K&n drop in filter worth it?

[gameovergt]

I did the K&N + Airaid MIT tube.

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[Ebm]

All an aftermarket(non-paper) air filter does is let particles through. They don't filter nearly as well as stock. And also, on that note, cold air intakes and short ram intakes are a hoax. Nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Your car comes with a cold air intake from the factory. I chuckle when somebody's first mod is something to the stock airbox. It's like you think you know more than the Ford engineer that designed the thing. Save your money. It's a waste.

 

[aham23]

im swithcing out to the new Mishimoto tube for looks only. outside of lasting longer the stock filter is fine. CAI get you nothing without a tune.

 

[Chameleon]

Go w/ the Green filter 7275 over K&N.

 

[AmericanLegend]

I wouldn't waste the money on a K&N drop in filter.

As others have said, they don't filter as well and will cause issues if over oiled (MAF sensor).
All with zero improvement in horsepower.

Spend the money on a CAI/Tune instead of a K&N drop in filter.

 

[aham23]

I wouldn't waste the money on a K&N drop in filter.

As others have said, they don't filter as well and will cause issues if over oiled (MAF sensor).
All with zero improvement in horsepower.

Spend the money on a CAI/Tune instead of a K&N drop in filter.

is this true with all oiled drop ins? this stuff is hit or miss, but i recall reading Kelly from BMR stating he got better performance with an oiled filter with he was running the stock air box.

 

[HappySquirrel]

And also, on that note, cold air intakes and short ram intakes are a hoax. Nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Your car comes with a cold air intake from the factory. I chuckle when somebody's first mod is something to the stock airbox. It's like you think you know more than the Ford engineer that designed the thing. Save your money. It's a waste.

I somewhat agree with this statement. But...Mighty Car Mods did a video trying to mythbust CAIs by dyno testing some Daihatsu turbo shitbox, first with the stock air intake and then with some improvised CAI. They even went so far as to use leaf blowers to force extra air into the engine and there was no noticeable change, which obviously concurs with your statement.

However, some fans said it wasn't a fair test or at least wasn't representative of naturally-aspirated cars (since they used a small turbo engine). So they did another before-and-after dyno test, this time with a naturally-aspirated S2000 and a proper aftermarket cold air intake. They noticed a significant power increase using the CAI vs the stock airbox (I wanna say around 2 or 3%, but it's been a while).

So based on these two tests, I would say there are three conclusions one could pull from this:
A) A data set of only two cars is meaningless and this doesn't tell us much of anything
and/or
B) NA cars respond more favorably to CAI's than forced-induction cars.
and/or
C) Each case is different. No way to tell without dyno results.

But yeah, I do mostly agree that with modern cars most stock airboxes should be designed in the most efficient way possible. With modern CAD software, fluid dynamics software and manufacturing techniques there really is no excuse not to.

 

[wireeater]

No. I wouldn't even bother doing anything to the intake until you've upgrade the rest of the stuff that has to do with the airflow of your engine. The stock air boxes are designed to flow really well from factory and do a much better job of keeping the air cool. Don't buy into the marketing hype you see around intakes. Most gains are achieved from the tunes. Until your car is really trying to suck in some serious air, eh it's money truly better spent elsewhere.

 

[HavasuCat]

For the record, if you go drop in filter there are better choices than K&N. They dont filter well and you can over oil them. I'd recommend a dry filter like AEM.

My choice as well

 

[Coyote Red]

Coyote Red in sport mode

I did the AEM drop-in w/Airaid tube and will wait out the warranty a little while till I get a tuner. With a resonator delete X-pipe it helps a little, mostly for sonic's.

 

[aham23]

Dry or Oil? That's the part I don't get. Which one is alllegedly better performing?

 

[ChitownStang]

I did the Airraid MIT and K&N, it felt slightly better and sounded better. Worked nicely when later I went to the Ford Performance PP1 Tune as well.

 

[BmacIL]

All an aftermarket(non-paper) air filter does is let particles through. They don't filter nearly as well as stock. And also, on that note, cold air intakes and short ram intakes are a hoax. Nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Your car comes with a cold air intake from the factory. I chuckle when somebody's first mod is something to the stock airbox. It's like you think you know more than the Ford engineer that designed the thing. Save your money. It's a waste.

I know those Ford engineers personally and they're engineered to a set of targets, not to the best they can be. Yes, there is room left on the table for performance. The stock airbox is perfectly adequate for stock tune and exhaust, and meets the fuel economy, NVH and emissions targets that the S550 program laid out to the air induction system team.

There are gains to be had, but at the expense of NVH (subjective), emissions (most of us don't care much) and, depending on the design, stable IATs. A panel filter in the stock box isn't going to do much by itself. Even if it's 1 HP across the entire curve, you're not going to feel that. The biggest benefit is maintenance costs...just wash it. A panel filter combined with a better flowing inlet tube can net some gains, particularly in transients, which a dyno cannot show.

Don't believe me? Why would Ford put the CAI they did on the GT350 if it didn't flow better?

 

[BMR Tech]

I have the Mishi Tube with a K&N and the car has trapped 118mph in the 1/4 mile. Only other mods are mufflers and e85 tune.

;)

 

[VinnAY]

Does it make any extra volume/sound ?


I'm thinking of installing a K&N CAI just to increase motor volume/sound and delete the stupid sound tube thingy. I still want to hear the motor.

That's just about all you'll get with any manufacturers CAI. (I have BBK)...as far as added power you'll need an expensive dyno pull to measure it, if any, beyond placebo affect/butt dyno. A drop-in panel will lighten your wallet and that's about all it will do for anything.

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