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More of a Public Service announcement. Bought K&N filters off Amazon...and like most crap on amazon one seems authentic and the other looks like it came from a chinese rubber ***** factory, oh and it certainly doesn't fit properly.
The one on the right appears to be real, and has a stronger backing so it doesn't get sucked into the intake.
If it doesn't have the backing plate over thet TB area, then I wouldn't fit it. Actually, I would never fit a K&N filter to any of my cars... Reasons: cost, reliablity and the lack of proper power gains whilst keeping the filtration right... Example from my friends...
My XJ8 (X308) always had a simple paper filter. Never anything fancy. The air filter box filled with sand. More and more. A friend, living in the same sandy/dusty area had the K&N filter in his car. His air filter box was clean as what not... Where has the sand gone? And worst of all: isn't K&N supposed to filter better?
If it doesn't have the backing plate over thet TB area, then I wouldn't fit it. Actually, I would never fit a K&N filter to any of my cars... Reasons: cost, reliablity and the lack of proper power gains whilst keeping the filtration right... Example from my friends...
My XJ8 (X308) always had a simple paper filter. Never anything fancy. The air filter box filled with sand. More and more. A friend, living in the same sandy/dusty area had the K&N filter in his car. His air filter box was clean as what not... Where has the sand gone? And worst of all: isn't K&N supposed to filter better?
+1,Daim, l have a set of genuine K&N filters in my cupboard, the reason they are in the cupboard and not fitted to my car is a serious doubt that they can filter anything smaller than a rock from the air.
I suggest anybody thinking of fitting them hold one up to the light and check out the size of the voids in the filter material.
If it doesn't have the backing plate over thet TB area, then I wouldn't fit it. Actually, I would never fit a K&N filter to any of my cars... Reasons: cost, reliablity and the lack of proper power gains whilst keeping the filtration right... Example from my friends...
My XJ8 (X308) always had a simple paper filter. Never anything fancy. The air filter box filled with sand. More and more. A friend, living in the same sandy/dusty area had the K&N filter in his car. His air filter box was clean as what not... Where has the sand gone? And worst of all: isn't K&N supposed to filter better?
No, K&N filters are proven to not filter very well. K&N make no claims that their filters do a better job of filtering - just that they, quote “maintain filtering levels critical to engine health”
Well they were 19 dollars so I thought Id try it out. AJ6 engineering still makes proper washable ones I guess I'll have to wait for the shipping + import tax -_-
Well they were 19 dollars so I thought Id try it out. AJ6 engineering still makes proper washable ones I guess I'll have to wait for the shipping + import tax -_-
Never really worth it. Anything other than paper may have a better airflow (maybe) but at the same time, it ALWAYS comes down to how they achieve it. And that is always with less dense material and larger pores. If these filters were really better, then all cars would be delivered with them. More power, less fuel consumption... But as they always have a drawback, and that is then wear IN the engine or better in the cylinders, they killed durability of the engine.
And on top of that: proper brand K&N or what not filters need years, sometimes decades to pay themselves off... A normal XJ-S MANN Filter (standard OEM equippment), sets me back around €19/side. A K&N filter for the XJ-S would set me back around €40/side (for the cheapest one without checking for proper fit!). So that is twice the price. But then again, the air filters won't see many miles so it will take say 5 years to replace them. So the K&N filters will have to pay themselves off after 10 years. On my old Volvo it was even worse... The K&N filter would cost €90, a normal original Volvo filter would be €14. And that was changed every 60k km or 3 years, what ever came first. That would be a looooooot of driving to offset the higher purchase price.
A study on KN filters show they don't work. The power gain is only possible through higher breathability. How is that accomplished? You let more air pass by opening up the element. The KN filter is not somehow engineered better than a paper filter, it just has bigger holes.
Read that again, the KN filter provides initial performance gain by allowing more airflow. Studies show that long term you have a performance LOSS because the reduced filtration = increased wear and increased wear leads to decreased performance.
It really isn't 5 butt HP and the increased price.
i wonder how long it may take for a K&N filter to wear out an engine , used for normal street driving, not off road dust conditions??
i have seen expensive air filters wear out cylinder bores in just one week when sandy off road plugged up solid NO AIR FLOW , engine came back to shop wanting a warrenty ,NOPE !
so proper off road air filtering requires a filter system the size of the phyisical vehicle, ask the Germans about the famous WW2 Desert conditions!
as usual you guys fuss about nothing. OPPS, did i say that.
Well what is the point of fitting a K&N filter to a street car? Isn't that pointless? If it was a quadturbo V12, sure, why not... But a bog standard 5.3l NA V12 with probably all smog stuff still on it?
I wanted them more for the permenant washable-ness of it, my airfilter boxes are cut open at the front with the trumpet removed and refaced with a mesh so they get quite dirty, then the crank vent blows oil through that one side. Whether it flows more then paper or not isn't critical, the extra air flow won't do too much without honing the intake runners anyway. And no I've ripped off all the smog, cats, mufflers etc. I've managed to find another matching filter - the production dates are 5 years apart one set has much thicker quality filter media without the rock-sized holes, the older/knockoff? filter from 5 years ago could throw darts through the holes.
as usual you guys fuss about nothing. OPPS, did i say that.
I thought that was par for the course here?
As a side note - which product would be best to blow through the intake manifolds to remove the oil residue? It is quite bad...like leaking out the bottom of the filter box bad and blowing past the crossover pipe at rubber connection point.
I wanted them more for the permenant washable-ness of it, my airfilter boxes are cut open at the front with the trumpet removed and refaced with a mesh so they get quite dirty, then the crank vent blows oil through that one side. Whether it flows more then paper or not isn't critical, the extra air flow won't do too much without honing the intake runners anyway. And no I've ripped off all the smog, cats, mufflers etc. I've managed to find another matching filter - the production dates are 5 years apart one set has much thicker quality filter media without the rock-sized holes, the older/knockoff? filter from 5 years ago could throw darts through the holes.
I thought that was par for the course here?
As a side note - which product would be best to blow through the intake manifolds to remove the oil residue? It is quite bad...like leaking out the bottom of the filter box bad and blowing past the crossover pipe at rubber connection point.
That sounds like you need a catch tank if the engine is blowing that much oil into the system. However to address the oil in the manifold I would be inclined to use copious mounts of MAF cleaner over a period of time.
i wonder how long it may take for a K&N filter to wear out an engine , used for normal street driving, not off road dust conditions??
I have serious doubts that anyone here will ever drive their XJS long enough to find out. I have nothing against K&N filters, nor for them, but surely the filtering can't be SO bad that it would make any difference in the longevity of these engines in manner they're used in the real world.
IMO this is similar to the oil debates. Sure, you can scientifically prove that XXX-oil decreases wear by some percentage...and that's fine. But what does that translate to in real-world terms?
Double the engine life? Or maybe a 50% increase in engine life? Hey, that would really be something.
Or is it a case of the engine lasting 175,000 miles before needing overhaul versus 170,000 miles?
Is it a case where you'd need to run two identical Jags for 200,000 miles and, lacking any palpable difference, perform full tear downs the to measure the difference in wear?
My lump has an oiled gauze conical air filter. Not the brand name mentioned here, merely very similar. I used it as there was not enough room in the crowded engine bay for the air box and paper filter combination that came on the donor car.
It has done well over a long period in a normal environment, Not in a dusty area at all.
But, shame upon me. I failed to wash t !!!! It was the cause of a smog inspection failure.
It did it's job very well. dirty as can be. A good washing in hot water and detergent and it came clean. Engine fixed. Passed test.
I do have a genuine unit of that well known brand. Not quite the same conical configuration, so I can not use it in that application. A visual comparison makes them look very much alike.
OTH, my Jeep[ passed just fine. Stock white paper filter. I drive it about the same. Filter clean white. But, indeed sand in the air box. Not on the engine side, though!!!!
The unit in the discussion touts air movement, ie better breathing. Probably true, But, still filter enough so as to not damage engines. A careful balance thing. Flow vs fitter.
As I grew up in dusty West Texas, filtering was of import. Primitive at best on most critters. And a tale of the local gas company's trouble out on their pipeline,.Even a sealed box for radios did not work. The dust got in and the radio's went silent.
And, a tale from the deserts of the mid east. Panty hose over vehicle filters and choppers to slow the intake of dust…
On such tale depicted a cause of the failure of the effort to rescue our embassy folks held hostage by the Iranians. The ship board based choppers not equipped for desert operation!!! Fitration!!!!
K&N Filter nonsense
