I use a K&N so all the recent talk about them being ineffective worried me. I used some of a post I found on here as part of an email I wrote them. Take it for what it's worth just thought maybe some guys would like the FYI...

My email:
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Hi.

I frequent the forums on www.atvconnection.com. There is around 25,000 members. I'm going to post a quote on the board that I have seen quite a few times in so many words or less.



Do you remember a topic about Kand N filters a few months ago and how they were doing a poor job of protecting engines ?
as i recall it was mostly on the Honda forum but also had a mentiond on here.

I called a Honda dealer i used to by all the parts for my R from to see if he could get me some parts for my DS as they are big into racing and generally good guys, where as my bomb dealer is big into tractors and well ?

Anyway when i asked if he could get hold of a K and n for me he said no problem but he would no longer recomend them for four strokes as all the bikes running them that they dealt with (mostly 400 ex) were smoking there nuts of after a couple of years and the guys on foam didnt seem to have the same problem.

A problem that never raised its head on two strokes as they get rebuilt more often any way.

Now the bikes in question are almost certinaly all riding on dirt and in the clouds of crap coming off the bikes in front and i run on sand which has much bigger particals so i cant see them getting through the k and n .

the dealer nor myself are biased either way but its certinaly food for thought



what can you tell me about this quote?

Is it legitimate? I run a K&N on my 2001 Bombardier DS650. Not surprisely I'm quite concerned.

Can you advise? Should I go to foam? Is the K&N a liability longterm? please BE HONEST.



I also run a K&N in my truck, my wifes Jeep & my old IH truck. So I'm very worried I'm shortening my engine life.



Also, others are suggesting a new filter called a "no- toil" brand foam filter that not only filters better , but also produces more HP on the dyno than K&N. Do you know anything about those claims?



http://www.notoil.com/filterframe.html Although Bombardier isn't listed, they do offer one. $48 for filter & cleaning kit.



Thank -you

Andrew Thomas

a concerned, but loyal customer.


K&N's response:

Dear Andrew,



Sorry for the delay in responding back to your email. We have been receiving large amounts of email and are trying to catch up and answer every single request.



No matter what testing K&N has done (and also independent firms) on filtering efficiency, there are always going to be a few customers that feel the K&N did not perform well. We test our filtering media using the same standardized test per SAE regulations. It is the same test used by all air filter manufacturers, and K&N filters at the same level or better than a stock filter. This test looks at both particle size efficiency and also total dirt capacity. You can read more about this at http://www.knfilters.com/faq.htm#10.



I have not heard of the other filter manufacturer you mentioned. I clicked on the link you provided but it didn’t go through. Overall, K&N has been making filters for almost 40 years, and dirtbikes were where we started. We have many sponsored riders that use the filters and are constantly examining their motors during teardowns. You should not feel concerned at all using K&N in any of your vehicles. Just make sure to use the correct part numbers, install them correctly, and service them accordingly.



Thanks for writing



Shaun McClure

Technical Support

K&N Engineering



Please include this email with any future response.

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Also, I run a stock replacement in the stock airbox. I wonder If I should be using anytype of sealing grease? I never have, the tract has always been clean.

 

Nice post. I also run K & N filters in most things I own. Thousands of hours with them attached to my equipment with no problems. Unless you count not cleaning them often and not noticing much power loss a problem![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Andrew,

Good info.
are you running the outerwears. it seams to me the outerwears would solve your concerns. all I rember is a couple of people ive talked to or I read here is that the stock flowed better than K-n but it was only .2 % more on the dyno, that aint worth a lick, the K-n you can wash repetedly, the stock you gota trash. Bombardier did there home work when they built this quad!! not many stock filters can flow as much as a k-n but again they both are paper. I think you will find a lot of guys have been running K-N on there quad for a long time w/ no probs . I would keep running the K-N but with a outerwear. JMO


off topic: I know with the warmer temps you have got to have some verrrrry nice pics of that angel/ devil (you choose) of yours to post [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Sam

 

Yes I run an outerwear. My 2nd one actually. The stock airbox is so small it rubs a small hole in the material on the top back of it. Maybe my wife riding passenger is crushing it!

I don't have anymore pics. I showed her what I posted awhile back & she got mad. Saying I was embarrassing her & posting "fat pics".

So I can't say when the next update will be....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

Quote from Honda dealer regarding K&N air filters
Anyway when i asked if he could get hold of a K and n for me he said no problem but he would no longer recomend them for four strokes as all the bikes running them that they dealt with (mostly 400 ex) were smoking there nuts of after a couple of years

Now that is funny, because the 400EX we sold to buy my son's YFZ was a couple of years old, and it burned a half quart of oil on every ride as well. Only thing is, it had used the stock foam air filter the whole time. Maybe it's that low tech air cooled engine on the 400EX that just burns oil, and not the K&N filter being used on the 400EX.

 

I have the K&N filter in stock air box with lid and the otterwear. I just cleaned mine for the 1st time the other day and i ran a white rag around in the air tube to see if dirt was getting through and the rag came out as clean as it went in, so no dirty getting through. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] K&N is doing a great job!
I just put a order in for one of these air box lids with the otterwear cut into it. http://www.ehsracing.com/products/ds_650.php
I will let you know how they work after some dusty ridding.

 

I run a no toil air filter with a ds Snorkel in my raptor and it was proven to make more HP on a dyno then the K&N, i will buy both and test in 2 weeks and then post back for sure, i usually run foam but for the most performance i would think the K&N would be better..

 

yes be sure to post the results. When spending $40+ for a filter I want the best I can get.

 

2 ds's owned for almost 5 years, nothing but k/n's sense new. there both carb mount with pre-filters no air box. i live in wisconsin where it's either mud or dust- lots of " DUST". tried the foam uni's didn't like the oil mess and seemed to clog up much faster than k/n's. dyno guy said k/n's alway pull more hp than any other he has tried. I'M SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!