I've never had one on my vehicles, so just curious, are they really worth the $50 for my 1997 F150, 5.4L? More power? Better mpg? What do they do?

I am probably going to catch hell for this, but just curious what the hype is all about.

 

You will not notice any increase in power or mpg with a drop in filter. At least I did not when I put one in my V6. Zip. Zero. Nada. No difference at all.

The only advantage I can see is that over time, you may save money on replacement filters. But some people question the filtering ability of the K&N.

 

I'm happy with mine. I got my K&N at the same time that I did my intake mod so I guess it helped a little. Felt a little more oomph.

 

X2, had mine since late 99 and everything has been great.

 

i added a cai from k&n a week ago and i do notice its louder, you hear it sucking the air, as for better gas mileage i dont know, maybe you dont notice it because you step on it more just to hear the power, but as far as just the filter dont expect a great difference

 

i just have a drop in filter on my 97 with a 4.6 no noticeable diff switching to a cold air intake soon. only problem with K&N and other filters like it is that the oil that you put on them can cause the MAF sensor to get a little nasty so be sure to clean it often or with each re-oiling at least. Nasty MAF sensor will trigger Check engine light

 

exactly, dropping a great filter in a closed box = nice but mostly pointless. either mod the factory box or get a CAI. otherwise yeah after about 6 filter changes your K&N will have paid for itself.

 

Only going by the butt dyno and throttle angle and a stop watch, I notice two significant differences with the filter.
1. With a factory filter it takes a full 2 seconds more to get to 60 mph at 50% throttle. (RPMS steady at 2500 RPM)
2. The check engine light comes on.

I have modded the factory airbox by drilling 4 - 1 3/4" about it's axis and left the plenum off that connects to the firewall essentially opening the system up. The best I can figure is that the K&N just doesn't fit as well as the factory filter and is responsible for giving me the lean codes. But it runs sooooooooooooooo much better! Go figure. I guess it saves money, but in reality it is only step towards a CAI and that is what I will be installing. Essentially I wasted $50 that should have gone into a kit from the start.

 

I assume CAI stands for cold air induction. I've seen those systems as well. Other than making the system nosier, as truck pointed out, what are the benefits of this?

 

Here is a different slant on your inquiry.
If you are not looking for power gains such as in hi-performance and hi rpm, the OEM filter and air intake that is already cool intake, flows enough air for normal application.
This is why others see no gains for normal use.
No low rpm improvements because the flow is solely determined by the throttle opening when flow is grossly under the OEM capacity at small openings and even at wide open, the rpm is still low and flow is low.
Some think there is value over time using these filters but the risk of oil on the air meter is always a possibility. This part is your call.
I can't justfy the total cost of an air intake and the filter for the returns in performance on a stock motor.

 

I have had the K&N drop in for 57,000 miles, since my truck was new. I clean it every 15,000 and reoil it. I follow their instructions and have never had a problem. I like the savings over the paper filters. If there is any fuel efficiency or horsepower gains, it is insignificant. Do a search on the subject, it has been discussed many times.

 

check this out

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=297846

 

When I bought my truck (used), it had a K&N in the stock airbox. I drive on dusty dirt roads daily, and after having the truck for a few months, I noticed dust on the engine side of the intake tube. This made me nervous, so I replaced the K&N with a paper filter.

 

I've had my truck since new.

Ran it first with the stock air filter. Quiet. Filtered good.

Was looking for some cheap HP and mpg improvements, and K&N claimed 5 hp. So I put in a drop-in K&N filter to replace the stocker. No noticeable change in power or mpg.

Since I wanted an hp gain, I added an Airaid FIPK, which has a K&N on the end. Gave my drop-in to a friend. Withi the Airaid, there was a noticeable (but not huge) increase in power above 3,000 rpm. Much more intake noise at wide open throttle. Hard to say about mpg as my truck varies quite a bit tank to tank. Not much mpg increase, if any.

I live in a dusty climate and have noticed a small amount of dust getting past the filter. Not good. So now instead of cleaning every 15 - 20k, I examine every oil change and clean if it is dirty. Yes, it is slightly more hassle than dropping in a new paper filter, but there are no paper filters that fit the Airaid.

As for over-oiling the K&N and filter oil on the MAF, I've never had that problem. It is easy to oil properly if you follow directions.

 

this is how I did it works great no more power/mpg but at 3000 rpm it sounds great







Brice