Hi All,

I contacted K&N about six months ago and asked them to send me some information that backed their product. Magazine articles, lab results, etc. I received two documents from them. One: "Laboratory tests on an Air Filter" from 1985; produced by the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) located in Warwickshire, England. And Item Number Two: Something in the Air; a magazine article that refers almost exclusively to MIRA research. This article provides no date or publication title. However, all references to size are in metric and the article refers to burning "petrol." Probably based out of England also.

The question I have is, wouldn't it have been nice to receive something more current and from a US based race group, laboratory, or other independent source?

I run the K&N filter in my F-150, however, I still would like to receive some other updated information from K&N. This information caught me off guard. The guy I spoke with seemed confident in sending this out, yet it is from a foreign source and quite dated. I just find it interesting that a company of their size supports their product with these documents.

Any thoughts?

DirkR
1997 F-150 4x4 5.4 S/C ORP Flowmaster 1999 FQR Motor

 

Dear Dirk R,

Your request is not out of line at all, but there is another way to confirm proper filtration. That is by having oil analysis tests done on vehicles using that product. Luckily, many people have done just that over the years. When I was a Sysop for CompuServe, this was a hot topic in the Automobiles Forum (Go "CARS" on CIS), and we had a number of end users and experts who provided plenty of data to confirm that the K&N air filter does properly filter the air going into your engine. Years of oil analysis tests have shown no increase in engine wear from using the K&N air filter element. I have done this myself on several vehicles over the years, and have had the same basic results.

The main thing to remember with a K&N air filter element is that it is designed to be used *only* with their special oil that has a red dye in it. The service interval, or cleaning interval for K&N air filter elements in normal driving conditions is every 30,000 to 50,000 miles. You should use K&N's recharger kit, I think it's called, that contains the instructions and the special oil they use. Be careful not to over-oil the filter, and you won't have any problems, as a general rule.

We're satisfied that K&N airfilter elements basically do what they claim, and properly filter your engines air. We've used them in all our vehicles for years, with no ill effects. I recommend them for any vehicle they are available for!

Good luck,

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Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com

 

I have used K&N products for years and have been very happy with their performance.

Regarding the dated material sent to you, physics is physics; it does not change with time. Just because data is "old", doesn't mean that the truths contained within are "outdated".

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1998 STX 4.2L V6 Auto
16.26 sec @ 84.43 mph