[Vwdiesel] K&N Air Filters

[pmdolan at sasktel.net]

Jerry:

I also believe in FIRST HAND experience, vs. the BS from anyone with 
something to sell.  I have built engines for race, commercial and 
recreational use for cars, boats, bikes and airplanes for over 40 
years, and due to warranty issues (OEM manufacturer) and longevity 
issues (especially with off-road race engines) I have paid particular 
attention to filtration results.  I have watched shiny NEW aircooled 
VW barrels be reduced to scrap in a single SHORT race, where similar 
engines with proper (Donaldson canister in this case) after an entier 
weekend showed nothing noteworthy in teardown.  I also got VERY 
serious about flow testing with PSD inlet systems - and have the 
equipment to measure absolute pressures and perssure differentials down 
to a millionth of an atmosphere - and can tell you that the K&N stuff 
does not flow that well at all. 

The whole aftermarket air filter and air intake retrofit business is 
plagued with near zero professionalism, integrity or quality.  No 
polite way to say that, it just is. 

If you want top performance from your VW, stick with OE quality paper 
panel filters - and you sure as hell won't be re-ringing in a measly 
275,000 kms.  So, YES, you have some experience, and it wasn't good. 

Regards - Pat

49 -0700, Gerry Wolfe wrote:
I tend to base my opinions on first-hand experience and specifications, not
> on hearsay and anecdotal / third-hand comments. 
>
>
>
> Here is an excerpt from the K&N website: Here is the url:
> http://www.knfilters.com/audio/audio_book_mp3.htm
>
>
>
> Filtration:
>
> ".There is only one generally accepted standard test procedure and that is
> the ISO 5011 protocol. K&N Air Filters tested generally range between 95%
> and 99% in overall efficiency using coarse test dust. These numbers are very
> similar to quality standard disposable air filters we have tested over the
> years. We have tested a lot of air filters and seen results as low as 90%
> and as high as 99%. While there is no published research we have been able
> to locate on the relationship between engine wear and either particle size
> or air filter efficiency, our experience is a K&N Air Filter, like most
> disposable air filters, will provide all the protection an engine will need
> under normal operating conditions."
>
> Air Flow:
>
> ".follow a protocol that had been established for measuring the flow rates
> of cylinder heads and carburetors at a constant rate of restriction. We use
> a flow bench and increase the rate of airflow until restriction equals a
> pressure drop sufficient to displace 1.5 inches of a consistent quantity of
> water. Our filters flow substantially more air than a disposable air filter. 
> a square inch of our filtration medium will flow 200 or even 300% more air
> than a standard disposable filtration medium. When translated into an actual
> air filter, this often means a K&N will flow as much as 30% to 70% more
> air."
>
>
>
> I have used K&N filters since they came out about 40 years ago, and know
> others who have also used them. I have never seen or heard of any excessive
> wear issues. My last vehicle ('91 Jetta TD) had K&N since new, and had a
> head gasket replaced at 275K km (also rebuilt the head and rehoned /
> re-ringed). There was no sign of internal wear, not even a lip built up in
> the cylinder. Even main bearings could have been re-used. IMHO, this
> indicates pretty good filtration, and it's good enough for me. 
>
>
>
> Rgds, g. 
>
>
>
> From: Stephen Kraus [mailto:ub3ratl4sf00 at gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, 
> August 04, 2011 10:13 AM
> To: pmdolan at sasktel.net
> Cc: vwdiesel at vwfans.com; Gerry Wolfe
> Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] 2.5
>
>
>
> Just to chime in to confirm what pmdolan said:
>
>
>
> K&N is not a good air filter for diesel, it can harm them as the diesel pull
> MUCH more air than a gas engine (I wouldn't use K&N on a gasser either...)
>
>
>
> I've had to repair a couple TDIs and 1.6ls that ingested dirt through the
> filter. K&N IS high airflow, but they do so by sacrifcing filtering quality. 
>
> On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 10:49 AM, <pmdolan at sasktel.net> wrote:
>
> Not trying to be snotty,but why would you put an K&N air filter in a VW (or
> much of anything else for that matter)???
>
> I assume you believe their advertising - which is pure BS. There is a
> mountain of experience with many vehicles that shows these things do
> precious little to remove anything smaller than a turkey from the airstream
> and don't really flow all that well. Don't know about MkIII, but for MkIV,
> the stock airbox and filter will handle WAY more air than the engine needs
> to at least 200HP and filter properly. Since you live in paradise, if you
> stick to the main roads it won't be that much of a problem, but if you ever
> go near any dirt of any kind, you will be removing it from the air with your
> engine, not the air cleaner. On Thu, 4 Aug 2011 09:17:12 -0700, Gerry 
> Wolfe wrote:
> I have a '97 Jetta with TDI. Replaced the stock with 2.5" all the way thru,
>
> _______________________________________________
> Vwdiesel mailing list
> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>
>