[2revo1maxx]

I'm convinced there is nothing to gain by putting one on a nitro engine.

except for some $ bling $

 

[Mr_Byte]

To be honest, me too. I just keep washing and oiling my foam filter. I really like my K&N spray can, makes oiling a breeze.

But all I've heard against it is pure FUD, and I just hate FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.) since as a Linux Geek I get plenty of Microsoft FUD. I reg'd for this forum just to reply ;-)

I was responding more to the MAF and Diesel comments about K&N. I've run K&N filters for years on many different applications, and while they may not be the kings of airflow now, they're damned close, and they've been around longer, about 40 years.

They are damned expensive, but I've never had to replace one, so over time they're cheaper than a regular filter.

The only argument I could provide for using instead of foam on a nitro engine is that the cleaning interval would increase, since the K&N has more surface area than a comparable foam filter. Provided the K&N was good on nitro anyway. The increased airflow isn't a factor, as I doubt our nitro engines are sucking that hard on the foam filters in the first place.

 

[2revo1maxx]

I have one in my 350z I love it. No maf trouble at all. It's in the stock airbox which has been proven to flow just as good or better than anything out there.

Not to mention cleaning a maf is asking for trouble. They should never never never need to be cleaned.

You guys act like the little piece of chinese foam that is an R/C filter, is scientifically tested to see what size microns can pass through. I heard the R&D in china is incredible.

Yeah I'm sure of that

As long as a piece of rice can't get through it's all good.

 

[Mr_Byte]

As long as a piece of rice can't get through it's all good.

Too true

There's MAF's out there that are known to self-contaminate. Something about the silicone something-or-other they used. K&N mentioned it, and the fact that there are factory-service bulletins on them.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

yea... ill stick with the stock setup on my f-250

 

[2revo1maxx]

Too true

There's MAF's out there that are known to self-contaminate. Something about the silicone something-or-other they used. K&N mentioned it, and the fact that there are factory-service bulletins on them.

I guess I've never heard of that. I know they are expensive and sensitive little buggers.

 

[Mr_Byte]

I guess I've never heard of that. I know they are expensive and sensitive little buggers.

I dug it up in K&N's FAQ about MAF contamination.

 

[LOW-LIFE]

Damn........ so so true..... But bottom line. K&N, especialy on RC aint worth a damn. But i still wouldnt let that crap anywhere near my 1:1 diesel motor.

100% agree!

total crap filter that is way over populated by the claims and graphs of power but nothing on how they filter (or really a lack of) not to mention they have a 1,000,000 mile warranty but they will break down and begin to come apart usually less than 100,000 but most people dont notice cause they do no clean or check them themselves.

and if over oiled on a intercooled vehicle all that crap goes through your turbo and into your intercooler eventually sludging it up.

you will NOT find a K&N on my 1:1 cummins or anything that i own including my 3 other 1:1 vehicles and my Nitro toys. maybe a cheap weed eater or lawn mower but not likely. best use for them is a breather filter for axles when you relocate the inlet on you 1:1 to keep em from going under water in a creek crossing or deep mud hole.

I am a technicial by profession and have seen many a peice of crap K&N come apart, many intakes and intercoolers full of slime from to much oil (both turbo and non turbo vehicles) and even seen a couple of damaged engines from missing material that was ripped off and out of the filter grid by a turbo diesel and sucked up a bunch of dirt and dust driving dirt roads this on a new filter with a ford, it was a work truck that saw many a dirt road.



if its bad for 1 engine its bad for them all.

 

[Mr_Byte]

100% agree!

I am a technicial by profession and have seen many a peice of crap K&N come apart, many intakes and intercoolers full of slime from to much oil (both turbo and non turbo vehicles) and even seen a couple of damaged engines from missing material that was ripped off and out of the filter grid by a turbo diesel and sucked up a bunch of dirt and dust driving dirt roads this on a new filter with a ford, it was a work truck that saw many a dirt road.



if its bad for 1 engine its bad for them all.

Again I say: 270,000+ (280,000 in a week or so) miles, '94 Dodge, K&N from day 1.

I don't use compressed air to dry my filter, I follow the directions. It gets cleaned every 25,000.

My van and my Spitfire, same deal, just not from day 1 since I didn't own them from day 1.

I got better mileage on the van as soon as I changed.

I don't know what to tell you on why you have problems, except that I followed the directions. Maybe these ones that fall apart didn't?

Doesn't matter to me, I'm happy.