I just purchased an 03 Vinson with 1500 miles that had a "Quadworks" jetting kit installed complete with a K&N filter built for Quad works. The kit was installed at around 800 miles from what the original owner suggested. I purchased the quad in February and have since purchased an Outerwears for the K&N filter.

After reading on this website and several others, I am now contemplating removal of the K&N and installing a Uni or Twin air. Is this a good idea for the overall durability of the machine? Will I run into problems whereas the jetting kit was designed to work with the K&N? Am I overreacting and should I just settle down and not worry about it? I do own all the oils and know that maintenance is of the essence with any filter, but now I am scared of endagering my first ATV.

I ride in Utah at altitude (4,700-10,000 ft above sea level) and a lot of trails get really dusty in the late summer and fall time. I will be riding a few times a month for small day trips with an occasional longer trip with a couple of friends. Thanks in advance for the advice you can offer me.

Firehawk

 

I was just getting ready to make a post about my results from testing my K&N against UNI.
I ordered a Proflow design with a uni filter and they sent me a K&N instead. I was going to send it back after listening to RANGERRECONs advice about dirt or sand getting inside but I had to convince myself it wasent because of not oiling or not installing it right. To make a long story short I oiled up my K&N filter real good and intalled the outwears cover over the filter. I even had a type of outwears cover over the airbox lid for extra protection. I thought nothing can get in hear. It was fine as long as I rode in front out of anybodys else's dust. Last week was the big test. I went tp ST Joe ST. Park here in Missouri that has a sand type terrian. I rode hard for several hours that day...It was a fine day but when I got home I pulled off the lid and unscrewed the filter clamp, pulled off the filter and there inside the intake I could see a coating of fine sand stuck to the inside wall of the intake!!!!!!!
That did it for me. I now have a new UNI-FILTER all oilied up and now in place. I should have listen to Rangerrecon's advice a long time ago! Hope It wasent to late[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

First off I have a K&N on my Vinson and just ordered another one for my second Vinson and have one on my truck that has 140,000 miles on it. It has been on my first Vinson since 100 miles and my truck since 10k. It now has 1600 miles on it and still runs perfect. I do the filter maintenance like mfr. suggests. When I take the filter off there really is not any noticeable dust much less sand in the intake tube. K&N makes a lot of different filters for a lot of diff. applications. How could they continue to dominate the aftermarket filter industry if they sold a product that would damage your engine? I also work in the air conditioning industry and know a good bit about filtration. Firehawk, the K&N will be o.k. as long as you service it.
I think the reason people claim to be having problems with K&N's is because they are not installed properly and/or not serviced correctly.

 

Camosuzuki,

As a fellow HVAC guy, I know that there are alot of people out there who do nothing to "maintain" their furnace filtration system. The best responses I have ever heard are "There is a filter on my furnace?" or "Hmmm, you mean I am supposed to change that filter thing on the furnace more than once every year or so?"

I worked really hard to buy this ATV and I am anxious to keep it running well as it will be a long time before I can buy another. I am just trying to do my best. I guess that there is only one way to find out if I am doing it right as far as maintenance goes.....look for dust near the carb. I assume I am doing it right.

FH

 

I'm from missouri. The Show me state. I have shown myself the proof! I used to think it must be people not installing them or not servicing them right. When I take a white paper towel and run it around the inside of the intake and it comes out not with dust but fine sand then I now am a beliver. I think there fine for highways but not sand areas or real dusty areas. I not here to prove anything to anybody, just to myself and I did that. I'll keep my K&N in my shop sitting up side down to use as a pencil holder for now on!
Dont take my word for it or any body else's word. Do a test your self.

 

CamoKodiak,

Your response and many more like it is exactly what has me worried about the whole thing. I don't want to go down the wrong road. What about the jetting? Should this make a difference?

FH

 

im so lost, i read all this before buying my k+n and this was my conclusion i ran oiled foam filter no toil i believe, no sand no dust inside intake with airbox no lid,i ran k+n for airbox with no outerwear,had sand(btw it was oiled) Now i have clamp on with water resistant outerwear no air box and no sand mind you i do alot of dusty trail rides and drags up hill in the deep sand. i dont get it. could it be the long clamp ons k+n are made different from the stock airbox ones ? btw im riding a lt250r not a vinson.

 

I will have to vote no to the K&N.
I have run one in the past on a Wolverine and it was the same story.
Found fine particles in the intake that the filter was letting past.
I decided from now on I will only run a foam filter for off road.
The K&N may flow a little better but that extra (1/2?) hp just dont justify
the lack of filteration.
For street applications I believe they are good enough.
In fact I have one on my Harley.
But a street enviroment and an off road enviroment are completely different.

 

That seems to be the case, for the street they are OK, for the dust they are questionable.......

I've run K&N in cars/trucks many times over the years. I like them for street applications because in the long run they save you money on air filters for the most part......

I had a K&N on my Warrior, and never knew the dangers until I came here and people were saying they don't filter well in dust. So I went out and took apart the intake, and sure enough the inside was coated with a fine dust, and even some bigger particles that I didn't expect to get by a filter. My filters are always oiled, but in this case I didn't have an Outerwear sock on. That could make all the difference, I don't know for sure but other have said they found the same things with the sock on.

So instead of buying the sock, I put a Twin Air foam filter on and did the same test a week later. No dust, no particles, at that point I was convinced that a foam filter was probably a better choice for off-road applications. They are cheaper and seem to protect better.

Some people will still swear by a K&N, but personally I will stick with foam for my ATVs......

 

I had the same amount of "dust" wiped from my airbox with my stock foam filter, as i do with the K&N. I also have a 14yr old ATV that still runs perfect which is enough proof for me to use a K&N