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Thread: Air filter question

  1. #1
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    Air filter question

    Has anyone installed a K&N air filter and noticed any benefits..?

    TIA

  2. #2
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    I've always replaced the paper element filter with K&N panel filters on everyone of my cars right back to my VR6's. I don't do it for any performance benefit as in my opinion this whole changing air filters for extra performance is crap. At best any gain would be minuscule. I do it because I tend to keep my cars for years at a time. Our Vento had 440,000k's on it when my son wrote it off, our Bora has over 300.000k's and is still going strong, my tuned Polo GTI has nearly 180,000k's on it etc. etc. I do it because it is a once only purchase.
    2001 Bora 4 Motion Sport now used by number two son
    2011 Skoda Octavia Scout now with Underground Performance tune
    2010 Jetta 125 tdi dsg for the misses - Impressed
    2006 Polo GTI - Enhanced by some of Gav's magic - Absolutely loving it

  3. #3
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    K&N are very poor filters - in that they let a lot more dust/soot/etc. into your engine compared to the OEM filter.

    The OEM filters on the other hand are state of the art and made by some of the best filter manufacturers in the world. MANN+HUMMEL / MAHLE / etc...

    This graph shows an ISO standard test of comparable aftermarket filters. You can see that the K&N and UNI brand filters let the most dirt through (into the engine).
    http://www.nicoclub.com/articles/images/kn-v-oem-3.jpg

    Air filter question-kn-v-oem-3-jpg

    Personally I would never buy a car with a K&N fitted. People who do oil analysis have found that wear metals and silica (dust) have gone through the roof after fitting a K&N.
    Last edited by vwrovervolvo; 22-01-2017 at 04:20 PM.

  4. #4
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    If what you are claiming is true and who am I to argue other than to say as my personal experience shows above, I have run my cars well past 300,000 kilometres without any engine wear issues. The Vento had as I said 440,000 kilometres when my son wrote it off, otherwise we would've kept it longer. So unless you plan on keeping your car for more kilometres than that I would think you are pretty safe with a K&N filter in your car. Plus in my daily job I do have to drive on some gravel roads. Currently my wife's Jetta has over 240,000k's on it.
    2001 Bora 4 Motion Sport now used by number two son
    2011 Skoda Octavia Scout now with Underground Performance tune
    2010 Jetta 125 tdi dsg for the misses - Impressed
    2006 Polo GTI - Enhanced by some of Gav's magic - Absolutely loving it

  5. #5
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    A cotton filter like the K&N filter worse but flow better basically. It's a trade off between outright flow and outright filtration. Hence why the cotton filters require oil to make them more effective at filtering.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bora Sport View Post
    If what you are claiming is true and who am I to argue other than to say as my personal experience shows above, I have run my cars well past 300,000 kilometres without any engine wear issues. The Vento had as I said 440,000 kilometres when my son wrote it off, otherwise we would've kept it longer. So unless you plan on keeping your car for more kilometres than that I would think you are pretty safe with a K&N filter in your car. Plus in my daily job I do have to drive on some gravel roads. Currently my wife's Jetta has over 240,000k's on it.
    There are several independent tests around which show the aftermarket cotton/foam filters let lots more dust into your engine that OE equivalents.
    In some cases, that may cause catastrophic failure - e.g. Both Mercedes/McLaren F1 cars in a race in Bahrain (I think 2004). The engines were literally sandblasted from the inside - causing 2 DNFs and the M/M team to throw money at a real filter company (who also make most of the filters for VW).

    In most cases though (e.g. yours) you just end up with (slightly?) accelerated engine wear that goes unnoticed unless you do oil analysis.

    For anyone who has a K&N and questions me, get an oil analysis kit ($20 per time - normally you need to buy 10 kits in one go) and do a sample after 10k km with a K&N and 10k km with the OE filter. Silica (dust) and wear metals will be higher with the K&N, unless you drive in very clean conditions.


    Quote Originally Posted by wraith666 View Post
    A cotton filter like the K&N filter worse but flow better basically. It's a trade off between outright flow and outright filtration. Hence why the cotton filters require oil to make them more effective at filtering.
    There are studies which have shown that the pressure drop (flow restriction) in your air intake is mainly cased by bends and constrictions in the ducting. The pressure drop through the air filter is trivial in most cases. You would be better off changing the ducting rather than changing the filter if you are looking for more power...
    Last edited by vwrovervolvo; 23-01-2017 at 02:00 PM.

  7. #7
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    Well vwrovervolvo, you've got me convinced by what you say. All makes sense ... but maybe not to a person who invested their hard-earned $ in a K&N filter. It's always hard after you've put $ into going in a particular direction. I fitted a Whiteline anti-lift kit, but soon realised it was a step in the wrong direction.

  8. #8
    Hey, why is the whiteline anti lift kit no good ?

  9. #9
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    I had a Whiteline alk installed in my octy and am very happy with it. Big different to off the line axel tramp. Minor increase in steering weight.

    Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
    2011 Skoda Octavia vRS TDI DSG wagon|Revo Stage 1|Race Blue|Leather|Dynamic Xenons w 6000K|9w7 BT|THA475 Amp+active sub|Whiteline ALK|RVC|
    2009 R36 wagon|Biscay Blue|RVC|Tailgate|ECU and DSG tune|LED DRL/Indicators|3D colour cluster|Quad LED tail rings|Climatronics upgrade|Dynaudio retrofit|B7 RLine Flat Steering Wheel|3AA CCM|TPMS Direct|B7 Adaptive Cruise with Front Assist|Discover Media retrofit|PLA 2.0|Lane Assist|BCM retrofit|High Beam Assist|DQ500

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by eurobahn5 View Post
    Hey, why is the whiteline anti lift kit no good ?
    I'm sure all the claimed benefits are true. I was just disappointed by creaking and groaning noises that were introduced. But then the noise could be coming from the front urethane bushes fitted at the same time.
    Apologies for hijacking the topic of this thread!

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