K&N Air filter, yes or no?

RedDominion · 06-24-2005

I've read in the past in this forum that installing the K&N air filter will actually decrease HP and it has been advised to not install this filter. Some people have provided dyno tests to show these results. I wanted to separate fact from fiction, so should I buy the filter or not?

LordBritish · 06-24-2005

I can confirm that.

The K&N air filter reduced power according to my butt-o-meter.

I would not advise installing the K&N air filter in your 05 GT.

I would advise some form of CAI/RAI kit with a tune.

Dont bother with a filter replacement, you will gain nothing.

SunBoss · 06-24-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedDominion

I've read in the past in this forum that installing the K&N air filter will actually decrease HP and it has been advised to not install this filter. Some people have provided dyno tests to show these results. I wanted to separate fact from fiction, so should I buy the filter or not?

I have a K&N filter in my 3.6L V6 Tacoma 4x4. I can't tell any difference whatsoever in the performance. I got it because supposedly it would improve fuel efficiency. (18mpg sux.) It didn't make any difference there either.

The only advantage is that its cleanable/reusable, so eventually you break even on cost of replacement filters. Kinda messy and no fun to clean tho. I'd skip it if I had it to do over again.

Darkness 96 GT · 06-25-2005

Just say yes on the K/N air filter if you have a 05! :thumbsup

onefastv6 · 06-25-2005

WHY WOULD HE IF YOU DIDNT EXPLAIN WHY HE SHOULD

Jeer · 06-25-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by onefastv6

WHY WOULD HE IF YOU DIDNT EXPLAIN WHY HE SHOULD

Because it will add horsepower and the K/N is better flowing.
A must for a 05 Mustang in my opinion! :thumbsup

Darkness 96 GT · 06-26-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeer

Because it will add horsepower and the K/N is better flowing.
A must for a 05 Mustang in my opinion! :thumbsup

Once again you hit the nail right on the head again!:thumbsup
K/N air filters also have a million mile warranty.

RedDominion · 06-26-2005

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but several people who have installed their K&N filters and then had their stang dyno tested have reported not to use the K&N filter. I'm hearing a lot of other people say go for it, as K&N suggests you should as well. Maybe I should hold out and get the K&N CAI for the V6 which replaces the drop in filter all together.

Moses · 06-26-2005

A better filter or air induction system (e.g K&N, CAI, etc) is going to bring more O2 into your engine. More air is usually a good thing, unless the computer doesn't compensate correctly for it. It seems like many '05 owners are reporting on different sites that without a tune, filters and kits that increase the airflow have resulted in their engines running too lean (computer is not compensating like it should), and the problem was corrected with tuning.

I could be way off here, but I would say to buy whatever you want, but be prepared to spend more money or time (if resources are available) tuning if you're really intersted in a performance gain.

HOWEVER, if your interest is about replacing the stock air filter with a high-quality non-disposable one, then that's a different story and the K&N filters are excellent products. In that case, go for it bc I don't think the K&N filter is going to free up SO MUCH more air that it will affect your engine performance (a/f mixture) adversely.

My $1.03 worth.

~M

cu3885 · 06-26-2005

I don't have my K&N for my mustang yet, it has shipped and is somewhere in UPS land. However, its only $40. If you think it slows you down or makes you run too lean, you still have the ford stock filter that was in there that can go right back in.

On my F150, I did get a bit of a bump in the gas mileage, and although 1 more MPG sounds dumb, when you are going from 14 mpg to 15 mpg, its a good thing, especially with gas at $2.38 a gallon for 87 octane in CT.

Personally I bought the K&N because they have always run well on my other vehicles, and I like being able to clean, reoil, and reuse them. And if I feel the car is running too lean or less peppy, then I bite the bullet, buy the CAI, and tune it- or just put the stock filter back in.