Oh man, I feel like this thread is going to go the way of oil recommendation/oil analysis threads, where everyone that runs a certain kind of filter goes about defending it because "they've never had an issue" "it's always worked well for me" "my engine runs great after XXXXX miles" and so on and so forth.
Nobody is saying that a K&N filter is going to cause your engine to fail prematurely or cause major engine damage. There is definitely something to be said about having clean air in the engine though, as it's a lot easier to keep wear particles out than filter them out of the oil after they're in your engine. The rule of thumb for particle size when it comes to engine wear is larger than 5 microns and it has the potential for wear. Notice how the K&N lets in a shit ton of that size. Again, is it worth it for a couple extra horsepower?
There are a lot of conditions inside an engine that are nearly impossible to test scientifically without actually disassembling the engine after a standard test procedure of some sort.
For some examples: maybe you live in a city that cleans the streets regularly and there generally not much air contamination. You can probably get away with a filter that doesn't filter the smaller particles. Now if you live in the desert of Arizona or Southern California or whatever, it's probably a better option to run a filter that catches all the small stuff.
I mean, think about the guys that go off track at Apple Valley Speedway or HTM. That engine with a big ol' K&N on it is sucking in tons of garbage. Is it really worth it? Is there a better compromise in flow vs filtration?
That's what these discussions are for, finding the best. Whether it's the best filtration, the best flow, or the best compromise. Why defend K&N if there's something better out there?
Doing some reading on the Amsoil filters and they seem impressive:
Quote:
The MOST IMPORTANT filter on the M1A1 Abrams battle tank is its’ nanofiber air filter.On Patrol Abrams M1A1 Battle Tank beats the dust with Nanofiber Filtration Technology
The MOST Important filter on YOUR vehicle is also the air filter.
It’s far better, and easier, to keep wear particles out of the engine than it is to attempt filtering them out of the engine oil. Yet filter companies and vehicle manufacturer’s are strangely silent about actual air filter performance and engine needs. Now AMSOIL offers world-leading breakthrough Ea air filters with exclusive nanofiber technology. Based on battlefield-proven air-induction systems used in military ground and air vehicles, this high-technology filtration is now available for consumer use! Ea filters are guaranteed for 4 years, 100,000 miles. The engineering rule of thumb for damaging wear particle size is 5 to 25 microns. Incredibly, these filters are 100% efficient at removing particles of 3 microns, and are 80% effective at removing particles of a 1 micron size. This means that NO WEAR PARTICLES CAN GET PAST OUR Ea AIR FILTERS! AND, they’re less expensive to use than ANY other air filter.
Well-engineered aftermarket air induction systems can provide airflow improvements with gains in horsepower, fuel economy, and towing torque. Unfortunately in many cases they may also let far more wear particles into your engine than the OEM filter. And oiled media can contaminate mass flow air sensors, causing problems with emissions, fuel economy and performance that can even damage transmissions in some cases. AMSOIL lets you leave those problems behind. The full line of nanofiber universal air induction filters (EaAU) are designed to replace stock oil wetted gauze or foam conical filters that were supplied with custom induction systems produced by K&N, Injen, S&B, Green, AIRAID, AFE, TrueFlow and more. Whether your air induction system is in a gasoline street-rod, or a diesel truck, you have great airflow but you need better filtration and more capacity than you get with oiled gauze or foam. AMSOIL Ea Air Induction Filters are dry no-oil filters with nanofiber filtration media to bring your aftermarket air-intake far better efficiency, 50 times the capacity, and excellent airflow while being easily cleanable – every 25,000 miles.
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