The Great air filter debate - my findings & observations

[BigOleFordFan]

Well, after reading many threads/discussions on the pros, cons, and opinions on the differences (if any) between different types/brands/tiers of air filters and whether or not they could/do have any effect on performance/mpg/horsepower etc, I decided to do my own little test and see what happened.

So my vehicle is in my sig, and with the following info, I proceeded:

A) 4x tanks of Premium 93 Exxon gas before & during the test, which is what I normally run anyways

B) Tires rotated & balanced, and oil/filter changed (Full Synth 5W-20 Mobile One) 2 weeks prior to test

C) 2 rounds of 3 mostly identical 200 mile trips, ~98% interstate and ~2% in-small city driving...

D) Maintained an average speed of 65mph by using cruise control as much as possible

Before the test, I was running a Fram premium air filter, and was getting ~11-13 mpg on average

For the test, I installed a K&N Premium 75K mile Oiled Filter, and am now getting ~17-18 mpg on average....

SO..... my observations are that I noted a fairly significant increase in responsiveness and acceleration during the test, especially when I had to step on it a few times to enter the freeway or to go around & pass some slow-poke doing 45mph in a 70 zone, and very quickly found myself going 80mph + in a 70 and had to let off the gas for a few minutes....

Even in the slower city rides, I could feel the beast wanting to take off like a young bull at mating time, and had to be real careful about how much pedal to give it

So there it is...... like it, don't like it, agree with it or disagree with it, but I'm hooked on my new K&N filter, at least for the time being, and will update this post in a month or 2 if there are any significant changes, good, bad or otherwise...

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Well, after reading many threads/discussions on the pros, cons, and opinions on the differences (if any) between different types/brands/tiers of air filters and whether or not they could/do have any effect on performance/mpg/horsepower etc, I decided to do my own little test and see what happened.

So my vehicle is in my sig, and with the following info, I proceeded:

A) 4x tanks of Premium 93 Exxon gas before & during the test, which is what I normally run anyways

B) Tires rotated & balanced, and oil/filter changed (Full Synth 5W-20 Mobile One) 2 weeks prior to test

C) 2 rounds of 3 mostly identical 200 mile trips, ~98% interstate and ~2% in-small city driving...

D) Maintained an average speed of 65mph by using cruise control as much as possible

Before the test, I was running a Fram premium air filter, and was getting ~11-13 mpg on average

For the test, I installed a K&N Premium 75K mile Oiled Filter, and am now getting ~17-18 mpg on average....

SO..... my observations are that I noted a fairly significant increase in responsiveness and acceleration during the test, especially when I had to step on it a few times to enter the freeway or to go around & pass some slow-poke doing 45mph in a 70 zone, and very quickly found myself going 80mph + in a 70 and had to let off the gas for a few minutes....

Even in the slower city rides, I could feel the beast wanting to take off like a ***** bull at mating time, and had to be real careful about how much pedal to give it

So there it is...... like it, don't like it, agree with it or disagree with it, but I'm hooked on my new K&N filter, at least for the time being, and will update this post in a month or 2 if there are any significant changes, good, bad or otherwise...

My belief is that if the vehicle fuel mileage could be dramatically increased by installing a K&N engine air filter, every manufacturer would be installing them in new gasoline vehicles.

 

[BigOleFordFan]

My belief is that if the vehicle fuel mileage could be dramatically increased by installing a K&N engine air filter, every manufacturer would be installing them in new gasoline vehicles.

Trudat, however, I don't consider 5-6mpg a "dramatic" improvement, just an improvement nonetheless, especially for a 15 year old beast like mine

But regardless, the mfgr's would NEVER do this, as it would cost them a few extra pennies, which of course, would be amplified by about 20,000% and passed on to us consumers

 

[Fastcar]

A little history if I may. Some time ago your current filter maker claimed a 25% increase of HP at the rear wheels. This claim showed up in magazines everywhere. At that time I was into Corvettes, a bunch of folks went for the claim and purchased the filter. Anyway there was a hell of a conversation going around in the Vette community as to the validation of the claim. The filter with claim was invited to Corvettes at Carslisle. A offer was made to provide dyno's so they could prove their claim by doing a before and after pull with a car of their choice. They never showed up to my knowledge. After a bunch of BS they had to pull their ad's. So, IMO there are so many factors involved to get that large an increase which again imho is a a percentage that Ford would give you a happy ending everyday for the rest of your life if you could duplicate it. I gotta admit that they have the best marketing team going. But....

 

[BigOleFordFan]

Yes, I am fully aware of the marketing beast, as it rulz the 3rd party parts market everywhere, however, I did not claim to have a huge increase in HP, but rather a little better mpg & a small improvement in responsiveness... that's all, but thanks for the historical accounting anyways...

 

[bb37]

An increase in fuel economy from 13 to 18 MPG is about 38%. That's huge when you consider that vehicle engineers spend thousands of dollars chasing a few percentage points of fuel economy increase.

Now that you've shown us the results of your fuel economy tests, show us the results of your filtration effectiveness tests. Running no air filter at all would, most likely, improve air flow in the intake tract thus improving fuel economy (gasoline engines are air pumps, eliminate restrictions in the intake and exhaust tracts and you improve pumping efficiency). But, you probably wouldn't run no air filter at all. Without data, how do we know whether or not your high fuel economy air filter is effectively preventing dust and particulate matter from entering the engine.

 

[Fastcar]

Yes, I am fully aware of the marketing beast, as it rulz the 3rd party parts market everywhere, however, I did not claim to have a huge increase in HP, but rather a little better mpg & a small improvement in responsiveness... that's all, but thanks for the historical accounting anyways...

Also be aware of oiling it. Most figure the more oil the better. Not so! The excess oil will find its way to every sensor in the intake tract and cause pure hell with your engine.

 

[BigOleFordFan]

Also be aware of oiling it. Most figure the more oil the better. Not so! The excess oil will find its way to every sensor in the intake tract and cause pure hell with your engine.

Well, you know what they say: "Stupid is as stupid does" ..... hahahahah....

However, I am not one of "those" people, who always leans toward excess, but rather moderation in most things, and more often than not when it comes to this type of stuff

But OTOH, I AM a firm believer in that other saying "the more, the merrier" when it comes to things like sex, drugs, & Rock & Roll..

 

[The Ark]

May want to regularly check and clean your MAF sensor if you are running an oiled filter. I went with the dry K& N filter, not for performance but so I don't have to buy paper elements. I clean my MAF every oil change, and get 16-20 on the highway depending on speed,headwinds, and cargo/passenger count (going the speed limit). If I drop it to 60mph on cruise I can squeeze out 21-22 mpg.

 

[DieselMonk]

This test must have been on a NA engine? K&N usually does good on a natural aspirated engine. However I’ve not seen an improvement worthwhile on forced air induction engines. O.k. There were some engines where the air box was too small and thus benefited from a higher air flow. I don’t think that is the case anymore.
Recently I had to change an original air filter on wifeys turbo AWD car with 110.000km to an K&N and got driven about another 30.000km before it got totalled. Difference was zero in power and in fuel economy.
Thats just my personal observation since I tried K&N off and on for the past 20 years.
Now how about my GT500? of course it has a K&N cold air intake! But this thing is built for power, not to get good fuel mileage.