k+N panel air filter yay or nay?

[gti mad man]

did a search found one thread anyone got one?

[lloyd]

Here's a couple of links to air filter tests:
http://home.stny.rr.com/jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/air

First is best.

[lloyd]

Here's link on 80-90

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... air+filter

[poshbuggers]

Here is the list of applications for the K&N replacement filter no 33-2003:

1990 VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER 1.9L L4 F/I - Petrol
1990 VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER 1.9L L4 CARB - Petrol
1990 VOLKSWAGEN T2 / T3 BUS 2.0L L4 - Petrol
1990 VOLKSWAGEN T2 / T3 BUS 1.9L L4 F/I - Petrol
1990 VOLKSWAGEN T2 / T3 BUS 1.9L L4 CARB - Petrol

I have a new one, sill in its box if anyone is interested.

[gti mad man]

wow cheers for that seems mayeb a waste of money then , k+N being about £45 and a normal one being £8

[ringo]

Personally, i find it too noisy (a K&N that is) and im going to see if i can re-fit the original (its an AAZ conversion so not that straight forward)

I dont understand how it can affect noise bit apparently its called induction noise.

Ringo

[stuffkez]

Ive got a K&N on my 2.1MV and together with a Speedshop system its definitly more responsive. The induction noise is hardly noticable on a panel filter compared to a cone type .
On the cost it was only £35 and has a million mile guarentee so will hopefully pay for itself eventually .
Recomended cleaning interval is 50K but i do mine on 20K ,the stock filter i was changing every 10-15K.

[jamesc76]

mayeb a waste of money then , k+N being about £45 and a normal one being £8

but you forgot that a k&n you'll never need to replace them!!

Personally, i find it too noisy (a K&N that is) and im going to see if i can re-fit the original (its an AAZ conversion so not that straight forward)

I dont understand how it can affect noise bit apparently its called induction noise.

Ringo

Induction noise is all ways gonna be there, its just standard filters silence it out, where as k&n's etc dont have that muffleing effect, thats why they breath more easy with um on too!! You can get replacement panels filters from k&n that might fit into the standard filter housing that will quiten it down!!!

[poshbuggers]

BTW 33-2003 IS a replacement panel filter

[ringo]

Induction noise is all ways gonna be there, its just standard filters silence it out, where as k&n's etc dont have that muffleing effect, thats why they breath more easy with um on too!! You can get replacement panels filters from k&n that might fit into the standard filter housing that will quiten it down!!!

Yeah - i've seen them. Trouble is, i couldnt fit my standard air filter housing in after my engine swap - so i had to go with a K&N cone filter.

Ringo

[T'Onion]

I do believe that CJ is doing them , phone him

[stuffkez]

I do believe that CJ is doing them , phone him

He is but they are rather expensive just search online for any reputable K&N stockist they'll sort you out.

[lloyd]

mayeb a waste of money then , k+N being about £45 and a normal one being £8

but you forgot that a k&n you'll never need to replace them!!

A little math:
£8 for stock times 6 filters is £48... vs K&N at £40 plus cleaning and re-oil kit; another £10
6 filters is easily 100,000 miles of normal driving.... maybe more.
So that's 8 or 9 years it takes to pay for K&N... and K&N lets more dirt in, plugs faster and only very marginally improves air flow. The cfm air flow capacity of a stock filter is much more then cfm engine demands. It's all sales hype.

The following is near bottom of ISO 5011 Duramax Air Filter Test link post by me:

"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. Gentlemen and Ladies, Marketing and the lure of profit is VERY POWERFUL! It is amazing how many people believe that better airflow = more power! Unless you have modifications out the wazoo, a more porous filter will just dirty your oil! Some will say " I have used aftermarket brand X for XXX # years with no problems. The PROBLEM is you spent a chunk of ching on a product that not only DID NOT increase your horsepower, but also let in a lot of dirt while doing it! Now how much is a lot? ANY MORE THAN NECESSARY is TOO MUCH!

Others are persuaded by the claims of aftermarket manufacturers that their filters filter dirt "better than any other filter on the market." Sounds very enticing. To small timers like you and me, spending $1500 to test a filter sounds like a lot. But if you were a filter manufacturer and you believed your filter could filter dirt better than any other media on the market, wouldn't you want to prove it? Guess what. Test your filter vs. the OE paper. It will cost you $3000 and for that price you will have the data that you can use in your advertisements. Your investment will be returned a thousand fold! EASIER than shooting fish in a barrel! So why don't these manufacturers do this? Hmmm? Probably not because they would feel guilty about taking more market share.

Now I am not saying that ALL aftermarket filters are useless. A paper filter does not do well if directly wetted or muddy. It may collapse. This is why many off-road filters are foam. It is a compromise between filtering efficiency and protection from a collapsed filter. Now how many of our trucks collapse their filters from mud and water? However, if a filter is using "better airflow" as their marketing tool, remember this....Does it flow better? At very high airflow volumes, probably. BUT, Our trucks CAN'T flow that much air unless super-modified, so what is the point? The stock filter will flow MORE THAN ENOUGH AIR to give you ALL THE HORSEPOWER the engine has to give. And this remains true until the filter is dirty enough to trip the air filter life indicator. At that point performance will decline somewhat. Replace the filter and get on with it.

[Syncro G]

Induction noise is more of an issue on diesel engines. As they have no restrictive throttles in the air intake (the lack of helps them with supereour efficenty on part throttle) lots of air is always roring through the filter purely as a factor of engine speed (and boost on a turbo). On a petrol when the throttle is closed it draws in little air so you don't hear much unless its being hoofed, then the engine noise builds up masking it.

My landy has a pritty loud diesel engine in it but the induction noise from its K&N is clearly audable above the combustion noise at any speed perticularly idle just above idle and overrun (where combustion noise is low) - its quite distinctive. On overrun when little fuel is being burned the engine should go fairly silent* (they do with the original oil bath filters) but not with the K&N roar.

* Transmision, tyre, road and wind noise remains, and they are by no means insignificant at making it quite a noisy vehicle.

Personly I think a well serviced paper unit offers the best comprimise against noise, performance, filtration rate ands service life. I don't belive K&N's function as well as claimed for as long as claimed between cleaning (they recon 100k miles) Genrally speaking the best filters offer the least performance and vice versa. A K&N would be a fine choice on a race engine that gets thrashed about and rebuilt often, but I wan't my vans engine to last a bit longer. Only resion I have a K&N in the landy is because it fits in the limited space and is better than nowt, one day I want to fit something better.

[toomanytoys]

Early square panel filter as fitted to early 1.9 petrols and IIRC aircooleds.. is the same filter as a 165bhp Audi 100 turbo that doesnt need changing for 12000 miles... I would say that it flows more than enough and lasts long enough.. to outweigh a K&N..

I have used a K&N in my Bandit.. only coz it was 50% dearer than the standard disposable airfilter and I have now had the bike 9 years...