I know this seems like an obvious question at first, but then you spend a great deal of time and energy (and some more money) to clean the K&N, and I started wondering. Is the K&N really worth it? K&N says to clean it every 50-100K miles for street use. I would say that mine looked nasty after about 5K, but that is running in the dirt a fair amount too.

I ran a K&N for about 3 months. Once you get as much sand/mud as I had in it, it's not worth trying to clean. I threw the damn thing away.
Buy lots of paper filters.
My .02

Ditto on what syko said. K&Ns are great but after a certain amount of mud hits them they never come clean. Plus it seems to me that if they get wet it's like sticking a sock in your intake. They dry out poorly and really bog the motor if they get wet.

I switched back to a paper element and have been much happier.

I've never had serious mud in my filter cause well... I live in the desert. But they do work well in dust, as long as you double oil them.

i had to soak mine in detrgent for a week to get some of the stuff out, but i do still like it

Originally posted by mike:
<STRONG>....as long as you double oil them.</STRONG>

Please explain. Oil inside & outside? Go over it again on the outside? Knock off the dirt and re-oil?

i think K&N is worth the time and money. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Cleaned and oiled on a regular basis, K&N out performs papper 10 to 1 !

Originally posted by 2XTRM4U:
<STRONG>Cleaned and oiled on a regular basis, K&N out performs papper 10 to 1 !</STRONG>

I would say yes on the street But In the mud/sand I think your wasting your money. I wish I still had the one I threw away. I would show you a pic. I oiled, I washed, you name it but it was so full of $hit it wouldn't draw air very well. I could rub the inside of the filter and sand would fall out. It was like sitting a mud clod on the intake. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[ 09-10-2001: Message edited by: Syko ]

Originally posted by 73EB:
<STRONG>Please explain. Oil inside & outside? Go over it again on the outside? Knock off the dirt and re-oil?</STRONG>

Oil em once, let it soak in and tack up (kinda dry) then oil again.

I agree with Syko, I check my filter everytime I change the oil, and with the amount of wheeling I do year round, my K&N was caked with mud every three to five thousand miles. So now I just replace the filter with a paper one every time I change the oil. (expensive, somewhat, but it needs it.) I notice no performance differences. Since I'm running a clean filter most the time. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[ 09-10-2001: Message edited by: GRABBER ]

If you guys are using round filters there is a company called outer wears that makes prefilters.They're made out of a plastic or nylon and can be washed off.Most quads and dunebuggies run them to keep sand out of their filters.

I don't think a K&N protects the engine as well as a regular paper unless you are very diligent about oiling it. It is just much easier to just throw the paper filter away after some wheeling since it will be caked with dirt anyway.

Originally posted by kyle:
<STRONG>If you guys are using round filters there is a company called outer wears that makes prefilters.They're made out of a plastic or nylon and can be washed off.Most quads and dunebuggies run them to keep sand out of their filters.</STRONG>

I run a sponge prefilter. It helps some but it your in the mud or sand it's going to get in the engine.
Fact of life
<IMG SRC="smilies/eyemouth.gif" border="0">

The best solution is to run both. I run the K&N everywhere except the mud. I put the paper filter on when I run the mud. Also, the prefilters work great in filtering out the big clumpy sticky stuff. Makes the K&N last must longer.
Chad

Originally posted by 2XTRM4U:
<STRONG>Cleaned and oiled on a regular basis, K&N out performs papper 10 to 1 !</STRONG>

Just curious but how did you arive at that number?

Remember, if a filter has more airflow with the same surface area it has to have bigger holes. That means more dirt, even if it is a oiled aircleaner. On that same note I have never compared a K&N to a paper filter as far as number or thickness of pleats. By having more or taller plests you can increase the surface area of the filter element are getting surface area and more flow.

I ran a prefilter for a while to but it seemed that everytime it got wet the motor would hardly run till I took it off. Soaked prefilters and K&Ns IMO starve the motor for air more then a wet paper filter. Paper also dries faster.

I used to run a K&N but it would get way to clumped up too fast and was a pita to get clean after muddin for a weekend.

I switched to an accel foam element and have love the results, i had my engine buried to the intake in water/mud yet when i opened my filter element the inside was perfectly clean. I didn't notice any performance change from k&n to accel, and it is easier to clean and dries faster than a k&n.

I never thought a K+N ws worth it, so I never bought one.. over and over.. then when I bought my ram last may, it had one in there.. heck, it takes WAY too long to clean it.. and because mine had been over oiled, it was leakeing EVERYWHERE, and clogged my spark plugs. I think they are too much of a hastle for what they are... Kinda dumb, figuring my drop in filter is like $42, and the paper one is between $3-7. come awn, for those prices, and knowing how cheap I am, what do you think i am gonna do next time I have to clean them?? yeah... thats right.. PAPER

love my k&n

Originally posted by 460 power:
<STRONG>The best solution is to run both. I run the K&N everywhere except the mud. I put the paper filter on when I run the mud. Also, the prefilters work great in filtering out the big clumpy sticky stuff. Makes the K&N last must longer.
Chad</STRONG>

ditto, this is the only way to go

I dusted an engine using a K&N. I use a paper filter now, but i sure as hell don't get 3 to 5k miles of one. I'm lucky to go 2000 miles on my heep before its nasty lookin <IMG SRC="smilies/eek.gif" border="0">

We have a K&N filter in our rig. We pretty much clean ours after big off road trips. When the oil gets changed we check that also to make sure it doesn't need a cleaning. I think they are worth it.

Check out K&N's fact page. This should clear it up.K&N FACTS (http://www.knfilters.com/facts.htm#FACTS)

Dug, I just threw those #,s out there, I,ve been using a K&N filter for over 2 years now, (the same one) So I figured, I would have used about 10 paper filters in two years. I dont get into much mud, but mine dose get dirty. I clean it often and oil it well. I use K&N cleaning fluid, and spray can K&N oil. An "oiled" filter protects your motor better, by trapping more/smaller dirt particals ? I,m happy with mine. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

<IMG SRC="smilies/jeep2.gif" border="0"> __(OIIIIIO)__ rOkOn

I just installed one in my ZX2 and found a significant increase in seat-o-da-pants power. I will see what the milage difference is. Most of you guys seem to be ruining them in the mud. Are all of you guys carb'd or injected? It sounds like carb'd. This is why the mud gets into the filter. I can see using a paper filter in this case. One day of muddin' and your cleaning for an hour or two anyway. You don't need an extra two hours to clean the filter.

[ 09-10-2001: Message edited by: SweetCJ7 ]

Why the talk of such difficulty cleaning them?? Spray on the cleaner, let it soak ten minutes. Rinse it out throughly from the inside out (I use the faucet sprayer attachment). Let it dry for 20 minutes or so. Spray it with the oil and put it back on. Where is the effort in this? <IMG SRC="smilies/confused.gif" border="0">
Unless you have nothing else to do but sit around while it's drying out, I don't see why it's annoying <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

just did mine yesterday.... cleaned up just fine, i dont think they are life time though, a long time maybe but not life time......

LOL, I just cleaned mine yesterday too. Actually this thread inspired me to <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> . It was pretty filthy actually.

lol, i didnt see the thread till today, i just happened to do it.....lol

I think K&N filters are ok for some uses....but for mud, sand or rockcrawling on granite - it just does not hold up very well. The fine dirt particles tend to clog up the K&N, whereas I can pull my paper filter and tap it a few times to get the dirt off it.

Just my $0.02

Originally posted by Jeepster1220:
<STRONG>Why the talk of such difficulty cleaning them?? .....</STRONG>

I didn't find the cleaning to be difficult, just a minor pain. Spray the cleaner. Wait 10 minutes. Rinse. Allow to air dry. It's cotton, probably allow an hour plus. Oil. Wait 20 minutes. Re-oil. Cost wise it will probably end up being a wash for me because I will probably use up the service kit ($10) in 2 or maybe 3 uses. I think I will get a foam prefilter though, that should help. I had no more than 5k miles on it and I banged it on the wall and knocked major dirt out of it.

I've got probably 30,000 on mine and just cleaned it the 2nd time. 1st time it took a major mud bath. Since it only had maybe 1,000 miles on it I figured I'd clean it and give it another try. A friend of mine told me to put a piece of shim stock in front of it. I did figureing it would cut down on the performance. It didn't (and I've got a 400HP mouse). I covered the front 1/3 to keep the motor from drinking mud and water. I know the filter is working because the throat of the carb is clean, not dirty like when I'd use paper. IMHO, I like them and would recomend them, and will continue to use them.

And if you throw your's away, throw it my way.

[ 09-11-2001: Message edited by: BrianR ]

Originally posted by FJ4ZROX:
<STRONG>I think K&N filters are ok for some uses....but for mud, sand or rockcrawling on granite - it just does not hold up very well. The fine dirt particles tend to clog up the K&N, whereas I can pull my paper filter and tap it a few times to get the dirt off it.

Just my $0.02</STRONG>

I disagree. I love mine. I will admit, after a dusty weekend on the trail it looks very dirty. That just tells me it working. I clean it after every trip.

Originally posted by 2XTRM4U:
<STRONG>Cleaned and oiled on a regular basis, K&N out performs papper 10 to 1 !</STRONG>
Thats the key thing! XTRMsright but WTF if your to lazy to mantain your rig your probaly the same stupid asses that block the trail when your POS breaks down
<IMG SRC="smilies/thefinger.gif" border="0">

I don't have the article handy, but an Austrailian trucking company ran a test of off road equipment with and with out K&N filters. THe engines with K&N's had dirier oil and more engine wear. The same test said that running a snorkel can reduce engine wear by something like 10 percent as the air six feet off the ground is cleaner.

Dirt gets into the engine through the air cleaner, more flow = more dirt.

Another consideration is that if you beat the crap out of your motor it's going to die from other causes than old age. So, if your going to throw a rod or spin a bearing during a 6 grand attack on an obstacle while you wang the motor who cares if it's going to get to 200K miles as long as the air cleaner keeps small birds and spare parts out of the intake it works. Lot's of hi po aplications run a screen for an air cleaner.

On the other hand, daily use in dusty conditions? Run a snorkel and change the filter at every oil change.