Heys Guys. So Besides the filter being reusable via cleaning and air drying. Does the K&N/AEM air filters provide noticeable more breathing for the engines ? Is it really less restrictive by half vs a stock cotton air filter ? Im assuming it will net to better throttle response? and just maybe a 0.5-1.5 mpg gain , yes ? (More air equals less fuel to burn) Whats your thoughts/ experiences. 3.8L- 3.3T- 5.0L
OBO, I've used their filters for years across all sort of applications in both motorcycles and cars. I have two Jaguar V-8's and a Dodge van that currently use them and here are my observations as well as some technical considerations.
Their filters are made using a custom cotton filtering medium that passes more air than generally available filters made of woven paper or open cell foam. A free flow of air means quicker piston fill. I doubt there is much by way of improved fuel economy but at higher RPM's I'd figure maybe a couple of more horsepower and possibly a bit quicker acceleration. There's a lot of both science and advertising baloney behind all this but here's what I know. Basically they allow the engine to breath much easier
In my car, a Genesis 5.0, the engine needs 17,500 liters of air every minute run at 7,000 RPM's. That's 4,623 gallons every 60 seconds! To be properly filled with the amount of air it needs the intake system has to be capable of supplying at least that amount of air for the entire amount if time that engine is running at 7,000 RPM's even if that is only a fraction of its operating life. Now every 5.0 engine needs those 17.500 liters every combustion cycle regardless of RPM's except that at lower RPM's the system has a bit more time to refill. Got that? O.K.
The choke point in any system is the size/volume of the intake system and it's ability to flow that air as smoothly and quickly as possible and the air filter is one of its more important parts. Next to the size of the actual air box that surrounds the air filter that filter probably plays the next largest part in this dance because no mater how large the air box if the filter won't pass the air fast enough the engine starves for air & fuel as the RPM's climb and along with it the demand for more air faster. This is where the construction of the K&N's comes in as they're designed for maximum air flow while still maintaining the ability to stop the smallest of airborne particles that flow in. They do this two ways. First by using a custom blend of cotton fibers that passes more air than normal paper filters and a very light weight oil to act as a glue for the heavier particles as they try to pass by.
Don't forget that within the intake system there are mass airflow sensors, intake air temperature sensors, atmospheric pressure sensor, and load sensors that all control the air/fuel ratio, the ignition timing, and the pulse rate of the individual injectors along with the variable timing of the valves and camshafts.
Complicated stuff and a far far cry from the very first car I learned to drive on which was a leaning tower of power in a 1960 Plymouth Valiant 4dr. known as a slant six. It had basic points ignition system, a 2 barrel carb, 12 valves,, etc. all managed by an entirely analogue system. I think the only transistor was probably in the AM only radio<G>
^^^^^
that come out of the filter.
