I replaced my stock air filter with a K&N air filter earlier this week. I was picking up my truck from the dealer for an oil change and started talking to another customer about the EcoBoost. He told me that the K&N air filter would damage the turbo because it would suck the oil from the filter in to the turbo and gum it up.

Does anyone know the truth about this?

The main reason I put the K&N filter in my truck it would be cheaper in the long run vs buying new air filters all the time.

Any suggestion on what air filter I should use? Is there any other cleanable high performance air filters that would be better?

Thanks.

 

K and n filters will destroy a turbo. Not so much the oil but it will let too much dust into the turbo .vanes. it just is not worth 1 or 2 more horsepower to spend the amount of money on a new turbo. Now this is coming from my guy that had a 6.0 powerstroke. I have not had my ego boost that long. But the concept would be the same. My 2 cents keep it stock.

 

If you look at the dyno charts from many of these supposed HP/TQ increases, they are typically around 5%-7% at peak rpm ranges…….guess what, 5% is a standard deviation even amoungst mfg dynos and the most important item is……these “experts” (at least most) do not have or choose not to test their results (in comparison to the oem intakes) during actual vehicle motion (or simulation- such as a wind tunnel) as the oems do.

If you do an online search for “air filter test” there is a lot of very good information. IMHO, the CAI units are NOT WORTH THE $$! Unless you are talking about a system that was specifically designed for a specific application there are very little hp/tq gains actually achieved in a street use vehicle and there are very few docs that these mfg’s can produce that actually show an increase in hp/tq in the power-band range of a relatively stock street vehicle.

I would avoid oil impregnated filters. While they have their purpose in off-road applications, Ford/GM/Dodge all have “watch-out” bulletins where the oil has contaminated intake sensors. - they even have a training video for the techs on this (flatratetech.com) .

If you look at the flow data, WIX HP filters flow 98+% of K&N and have a much smoother flow post filter plus excellent filtering, for a fraction of the price! and recently, Testand Corporation conducted an ISO standards test on automotive air filters which can be viewed at this link: http://www.dieselbombers.com/chevrol...r-testing.html. All I can say is this explains in detail the reason for

(Arlen) SPICER wrote,

“Now that I am not doing the tests and my objectivity is not necessary, let me explain my motivation. The reason I started this crusade was that I was seeing people spend a lot of money on aftermarket filters based on the word of a salesperson or based on the misleading, incomplete or outright deceiving information printed on boxes and in sales literature."

 

The air filer change out is every 30K miles. For me, that's two and a half years of driving for about $25.00. Sounds like a bargain to me.

 

i also agree to not run the K&N filter. They just let too much dirt in and if you don't to put the right amount of oil in them it's almost like not having a filter at all.

 

I couldn't agree anymore about the K&N. I had a real issue with them 10 years ago. I put one on a new 02 Dakota 4x4. At 30,000 miles it was time to check plugs & service the K&N. Well I removed the air box to get to the plugs & to my horror the T/B was full of fine dust. I had to remove all the air intake & T/B to clean. So I had a K&N on my 86 F250 4x4 460 with a new 4160 Holley & it had only been on for about 10,000 miles & I had a bunch of fine dirt in the carb. Well two K&Ns went to the garbage & stock paper filters went on. That ended the problem.
I did run an Airaid on an 04 Trailblazer 4x4 with good results. They filter much better. They helped the air flow over paper a little.
But what most people don't know is: I have a buddy that did a lot of flow work for race teams. Everything from heads to intakes & carbs. I saw him take a stock 4160 Holley 600 CFM do some minor reworking on it & had it flowing at 900 CFM.
So what is told is most vehicles flow way more air than they can use with stock filters & housings. I saw flow checks on this. If your building a pure race engine then the aftermarket CAI & Filters help. But stock applications the stock CAI & Filter provide more than enough air. Talk with some guys that do flow tests & have flow benches etc.
Craig

 

I won't run them in my FJ40 crawler for these reasons. They let to much dirt in.

 

Ditch the K&N filter. They are junk and let way too much dirt into your engine.

 

I wish I'd read this post before installing a K&N air filter on my new 2012 F150 FX4 Ecoboost. Hopefully, the 1,200 miles I put on the truck didn't damage the turbo.
I just replaced the K&N with the factory filter. Thanks for the advice.
Paul

 

im sure you didn't....i have run a K&N in my Grand National for years and have had no turbo issues.

 

I wonder why the difference of opinion

 

Because I doubt he runs that GN down dusty roads and any type of off road.
K&N filters let dirt in. Period.
We used to use these in the rockies when crossing streams as the paper filters get wet and collapse. But when we saw how much fine dirt was downstream of the filter the paper filter went back in.

 

you would be correct..i dont run my gn off road, most people wouldn't, but i do drive it whenever i can. i dont baby it either....my point is simple..im sure he didn't do any damage installing it and driving it..personal preference i guess

 

not worth the money for a turbo charged vehicle. they don't filter enough.

 

Great discussion. Thanks