i bought it because i heard it was good, and now that im on the internet im seing different...

Should i use it or try to send it back?
Any advice/comments/opinions would be very much appreciated!

You might notice a slight Increase in horsepower while the engine is cold,but after the engine warms up is where the problem comes in.
You will actually lose horsepower when it's sucking all that hot air in from under your hood.:thepan:

Why would that happen? I thought these filters were mainly used for racing applications? Wouldnt that totaly defeat the purpose?

And i wasnt really trying to get a performance boost or anything, i just thought they were the best filters, now im finding out that i should have just got an ac delco or something... And now i dont think i can send it back because i got it from ebay.

What should i have bought?

^^That response is only true if you're making up some kind of a custom air intake, and then plopping a cone filter or something on the end with no air shroud.

If it's just a typical OE style replacement, you're more than good. Just take out the old, drop in the new, and you're done. K&N's are quality filters, and even though you won't notice much of any difference with just the filter, they're still usually better than some other cheapies.

Just drop it in and forget about it:thumbsup:

really? just drop it in? but i dont want to lose hp?

In my opinion:

Stock AC Delco paper filter element flows decently when clean but more importantly, FILTERS out dust and dirt most efficiently.

K&N, S&B, and other types of high-flow filters are for applications when you want the most flow possible (power) and filtering capability is secondary. Yes, it will flow more and you will get a HP increase -- but at the expense of possibly taking in some dust/dirt.

You need to weigh your options and see what is most important to you. Filtering or Flow.

A clean paper-element filter flows sufficiently IMO.

My car ran fine with 29K on the AC Delco filter, dirty, but still not problematic. I am messing with a K&N off a Vortec 350/454 C/K truck, 96-99 (big sucker!) tuning it with my FW in Speed Density mode (aka, MAFLess). So far, honestly, I like it that way. I have it dialed in pretty well.

As for dirt, that small, can it really hurt anything? Will it actually find a cyl wall to sit on, will it possibly get caught under a ring and groove the cyl wall??? I am dubious that it can hurt at that small size personally. I would have to see hard core data that shows it being a problem.

As for paper being enough flow? On my LT1 with the AC Delco paper vs K&N Monster Vortec truck filter, I did not see any significant MAP reading or MAF reading changes at WOT. I am still questioning part throttle flow, but WOT, no, no real change.

Remember, FLOW of a air filter is like air flow of a fan. You can't simply measure it on a flow bench and do apples to apple comparissons. There is no standard like in cyl head flow. If you suck down a filter to 28 inches water, likely the paper would explode on you. Maybe 10 inches, but you will find you never see more than 0.5 inches or less restriction across that paper filter, even dirty.

Will you get more hp? Maybe, but I doubt it. Now part throttle is the different story (I feel), things are very different then and I think that a little affects more here.

this is along lasting issue. did you buy the k and n that goes in the stock location? if so it will suck up the same amout of motor heat as the stock filter. It is a good replacement. To notice a big improvemnt you would need to be running an air intake system but i feeel the K and N is a good filter (a little less then they claim) but still a good high flow filter

As for sucking up underhood air, I have seen no more than 12 degrees C temp change from underhood to outside while driving, typically closer to 6 degrees when warmer, and 4 degrees when cooler out. My Cad has outside temp sensor and I monitor the IAT (Intake Air Temp) sensor while I drive.

When you are stopped them temps will creep up, but they drop very quickly when you start moving. In my experience, it isn't worth worrying about.

OMG take it out the car will die. Never do that.


















Just kidding

Without taking the time to read all the other lengthy responses I would like to add my .02.

It's my understanding that the K&N filter do nothing for HP gains at all. This has been proven many times on the dyno. They do NOT decrease HP either, I don't think.

K&N is a high quality product, however it's also my understanding that they are impregnated with a very light oil of some kind to help trap even the finest particulates. The problem is that it will spread throughout the induction system causing a premature collection of dirty buildup.

I wouldn't worry about it but use something else next change. I prefer WIX for all of my filters and I understand that MANN is also top of the line.

I look at it this way, at part throttle (where I spend MOST of my driving time) the car is sucking through a paper filter, with very small throttle opening. The car is in a throttled state. So air is much much more sensitive to being restricted at this point. At WOT it is unthrottled, and is less susceptable to flow restrictions.

Now, how do we measure part throttle power? Good question. Do we? No. No one seems to have ever done it. Probably like cyl heads, who flows them at less than 28inches or less than 10 inches of water? What do the measurements mean?

So reducing the part throttle (engine throttled) restriction MAY have some potential benefits to better cyl filling and might help part throttle fuel economy/power. Can I prove it? No, just one of many warped theories I often have....

well fellas, i put it in, and i dont think its a placebo effect but i think i felt a slight improvement in throttle response?

Put the old one back in and see if it changes back.

Or datalog the exact same run, same day/time, with each filter and see if once you are settled on the highway on cruise if MAP and TPS remain the same, or less for one or the other.

well fellas, i put it in, and i dont think its a placebo effect but i think i felt a slight improvement in throttle response?


Also, you must ask yourself, "Am I going from a dirty stock filter element to a clean K&N element, or am I going from a clean stock filter element to a clean K&N element".

Or more importantly, is it a true placebo effect because your original filter was dirty so any filter change would yield performance gains??

Well, the filter i replaced it for looked relatively clean, and didnt look very old...
So it wasnt clean, but it wasnt dirty...

So, it was the same, but different, eh?

Well, the filter i replaced it for looked relatively clean, and didnt look very old...
So it wasnt clean, but it wasnt dirty...

yeah?

So, if it isn't clean, than it must be dirty, but if it isn't dirty, it must be clean, right?

We have a guy at work who always busts our chops when we tell him that this part is the same as this one with the following differences. So it is the same but different....