Changing the air filter

[bumblebee08]

Originally Posted by Smart Car Geek

It should be this one. Since it's washable and reusable it will last the life of the car and pay for itself many times over. We have one in our car and it's the best filter we've ever used. Highly recommended. Hope they come out with an oil filter soon too

Wrong filter, that one is for the European turbo model.

[Smart Car Geek]

Yeah I thought it was a flat filter, but according to their site it's the only one they make.

[SmartDigger]

Pic of K & N is round and filter in pic is square. which is it?

[Dave Van]

Glad I asked...was going to get one this week....come on K&N...we need a oil and air filter!

[theguywiththelongestname]

i really hope k&n comes out with a US 451 air filter...i have one on the Jeep...great air filters...

[Evilution]

Originally Posted by bumblebee08

Wrong filter, that one is for the European turbo model.

Wrong advice.
The filter for the turbo and non turbo 451 are exactly the same in the UK so I don't expect there to be any difference in the US model.
If you want to measure your filter, I will measure mine for a comparrison.

[doogster]

OK... I ordered my K&N air filter... now... HOW THE HECK do I get to the engine compartment???

[mike-in-sa]

The only problem with the K&N style filter is they let a lot of dirt thru. The reason they flow so great is they don't filter so good. They are great for racing where air flow and HP gain out weigh engine longevity. I think I would rather have an air filter that stops all the dirt and make my engine last longer. Good filters are cheaper than a set of rings.

[Bum-bling-B]

Originally Posted by mike-in-sa

The only problem with the K&N style filter is they let a lot of dirt thru. The reason they flow so great is they don't filter so good. They are great for racing where air flow and HP gain out weigh engine longevity. I think I would rather have an air filter that stops all the dirt and make my engine last longer. Good filters are cheaper than a set of rings.

That's why I'm not changing out my stock filter to a K&N. I like everything about the K&N but because I live waayyyy back on a dirt road - as Rainman would say, "Bad, very bad".

I swapped out my first filter at 6k miles and it was completely trashed. My road has played havoc on my filter. I do wish K&N would do a cabin filter - I like the aspect of being able to wash out and reuse that particular filter.

[SmartDigger]

The Original High-Flow Air Filter
Since 1969 K&N Engineering has been designing, manufacturing, and enhancing High-Flow Air Filters for the automotive and motorcycle enthusiast interested in maximizing horsepower and acceleration. Since our humble beginnings we have designed and manufactured over 2,400 High-Flow Air Filters to fit most modern passenger vehicles and over 500 High-Flow Air Intake Systems to fit vehicles driven by enthusiast minded drivers. We not only have more applications than any other manufacturer of similar product, we invented the High-Flow category and the High-Flow Technology that supports it. K&N also makes thousands of racing and specialty type air filters and is the only air filter used at the Indianapolis 500 Race®.




The K&N FilterCharger® air filter is designed to achieve high, virtually unrestricted air flow while maintaining filtration levels critical to ensure long engine life. Our automotive OE (original equipment) replacement air filters generally add 1-4 horsepower. The secret to our success lies in the unique characteristics of our filter medium that was originally developed by K&N all those years ago in the dust, sweat and tears of desert motocross racing. We just wanted to win races and stumbled on a cotton filtration technology destined to be great. Our high flow cotton gauze air filter is washable, reusable and built to last for the life of an automotive or motorcycle engine. K&N air filters consist of four to six sheets of cotton gauze layered between two sheets of aluminum wire mesh. This media is then pleated and oiled to enhance its filtering capabilities and overall performance. K&N Air Filters were created for an environment requiring maximum horsepower and enhanced acceleration in addition to protection from the dirt and dust of off-road racing. The result is an air filter that allows dramatically more air into an engine, is washable and reusable, and will protect your engine for the life of your vehicle.
Engine Protection, Filtration
Anyone can flow more air. The trick is to flow more air safely. In our opinion we hit the sweet spot – an optimal blend of high air flow, filtration efficiency, durability and dust capacity. We take filtration seriously. K&N Air Filter media has been tested both in-house and by independent labs using the ISO5011 test developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers. In addition we test many of our filters both in and out of the OE airbox ensuring proper fit and function. Our goal is to design filters with the maximum possible airflow achievable while providing guaranteed engine protection.





More on Carl's Million Mile Truck Here!
The Importance of Oil
A K&N Air Filter is made of 4 to 6 layers of cotton gauze sandwiched between two epoxy-coated aluminum wire screens. The cotton is treated with a specially formulated grade of oil causing tackiness throughout the cotton’s microscopic strands. The nature of the cotton allows high volumes of airflow, and when combined with the tackiness of the oil creates a powerful filtering media that ensures engine protection. In contrast, most other media can not maintain the same balance of airflow and filtration throughout the filter's life without sacrificing one or the other. With a K&N Air Filter, there is no sacrifice.

Testing – Laboratory and Real World
K&N uses independent laboratories to help ensure that our products meet or exceed your high performance and high filtration demands. Better yet, we conduct our own testing at our own state-of-the-art in-house testing laboratory. For more information on K&N air filters and testing go to the K&N Technical Learning Center area. K&N’s dedication to providing a first-class air filter can also be seen outside the testing laboratory. Consider that K&N has sold more than 20 million air filters since 1969. One such filter was put in the airbox of a three-quarter ton Chevy pickup and driven more than one million miles by Carl Judice of New Iberia, Louisiana. Carl points out that he has never rebuilt the engine, nor removed the cylinder head from his trusty pickup truck. Real world testing and customer satisfaction doesn’t get any better than that. Click here for more information on Carl and his million mile truck.

Independent Laboratory Test Results
In order to verify our filters maintain filtration levels necessary to protect your engine, we test our filtering media through independent laboratories. The testing procedure used in the past was the SAE J726 air filter test procedure established by the Society of Automotive Engineers, however this procedure was recently superseded by testing procedure ISO 5011.
We have included a detailed example of test results using the SAE J726 procedure. These results are for two individual air filters that each demonstrated among the highest overall filtration level we have achieved with our media.
Independent Lab Flat Filter Test Results - Click Here!
Independent Lab Round Filter Test Results - Click Here!
Paper vs K&N
To meet minimum filtration standards, paper air filters must be thick and/or the fibers must be tightly compressed and dense. Therefore paper elements that provide adequate filtration are more restrictive to air flow by design. Additionally, as a paper filter becomes more and more clogged, the pressure inside the filter drops while the atmospheric air pressure (approximately 14.7 psia at sea level) outside the filter remains the same. It’s like using your lungs to draw the air out of a plastic milk bottle. When the pressure differential becomes too great, the bottle will collapse. The same thing could happen to your paper filter, although it is unlikely. But what will happen could be just as severe. An excessively high pressure differential created by a restricted filter can literally pull dirt particles through the paper medium. In other words, the performance of a paper filter, i.e. air flow through the filter and its ability to protect your engine, DECREASES near the end of its service interval.
Disposable Paper Air Filter

1. Pleated wood pulp bonded together.
2. As dirt builds, passages are plugged and filter must be replaced in approximately 10,000 miles.
3. Irregular passages filter out dirt on a go/no go basis.
4. As fibers swell from moisture or oil blow-by vacuum pressure increases and airflow decreases.
5. Turbulent filtered air.