Is the K&N Air Filter Cleaning Kit Worthwhile ?

[v10enomous]

I was ordering new air filter elements for my K&N kit at advance Auto and the guy suggested I try the K&N cleaning kit so I picked it up for $12. Is it worthwhile and any tips for using it ?

[swexlin]

Interested as well. My car came with K&N, and the manual says every 50,000 miles in normal street use. Car has only 31,000 miles on it. I guess it's due....?

[steve911]

the cleaner that comes with the kit does a really good job of getting rid of the dirt and old filter oil. The filter must be dry before you reoil it or otherwise the existing water in the filter gauze will not allow the oil to penetrate properly.

[v10enomous]

I've only logged 4,500 miles since I replaced the elements with new ones but they look a little dusty. The guy at the store said definitely do not try to blow clean them with compressed air and he made a face... hehe

[Bugman Jeff]

The K&N filter cleaner works well, but I'm cheap so I've always just used Simple Green for cleaning and it works fine. While any non-evaporating oil will work as filter oil, I stick with the K&N oil because it's convenient. K&Ns flow well because they have relatively big holes in them. I've seen them caked with so much dirt that you could hardly see the gauze and still not hurt performance to a noticeable degree.

[swexlin]

The K&N filter cleaner works well, but I'm cheap so I've always just used Simple Green for cleaning and it works fine. While any non-evaporating oil will work as filter oil, I stick with the K&N oil because it's convenient. K&Ns flow well because they have relatively big holes in them. I've seen them caked with so much dirt that you could hardly see the gauze and still not hurt performance to a noticeable degree.

Good to know. Still might pick up a cleaning kit at Pep Boys.

[Luisv]

There is a noticeable difference in flow between conventional air filters and oil/gauze filters. I don't recall seeing these figures for the Viper, but in terms of flow, the oil/gauze filters tend to flow about 50% better.... For example if flow on paper is 500 CFM, oil/gauze would be about 750.

While every car varies, this obviously does not transform linearly to HP. In the case of the Viper, the stock airbox with the dual filter probably has very large flow figures . In fact, even with paper filters there may be plenty of airflow to make power. The oil/gauze may not make a power difference at all, in our cases. From a long term cost though, the oil/gauze will be cheaper.

I swapped them as well... Can't hurt. My bigger pain is getting them out to clean... Kind of a pain on the cars.... But hey... It's freaking fun to get them dirty! Lol

[Doug Levin Motorsports]

If you're operating your vehicle in a dusty/dirty environment then cleaning and oiling your K&N filters routinely is recommended.
Someone mentioned "not to blow compressed air onto the filters to clean them," is correct; it damages the filtering element.

Typically, nothing has better filtering quality as the OE paper filters. That's why Oil is applied to the aftermarket higher flowing filters- it helps filtering the intrusive debris and maintains the filters life. Some racers don't like adding Oil to the filters, especially on forced-induction applications where Oil can restrict/limit airflow to the compressor.

IMHO, the OE filters on GEN I,II are very restrictive. So adding drop-in K&N filters is a brilliant idea. (hello Jon. B.)

Best regards,
Doug Levin

[v10enomous]

I have the K&N box and filter setup on my car. Not the stock box with replacement K&N filters.

[swexlin]

I have the K&N box and filter setup on my car. Not the stock box with replacement K&N filters.
What I have on my 03 as well.

[Doug Levin Motorsports]

I have the K&N box and filter setup on my car. Not the stock box with replacement K&N filters.

Yes, the same would apply.

Regards,
Doug

[Bugman Jeff]

There is a noticeable difference in flow between conventional air filters and oil/gauze filters. I don't recall seeing these figures for the Viper, but in terms of flow, the oil/gauze filters tend to flow about 50% better.... For example if flow on paper is 500 CFM, oil/gauze would be about 750.

They flow well because they have the filtering ability of a screen door. Working at the Harley dealer, I used to have customers request that we not oil their filters after cleaning because "it makes them get dirty faster." Trying to explain that the dirt sticking to the oil is the primary filtering mechanism was often like talking to a brick wall.

[sparkrn]

After cleaning the filter, you need to be careful not to over oil the element. Too much oil can get into sensors and send erroneous readings to the computer, thus making the V-10 unhappy.:furious:

[St.Char]

I was ordering new air filter elements for my K&N kit at advance Auto and the guy suggested I try the K&N cleaning kit so I picked it up for $12. Is it worthwhile and any tips for using it ?

I've used the K&N cleaning kit with good results.

[slitherv10]

I use the stock box with 2 K&N filters and clean and oil them annually.

They are a slight pain as LUIS said above to take out and put back in, but, knowing that the car is breathing well is all the worth it.

Run cool water through the filters, let them dry and then apply the oil to the fins of the filter and let dry. Look at them again and if you see any lighter purple spots, go over those areas again with the oil spray or lotion (whichever your kit came with) and let them dry again about 24 hrs and put them back in.

[swexlin]

I just picked up a kit at Pep Boys. I'll get around to doing it at some point!

[v10enomous]

I just picked up a kit at Pep Boys. I'll get around to doing it at some point!


Rainy day project for sure... hehe