K&N air filters for my 2015 Genesis 5.0

[carguy75]

What were your testing methods to determine this?

To be honest, just pure feel. I probably would need proper testing equipment to actually make a hard case that my engine is actually responding faster and/or at higher rpms.

However, to me feel is more important than what data tells me that a product should or should not be doing. But, hard data if acquired correctly does hold more weight than perception.

 

[Alfer]

Yeah, the brain can be a tricky thing when it comes to things like this.

 

[carguy75]

Yeah, the brain can be a tricky thing when it comes to things like this.

Well,not tricky. The brain is actually good at perceiving change. However, not measuring it. Any gain in performance is a plus for any product unless the manufacturer states exactly what the gains should be and falls short.

K&N is wise enough not to state any specify performance gains.

So if my car only is about .10 second faster or pick up only 1hp more on a dyno, well a gain is a gain.

 

[QuantumRift]

You'll also see that you're not buying paper filters year after year as well...

The gains will be seen in your wallet. 2-3 mpg better in my Sonata when I had it. Times that by 20 for your tank size in the Genesis/G80, that's 40-60 more miles per tank. I'll be conservative on the MPG of yours and go with 20mpg average. That's 3 gallons which, depending on where you live, can net you $9 in savings per fill up.

I'm analytical and care about things that really don't matter. There must be something in my coffee.

 

[QuantumRift]

I'm 61, so a .1 second gain is offset by my age. LOL... but I'm not particularly concerned about 0-60 times.... I live for those 35 -80 punches when merging on the freeway...LOL..

Well,not tricky. The brain is actually good at perceiving change. However, not measuring it. Any gain in performance is a plus for any product unless the manufacturer states exactly what the gains should be and falls short.

K&N is wise enough not to state any specify performance gains.

So if my car only is about .10 second faster or pick up only 1hp more on a dyno, well a gain is a gain.

 

[QuantumRift]

So, then, does having a high flow air filter in itself is going to do you any actual good? I could see where, at the very most it will probably move your power bump higher in the rev range, that's about it. With that higher air flow, it's also a given that you also need extra fuel to create more power, and for that you need a tunable ECU, with which you can adjust the injection pulse duration, with that you will also need a Wide-Band lambda sensor to monitor your AFR's to make sure you are running the right ratios. Granted, a product like K&N uses high quality components, but K&N does command a premium price for their product. That's why I try to buy online or on sale (with military discount when was buying them).

So you really did not notice any performance gains with the K&N filters?

Interesting.

I would not say I noticed a extremely major engine change, but I do notice my engine responds better and reach 100mph+ speeds easier than with my stock filters.

 

[QuantumRift]

I won't fault K&N for their marketing, because that really is what sells their product. If you, for example, take a look at Monster Video and Audio cables, it is very obvious the gains you can get from them are on an even narrower margin, given the equipment you need to extract that kind of performance from the cables. Can I, in reality tell the difference between them? Not so much. So main question is, why will a company inform you of the high requirements of their product to produce the kinds of gain they were designed for, the answer is to enlarge their consumer base given the lower cost involves as compared to the rest of the equipment. No matter how you take it, that is it in a nutshell..."

How often do you drive your engine pass 4k rpm? I see that you live in a metro area with heavy traffic, so do you really even push your engines. If so, where? I have driven through DC on my way to New York several times and it is always crowded.

I ask this because you will not notice a significant performance gain just by doing normal low rpm driving except maybe better gas mileage which would be slight as well in stop-and-go traffic and a maybe better throttle response, but again not very noticeable in heavy traffic unless you are trying to rear-end someone.

A performance air filter really shines while doing high speed/high rpm driving where the stock paper air filter falls short, hence the racing origin of K&N.

 

[carguy75]

So, then, does having a high flow air filter in itself is going to do you any actual good? I could see where, at the very most it will probably move your power bump higher in the rev range, that's about it. With that higher air flow, it's also a given that you also need extra fuel to create more power, and for that you need a tunable ECU, with which you can adjust the injection pulse duration, with that you will also need a Wide-Band lambda sensor to monitor your AFR's to make sure you are running the right ratios. Granted, a product like K&N uses high quality components, but K&N does command a premium price for their product. That's why I try to buy online or on sale (with military discount when was buying them).

That is very hard question to answer since every ECU is tuned differently. Some modern ECU are very advance and can make adjustments to variables like air flow and fuel quality without needing to being additionally tuned. Most direct injection ECU are very smart in that sense.

In theory, yes a performance filter should allow this engine to breather better and adjust timing to compensate which usually equals to more horsepower. The same goes for a clogged filter or poor flowing air filter, the ECU adjust timing for that as well so that engine performance do not degrade too much beside losing some mpg and running a little more sluggish.

Direct injection need an good air/spark mixture to make power so in our engine gaining extra air should be beneficial in theory. However, this is really only speculation. In reality, my engine could making 20hp more or 20 hp less. It feels like it running stronger, how much so is any one guess to honest.

 

[carguy75]

I'm 61, so a .1 second gain is offset by my age. LOL... but I'm not particularly concerned about 0-60 times.... I live for those 35 -80 punches when merging on the freeway...LOL..

I am a couple decades younger than you, so I am still concerned about performance hence why I bought the V8 model. If I did not care about a really quick car then I would have just bought the V6 model.

 

[EdP]

Direct injection need an good air/spark mixture to make power so in our engine gaining extra air should be beneficial in theory. However, this is really only speculation. In reality, my engine could making 20hp more or 20 hp less. It feels like it running stronger, how much so is any one guess to honest.

I'm sure some engines feel it more than others, depending on design. More air can help, but you have to process the air. It has to be mixed with fuel, ignited at the optimum time, then pushed out the exhaust. Depends how you drive too. I don't see it doing much cruising along a 1200 rpm, but it could give a nice boost at 4500.

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[larrymg1]

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[carguy75]

I'm sure some engines feel it more than others, depending on design. More air can help, but you have to process the air. It has to be mixed with fuel, ignited at the optimum time, then pushed out the exhaust. Depends how you drive too. I don't see it doing much cruising along a 1200 rpm, but it could give a nice boost at 4500.

My point exactly. Performance filters are utilized best in engines that are driving near red-line and high speeds that requires a lot of airflow to the engine in my opinion; which usually mean more than 4k rpms.

My 5.0 engine cruise at about 1200 rpms around town at 40mph and about 2000 rpms on the highway at about 80mph in ECO mode. Slightly higher in the other drive modes. My engine really shines with the performance air filters when the engine hits about 4000 rpms in any drive mode.

Many older engines with limited adaptability gained less with performance air filters unless custom tuned, however the 2015 5.0 engine has a variable timing and valve lift feature that adjust for airflow including exhaust flow. So this engine does benefit from more airflow by design, how much so is again unknown due to no real testing done on this engine. Other similar designed twin air-box direct injection engines like the Nissan 3.7 V6 gain a lot of power from just swapping to performance panel air filters.

I do not base my performance filter hp power claims on outdated information about engines designed and tested in the 90's or early 2000's, but on the latest dyno test of modern direct injection engines that are tested with performance filters.

 

[2015genesisNewbie]

My point exactly. Performance filters are utilized best in engines that are driving near red-line and high speeds that requires a lot of airflow to the engine in my opinion; which usually mean more than 4k rpms.

My 5.0 engine cruise at about 1200 rpms around town at 40mph and about 2000 rpms on the highway at about 80mph in ECO mode. Slightly higher in the other drive modes. My engine really shines with the performance air filters when the engine hits about 4000 rpms in any drive mode.

Many older engines with limited adaptability gained less with performance air filters unless custom tuned, however the 2015 5.0 engine has a variable timing and valve lift feature that adjust for airflow including exhaust flow. So this engine does benefit from more airflow by design, how much so is again unknown due to no real testing done on this engine. Other similar designed twin air-box direct injection engines like the Nissan 3.7 V6 gain a lot of power from just swapping to performance panel air filters.

I do not base my performance filter hp power claims on outdated information about engines designed and tested in the 90's or early 2000's, but on the latest dyno test of modern direct injection engines that are tested with performance filters.

I’m just STILL waiting on your drag strip results!!! I might have results before you! Going on Friday 08/10/18 @7pm CST...
Think I'll bring the tools needed and the stock AFs to really see if the K&Ns make a difference. I'll also be using 93 octane fuel from Shell with a NOS brand octane booster (I usually just use plane Jane 87) seeing as how the 420hp is only on high octane fuel...

 

[carguy75]

I’m just STILL waiting on your drag strip results!!! I might have results before you! Going on Friday 08/10/18 @7pm CST...
Think I'll bring the tools needed and the stock AFs to really see if the K&Ns make a difference. I'll also be using 93 octane fuel from Shell with a NOS brand octane booster (I usually just use plane Jane 87) seeing as how the 420hp is only on high octane fuel...

Cool!!!

However, you have to remember that ECU will need time to adjust to a filter change so you will not get a good comparison in the same night unless you disconnect the battery before every run with each filter type, because then the ECU would in learning mode for each filter type during each track run.

Yet, even if not perfect a comparison is a comparison so I am curious to see how it goes.

My "local" track is about 40 miles away from me so I have to make a trip out of it on a Friday night, however my wife really do not care about drag racing and like to make "family" time on Friday nights so it may take me a while to get to the track.

I only use Shell 93 octane in my 5.0.

 

[2015genesisNewbie]

Cool!!!

However, you have to remember that ECU will need time to adjust to a filter change so you will not get a good comparison in the same night unless you disconnect the battery before every run with each filter type, because then the ECU would in learning mode for each filter type during each track run.

Yet, even if not perfect a comparison is a comparison so I am curious to see how it goes.

My "local" track is about 40 miles away from me so I have to make a trip out of it on a Friday night, however my wife really do not care about drag racing and like to make "family" time on Friday nights so it may take me a while to get to the track.

I only use Shell 93 octane in my 5.0.

There is only one shell gas station with 93 octane in town. As for my local dragstrip it’s about 15 minutes away. I wouldn’t mind disconnecting the battery each time LOL for more accurate results.

 

[2015genesisNewbie]

There is only one shell gas station with 93 octane in town. As for my local dragstrip it’s about 15 minutes away. I wouldn’t mind disconnecting the battery each time LOL for more accurate results.

I would also like to state that I also kind of plan on cheating as I only plan on having about 5 gallons in the fuel tank

 

[2015genesisNewbie]

I will at least be going up against two buddies of mine that are going with me one with a 2016 ford mustang GT 5.0L V8 and the other with a 2011 BMW 750i 4.4L V8 TwinTurbo

 

[carguy75]

I would also like to state that I also kind of plan on cheating as I only plan on having about 5 gallons in the fuel tank

LOL. This is how I run my cars at the track. I only use about a few gallons to reduce weight to get the best times.

 

[carguy75]

I will at least be going up against two buddies of mine that are going with me one with a 2016 ford mustang GT 5.0L V8 and the other with a 2011 BMW 750i 4.4L V8 TwinTurbo

Well ,the Mustang is going to win hands down stock or modified.

However, you may inch pass the 750i if he is still stock, if modified then the BMW will win also.

Hell, I could be wrong so I can not wait to read what happens.

 

[2015genesisNewbie]

LOL. This is how I run my cars at the track. I only use about a few gallons to reduce weight to get the best times.

My thoughts exactly