In North America, most vehicles have the model year and engine size printed on an emissions decal placed on the underside of the hood. Many vehicle manufacturers display make and model emblems on the back or side of the vehicle. If you know your make, model, year, and engine size, you can use K&Ns application search to locate compatible products for your vehicle.
Your vehicle identification number (VIN) can also be a quick and easy way to find compatible K&N® parts for your vehicle. Your vehicles VIN is printed on a tag located on the drivers side dashboard of your vehicle, and can be read from the outside looking in through the windshield. The VIN is also located on a tag inside the drivers side door jam or on the door itself. It is also listed on your vehicle registration certificate. If you know your vehicles VIN, you can use K&Ns vehicle search by VIN tool to find compatible products for your vehicle.
In Europe, your registration documents detail your engine size and vehicle type. However, if you do not know whether your vehicle is spi (single point injection) or mpi (multi point injection), Company suggest that you consult your local dealer. Once you have found your vehicles information, please use K&Ns vehicle search bar up above to find compatible K&N® products.
SHAPE
When fitting a conventional round filter on top of your engine-such as a carburetor, central fuel injector, or throttle body fuel injector-a large diameter, short filter will provide more airflow than a small diameter, tall filter. For example, a 10-inch diameter, 2-inch tall filter will provide more airflow than a 5-inch diameter, 4-inch tall filter. Where space permits, the height of the filter should be between 1/5 and 1/4 of its diameter.
The shape of the filter is less important if the application calls for a remote mounted filter, which includes many late-model fuel-injected vehicles. Typically, these vehicles will use a flat panel filter, or a conical/cylindrical shaped filter with a rubber mounting flange designed to be mounted on the end of the inlet hose.
SIZE
Use the formula below to compute the minimum size filter required for your particular application. The usable portion of the filter-the effective filtering area-is calculated by multiplying the diameter of the filter times pi (3.1416), multiplying by the height of the air filter in inches, and then subtracting .75-inch. Company subtract .75-inch to compensate for the rubber seals on each end of the element and the filter material near them, since very little air flows through this area.
If you are sizing a panel filter, multiply the width of the filter area (not the rubber seal) by its length. If you are sizing a round filter, use the following formula to determine the height of the filter.
Referencing the K&N vehicle search bar shows the proper filter for this application would be an E-1500, which is 3.5 inches tall. Keep in mind, this is the minimum size requirement. To provide an even greater volume of air to the engine, install the largest filter that will fit in the space allotted.
Off-road conditions require additional filter surface area. A filter should be sized 1-1/2 to 2 times larger than normal for any conditions that could be considered severe. In this case, the E-1500 used in their example should be replaced
Typical disposable paper air filters function on a size-dependent basis, in which dirt particles that are larger than the openings in the filter media are blocked, while particles that are smaller than the openings can pass through. Most disposable paper filters create more airflow restriction than K&N filters, as the openings in the filter media have to be tiny in order to filter efficiently, which can reduce airflow.
K&N ® High-Flow Air Filters™ utilize depth loading, in which multiple layers of pleated cotton fibers provide particle retention on many levels. However, while most typical paper or foam filters would experience a large reduction in airflow when designed for a dramatic increase in efficiency, High-Flow Air Filters™ are specifically engineered to capture dirt while still allowing a high volume of airflow to pass through.
As has become customary in the automotive industry, we use Coarse Test Dust for gasoline engine air filters and Fine Test Dust for diesel engine air filters. This practice of using different grades of test dust developed because Diesel engines require higher levels of filtration because they operate at much higher compression and require tighter tolerances than Gasoline engines.
Their testing has demonstrated that on average, K&N replacement air filters and air intake systems have a cumulative or Full Life filtration efficiency of between 96% and 99%. Different filters test at different efficiencies due to changes in their shape, surface area and relationship to the direction of air flow through the factory air box or test housing. Like most air filters available in the USA, our filters will provide all the engine protection you need.
No. The quality of an air filter can only be judged by reviewing all four important characteristics. 1) Restriction while loading with dust; 2) Filtration efficiency as a percentage; 3) Dust holding capacity before the filter needs cleaning or replacement ; and 4) filter life. Any company designing an air filter must make choices about these four characteristics and how their filter will perform in each area. Generally speaking, each characteristic of an air filter has an inverse relationship to at least one of the others, meaning, as filtration efficiency goes up, restriction increases and capacity or service life decreases. So an air filter manufacturer can design an air filter to have ultra high filtration efficiency by compromising the filters restriction, capacity, and/or service life. They judge the quality of an air filter based upon the proper balance of these four essential criteria. Maximizing one at the expense of others sounds more like a marketing goal rather than an engineering goal. So the basic answer to the original question is that higher filtration is not necessarily a good thing when it comes at the expense of restriction, reusability and/or capacity. While the benefits of a filter with 99.9% filtration are unknown, the benefits of low restriction are measurable and clear. Low restriction helps an engine perform more efficiently generating more power and torque.
That would lead a reasonable person to ask what then is a safe level of filtration. This question is literally unanswered. Minimum air filter specifications are generally not called out in vehicle owners manuals, nor will you find much published information on air filtration requirements from vehicle manufacturers. They have never seen a scientific study concluding what levels of filtration efficiency correspond to various levels of engine wear. Some large air filter companies do not even publish information on the efficiencies of the air filters they manufacture. It is KNNs opinion that both the Fine and Coarse Test Dust mixtures used in air filter testing contain such a high concentration of small particles that even filtration efficiency numbers as low as 90% may provide adequate engine protection. Remember that almost 11% of COARSE test dust is smaller than 5.5 microns (the size of a red blood cell).
The fact is that an engine is not a pristine environment. Fuel enters after passing through a fuel filter, combines with air which is ignited to explode in a pressurized chamber. The combustion is not 100% efficient and leaves residues behind that must be flushed from the engine. Engines have tolerances or measured gaps between surface areas. While there are few if any studies on engine wear, it would seem reasonable to speculate that particles less than 5.5 microns create little engine wear unless ingested at very high levels of concentration. As support for this theory, consider the filtration levels provided by fuel filters and oil filters that sometimes tout their ability to filter particles above 10 or 20 microns.
If you really want to compare two air filters, you need to know all four characteristics mentioned above. Consumers can then choose what matters most to them. But comparing two air filters with only one piece of information is like saying a bicycle is better than a car based solely on a comparison of mileage. Yes the mileage is better, but a car has a few other benefits (speed, comfort, keeps you dry in wet weather) that just may offset the mileage disadvantage.
They design air filters to provide low restriction throughout the filters service interval. They seek the best balance between airflow and filtration recognizing they are inversely related. After nearly 40 years in business with millions of air filters sold, they have a track record you can trust and the experience that can only be earned through years of focusing on just one thing. But even their experience is not enough. They operate a fully staffed air filtration lab that operates on a year round basis with two test stands. The lab was designed by Southwest Research and is calibrated regularly to ensure their test results are reliable. This testing is an essential ingredient in verifying their air filters meet their own high standards of excellence. Making a great air filter is no accident and they are confident their air filters provide outstanding engine protection with huge air flow advantages throughout the air filters service interval. Thats why they back up their replacement air filters with both a Million Mile Warranty and their Consumer Protection Pledge.
K&Ns air filtration lab tests air filters according to ISO5011 test protocol. The ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an international organization which establishes standards used by different industries worldwide. The ISO does not establish any standards for an air filters effectiveness; they establish standards for the testing procedures used to find air filters capacities and efficiencies only under the fixed and chosen parameters of the test being conducted. In the case of engine air filters, the ISO5011 test ensures consistency in the procedure used to test a filters initial restriction, initial efficiency, cumulative (full-life) efficiency, and dust holding capacity. Using a standardized test procedure and disclosing the user selected variables ensures the same test can be run anywhere around the world. Some of the requirements of the ISO5011 test procedure are that the temperature of the test lab must be maintained at 23 degrees Celsius +/- 5 degrees Celsius, and the relative humidity of the test lab must be maintained at 55% +/- 15%, for the entire duration of the test. During the test at each weighing stage (when the mass of the filter is found) the humidity can only vary +/- 2%. Also, all test dust which is fed into the air filter must be "found" after the test is completed. That means if 10 grams of test dust is fed to the filter during the test, but only 8 grams of dust is found trapped in the filter after the test, part of the ISO5011 test procedure requires that the remaining 2 grams of dust must be found. The dust could be in the air filter housing, the air duct, or the absolute filter which traps any dust that passes through the air filter, but wherever it is it must be accounted for. If any of the requirements of the ISO test procedure are not met, the test is not valid. A companys participation in testing using ISO5011 test procedures is strictly voluntary. Conducting an ISO5011 test requires a considerable investment in both time and equipment, and many air filter companies simply do not have the resources to complete an ISO test in-house. K&N views this test procedure as a valuable part of their research and development process.
There is a relationship between air filter restriction and mileage. The theory behind this is simple, the harder an engine has to work to suck air through the intake tubes and air filter, the more gas gets wasted in the process. Many K&N users report an increase in their fuel economy after beginning to use K&N air filters. However, these experiences do not mean you will also experience a change in your mileage. Company certainly understand why it is theoretically possible for a consumer to experience a mileage increase after installing a K&N air filter or intake system, however, they do not go so far as to make a general claim that K&N air filters and intake systems will provide an increase in mileage.
It is virtually impossible to make sweeping and general claims about mileage. Even the EPA fuel rating numbers for new cars are often not representative of the mileage you actually experience. There are many variables that affect mileage such as: tire inflation, the type of fuel, weather, elevation, the speed at which you drive, the gear in which you drive, the speed with which you accelerate, engine maintenance, excessive idling, cruise control, the grade of motor oil you use, and of course, the condition of your air filter. In short, mileage is complicated.
K&N filters are less restrictive than disposable paper or synthetic air filters and K&N Intake Systems are less restrictive than the factory installed air path. So K&N filter technology could be an important tool, when combined with other elements, to help keep mileage as high as possible.
Oh yeah, theres one more limitation imposed by science. If you take advantage of added power by driving more aggressively, you will reduce mileage. You cannot have your cake and eat it too.
No, it is both impossible and ridiculous.
It is impossible because they know that the oil treatment on their cotton is very small (usually less than 2 ounces). Once the oil is properly and evenly absorbed through the cotton, no oil will come off, even under extreme engine conditions. It is ridiculous, because no dealership or service provider has ever been able to provide us with evidence to support this "myth," and in fact, their investigations have revealed that even authorized dealerships are simply speculating and do not have the test equipment necessary to know whether the sensor has failed or why. It is even more ridiculous because some car manufacturers use and sell air filters treated with oil on a regular basis. There are also major brands of disposable air filters that are treated with oil. They all use oil for the same reason, it helps in the filtration efficiency of an air filter.
Out of the millions of air filters we sell, they only receive a handful of consumer complaints each month that a dealership or service provider has blamed a vehicle sensor repair on their product. They take each complaint very seriously and see it as an opportunity to stop a consumer from being taken advantage of.
As a result of their standing up for consumer rights and providing assistance to resolve a disagreement, they have had over 100 actual sensors sent to us by dealerships who claimed their product had caused them to fail. Microscopic, electronic and chemical testing revealed that none of the sensors were contaminated by K&N oil. What is perhaps the single biggest clue to what is going on is that over 50% of these sensors were not broken in the first place for any reason.
Roto-Molded High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Intake Systems: 57-Series, 63-Series
*Certain 57-series and 63-series intakes are designed to function with the factory air box, and feature a panel filter paired with a custom roto-molded intake tube.
Mandrel-Bent Aluminum Intake Systems: 69-Series, 77-Series
*K&N intake systems are compatible with vehicles with a suspension lift installed.