Thinking about getting a CAI
#11
04-06-2008, 05:22 PM
Professional
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#12
04-06-2008, 06:51 PM
RE: Thinking about getting a CAI
ORIGINAL: slvr4.7
They have the oiled ones which are blue, and then they have the Pro Dry-S which is white and does not need to be oiled and does not need any special chemicals for cleaning. They make a drop in for the Pro Dry-S too. You have to go to the AFE site and select your year, make, and model.
They have the oiled ones which are blue, and then they have the Pro Dry-S which is white and does not need to be oiled and does not need any special chemicals for cleaning. They make a drop in for the Pro Dry-S too. You have to go to the AFE site and select your year, make, and model.
#13
04-07-2008, 11:02 AM
Hall Of Fame
#14
04-07-2008, 11:42 AM
RE: Thinking about getting a CAI
I admit it, I read BITOG (BobIsTheOilGuy.com)...a LOT. Anytime anyone has a high silicon content in their UOA, folks ask if they're running a K&N air filter. It appears to be pretty well-accepted that cotton-gauze filters compromise filtering ability for ultimate air flow capacity. I believe a filter should be chosen for what it is -- a filter. Besides that, I've ran K&N filters on a few cars before and don't feel they were worth the cost. I saw a trade-off of loss of low-RPM response for upper-RPM power. Very little of my driving is done at WOT near redline, so I didn't see the performance benefit. They did make noise, though. I don't believe the factory under-sizes air filters. If you can prove that the air filter is a restriction to the engine by installing a vacuum gauge in the intake system downstream of the filter, then you may be on to something.
A paper filter should reasonably last a good 30,000-50,000 miles (despite how often Fram tells you to replace them). Over the period of 200,000 miles, a cheaper cotton-gauze filter might pay for itself, just in terms of pure cost. But I still don't like what I see in terms of their filtering ability.
Here is an air filter test from BITOG: www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm I don't get very excited looking at those cotton-gauze patches.
And here's another one: http://home.stny.rr.com/jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm Again, if you believe that a filter's #1 function is to filter, it doesn't look good for oiled cotton-gauze.
The build quality of the K&N product appears to be very good. I'm not going to argue with that. It may be worth the price to some. It's all what you prioritize. Personally, I choose a filter based on how well it filters, and for that, paper is as good as it gets. The facts are pretty clear. Does cotton-gauze out-flow paper? Yes. Does it pass more dirt? Yes. What any individual decides from here is up to their own priorities.
A paper filter should reasonably last a good 30,000-50,000 miles (despite how often Fram tells you to replace them). Over the period of 200,000 miles, a cheaper cotton-gauze filter might pay for itself, just in terms of pure cost. But I still don't like what I see in terms of their filtering ability.
Here is an air filter test from BITOG: www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm I don't get very excited looking at those cotton-gauze patches.
And here's another one: http://home.stny.rr.com/jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm Again, if you believe that a filter's #1 function is to filter, it doesn't look good for oiled cotton-gauze.
The build quality of the K&N product appears to be very good. I'm not going to argue with that. It may be worth the price to some. It's all what you prioritize. Personally, I choose a filter based on how well it filters, and for that, paper is as good as it gets. The facts are pretty clear. Does cotton-gauze out-flow paper? Yes. Does it pass more dirt? Yes. What any individual decides from here is up to their own priorities.