K and N air filter elements.

I personally wouldn't touch them for my truck. If they are allowing more air to flow, I have to ask what else are they allowing through a less restrictive filter. I am also not sold on "re-usable" filters. You can only clean them so good each time and it will require replacement sooner than later.

So I'd rather buy a high quality air filter or else just get OEM.

 

I have not tried them on my truck yet but have them in each car we have. Yes it lets more air in as its a cotton mesh element (over wire mesh) and is impregnated with oil. The oil actually catches more dirt and is easily washed out with the cleaner and lots of water and then you let air dry before spraying back down with the oil. Do yourself a favor and buy the cleaning /re-oil kit as it has the correct cleaner and coreect oil for the filter. I actually increased mileage and horsepower on both cars I own so it could possibly do this for my truck.

 

I have a K&N filter on one side and Fleet Air on the other. I like the K&N filter better. It's a lot quieter and doesn't require oil. It's paper on one side and gauze on the other. I didn't notice any mileage difference. You wash and let dry. It's more like a regular filter but cleanable. Fleetair doesnt impress me that much, very noisy at least with outside air cleaners. The foam doesn't look like it would stop much.

 

But the foam isn't the main part of the filtration on the Fleet Air, it is the oil part of the equation. There are 3 foam layers to the Fleet Air, and all of them are oiled. And the filter is washed using Dawn dishwashing liquid per the company. Then recoil it with Klotz oil. I know several people that have and are using Fleet Air and like it. The real test in whatever filter one choses is indeed how much they are actually filtering, and you can determine that with your normal oil samples. If the silicon level goes up in oil samples, then dirt is getting thru. I haven't run across anyone that has seen contamination levels go up using Fleet Air, but they do claim the turbo spools up better and they are getting some mpg improvement. It would be cool if some testing place would do a side by side real world comparison of K&N and Fleet Air. I have no dog in this hunt, but I would be interested in a real testing of both products and see the results.

 

I wouldnt touch them if they were free.

Everytime you wash one, youre taking the risk of putting tiny holes into the filter media. Youll never even know your doing it until your mechanic tells you, you have a dusted engine and asks for $20K to rebuild it. Air filters just arent that expense, and the risk far outweighs the tinys $ savings.

 

Those types of filters are nothing more than rock strainers, they WILL let alot of fine particals in the engine.

 

Wow... Rock Strainers? You will never know until you are forced to rebuild? Anyone ever hear of oil sampling? If there is a problem and dirt is getting thru, then it will show up in an oil sample and you can catch it before it ruins an engine. I know several who are running Fleet Air Filters and are not experiencing any more dirt contamination than with stock filters. And stock paper filters have issues regarding filtration as well. I could give a rip regarding what someone else chooses for an air filter. I only worry about what I put on my truck. But blanket statements like "rock strainers" and such is just speaking out of a perception and not based on factual data. I don't have a K&N or Fleet Air on my truck, But I have been coming across a lot of testing being done, and the experiences of others regarding these type of filters. "rock strainer" is not a term that is applicable.

 

You can read a million k&n oiled Air filter horror stories on the ford diesel forums. Those guys avoid them like the plague, plus you'll find Plenty of data to back it up. Run what ya like, I'm just not willing to mess with them on a big truck myself.