Hello. I'm new to the forum having recently purchased a 4.0L 2000 XK8. A friend of mine suggested that I look into the K&N air filters and intake systems. Does anyone have any experience with this system that they would care to share? Thanks.

Regards,

Frank Alexander

 

Hi ive got a pipercross cone filter on my x300 sport an I think it helps it

 

Welcome to the forum Frank,

I've moved your question from General Tech Help section to XK8/XKR section. Members here will be able to offer recommendations on K&N with the same model as you have.

When you get a minute, please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST section and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

This has been cussed and discussed on several forum threads (search K&N). General consensus seems to be that the K&N flat filter in place of the stock unit is pretty good, just don't over oil it as it will foul the MAF sensor.

The cone conversion looks cool, but can actually harm as it pulls air (heat) from the engine. The OEM box has an intake from a front air intake and thus cooler temps. Some guys have modified the box to take the cone, but now you are doing a plus 1 on mods.

My advice? Put in a fresh stock air filter and live with the car a little while. Continue to monitor the forum. You'll have plenty of things to consider for your list of want to do's.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the car. You will love the car.

 

Got to throw my .02 in here. I don't care for the K&N; I never had one on my XK8. The XKR that I just bought has one already, but it will soon be replaced with a stock element. Fact is, during engine oil analysis you will see an increase of silica (i.e., sand) in your samples when using a K&N versus an ordinary felt element. Will these extra particles cause more wear over time? I'm not willing to find out.

Sure, the K&N gives better flow than the stock element, and lots of racers use it for that reason, but they also rebuild or replace their engines after x number of races. For daily driving and engine longevity, the questionable amount of horsepower gained is probably not worth the extra contaminants that will enter the airbox.

(Let the flame wars begin...)

 

K&N filters have a topic of discussion for several years and if you do a search you will get a hose of threads asking the same question and the answers are from hypothetical to real information.

As for myself I installed K&N in both my cars and in my truck several miles back and they work just fine and to date no issues with the MAFS. I say if you want it go for it!

 

I fully agree with Burg here. The ideal setup would be a cold air intake with the same filtering capacities as the stock intake. In other words, have a filter that will suck air from the outside of the car, instead of from the engine bay. This would require some reengineering of the air intake setup.

I think there's more power to be gained (and sound) by modifying the exhaust. There are too many silencers, the cat is optimized for quietness and the exhaust is a little too restricted in these cars.

 

The filters i have drop directly into the factory box.

 

Mike,

Thanks for the note and the good advice. Graham's welcome note also mentioned that I might want to check in the issues of the tensioner, cooling system and transmission fluid so I will get into that as well.

Best,

Frank

 

Frank,

I agree with Burg. The wetting oil and the larger dust particle size let into the MAF, engine and CATs don't seem like a good idea to me. This may do absolutely zero harm ... but I don't know one way or the other.

Improved performance? It's all about lower restriction to airflow, right? Well, at any throttle position other than WOT you can get lower restriction by ... applying a little more right foot! That lessens restriction too, the amount imposed by the throttle plate. Restriction is restriction is restriction.

At WOT it could matter. If a K&N does offer lower restriction than a stock filter then it could let the engine consume more air and so improve available HP.

 

As I mentioned above you will see many opinions about the K&N but none proven. I installed K&K in my S-Type at 66,000mi and it now has 126,000mi, I installed one in my XK8 at I think 26,000mi and it now has 106,000mi on it and neither one has given me a problem and I was then and still am satisfied with the results. I say go for it if that is what you want.