# K & N air filters !



## craig (Dec 28, 2000)

I have a 01 sonoma 4x4 with the 4.3 as well, I just added dual exhaust today and it made a huge differnce! They ran a turbo Y pipe after the converters and split the pipes out each sid under tha back bumper. It sounds great, deep, and not too loud and there is a huge difference in pickup I think. Im planning on getting K&N FIPK for my birthday, these too mods should be a nice increase in power.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Something I think you guys might find interesting:

http://www.mcagraphix.com/filter/test.htm

and

http://www.seansa4page.com/resource/airfilter.html


then info from a race guy:



After reading those 2 articals on air filters all I can say is "If you can't impress em' with intelligents, baffle em' with bull***t." At least the Mazda guy had the sense to admit that his tests were done wrong. 

With building race motors, we are allways looking to find better products and more horsepower. A while back I did dyno testing on air filters to see if any worked better than others. I only had 2 goals in mind. One to determine if any of the filters was less restrictive than others resulting in more power, the other was to determine the filtering abilty, resulting in less power dropoff as the engine was used. 

The test mule for the dyno was a 434 small block, making 807HP at 7400 RPM and using 964CFM of air at 8000RPM. The filter I used was a standard 14"x4" filter on a 2" drop base and closed dome top. A standard setup used on most race cars.

I tested every air filer I could get my hands on that day. A tolal of 11 in all. I had 2 washable filters, K & N and Kool Blue, An Amsoil 2 stage, and 8 paper media filters ranging in price from $1.99 to $18.67. 
On the dyno we measure actual CFM of air going into the motor . Every filter except the Amsoil flowed the same and every dyno test was within 1/2 of 1% of each other. I got a second Amsoil filter to confirm the test with the same results and did no further test with it.

I had the filters then run on dirt tracks over a 3 day weekend and retested them. While every filter was down slightly, there was no conclusive difference in any of them. After 3 night of racing on a dirt track the filters were much dirtitier than anyone would ever run them on the street. 

When they were run on the track I had the inside of the air cleaner base and top coated with a thin layer of white grease to monitor any dirt coming through the filters. After one night of racing none of the filters showed any signs of dirt. After 3 nights of racing the paper elements were showing light traces of dirt.

We monitor the race motors very closely, doing leakdown tests frequently. I have seen a pattern of 1 to 1 1/2% more leakdown on motors that run paper air filters by the time they are brought in to be freshened, about 30 nights of racing. Is this because the paper filters don't do as good of a job or because the guys that run the paper filters don't change them often enough? I don't know, it is only an observation.

What I tell my customers is that if you run a washable filter, clean it every night. If you run a paper filter, replace it every night. Some do, some don't.

Are these test scientific? NO. Are they real world? YES. You draw your own conclusion.

On the street I don't think it makes a difference. Every filter would flow more than enough for performance and every filter did it's job on filtering ability. It all cones down to which one you prefer.


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## Byron (Dec 8, 2000)

Has anyone seen results from independent, scientifically controlled tests on actual engine performance comparisons using various filters?

Sounds like a bit of a placebo effect is in play.

Best Regards,
Byron


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## Mike (Nov 26, 2000)

C'mon now Byron, the butt-dyno is way more accurate! LOL 
I put 'em on all of my vehicles, only for the fact that you never need to buy another air filter. It's cheaper in the long run. I've never noticed a great increase in power, and the increase in mpg is so slight that it's not worth worrying about. IMO

Mike


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## jpollman (Jan 14, 2001)

Well Byron,
I don't have a dyno. But can tell you there IS a difference !  I know my truck is new but the wifes Saturn is a about 18 months old. I drove the thing a few days ago and it seemed normal. After dropping that K&N in there, and taking it for a drive there was a DEFINITE difference. Celeste said she noticed it too after driving to and from work the next day.

As I stated in a previous post, I've been tracking my mileage pretty close since I got the truck. A couple of days ago I filled the tank. I'll check and see if there is any mileage increase with this tank and report.


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## dongiese (Jun 10, 2002)

Well I used to sell this stuff before the kids. I still use IT!!!
Now not sure about that story that freepop posted but everyone i have sold amsoil to is still using it PERIOD.

He is a link on air filters.
http://amsoil.com/products/ts.html


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## UNCLE AL (Jan 5, 2002)

I installed a K&N performance kit(intake tube, and new filter) on my 03 4.8L 4x4, and have been seeing about a 3 mile per gallon increase in my gas mileage. There is also a 15hp increase (according to the company). I bought this kit at Advanced Auto in Bay City. I'm sure they can be bought elsewhere. It cost $254.00, and will pay for itself. K&N's web site says that they don't make a kit for the 03, but after a phone call to them from the auto parts store, was told that the 01 kit is the same for 03. I drive 46 miles round trip to work every day, and have been noticing that I'm getting an extra day of driving per fill up. It's well worth the money.


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## Mitch (Jan 10, 2003)

I'm sold on K&N, every vehicle I've owned has had one and always will. I bought a '02 ZR2 Sonoma with the 4.3 vortec, picked up the air filter on the test drive and it was installed before it left the dealer's lot. 

Mitch


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## Cooner (Dec 24, 2002)

I installed a K&N on a '93 F-250 & noticed very little difference to be honest. It's still a dog & it still loves gas!!!! It's your money,spend it how you see fit-you earned it.


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## swompwalker (Aug 5, 2003)

I've been running a K & N on my jeep , for a long time . I did see an increase in performance , but the increase comes from opening up the exhaust along with the air flow to the carburetor. Headers , with straight through pipeing , gets the air flow moveing . Again , this is carbureted .
The only great increase , you are going to see on these newer trucks is , if you open up the intake airways , and get the exhaust flowing better, out the back end , I do not belive a filter alone is going to make a major improvement. 
If the truck is newer , you might wait till the rings settle down before claiming any gas mileage , increase from the filter , naturally your gas mileage is going to go up until they settle in .


Just my 2 cents


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