Hey All,

I went into an auto parts store today to get a new air filter. The guy at the counter, right off the bat, tried to sell me this K&N filter (I think) and started to babble on about it's "proven to improve this--that--and the other", and you can buy a kit to clean it...blah-blah-blah, and I say, "How much?" He tells me it's going to be $50. I said, I'll take the $20 Fram.

What's the deal here? Please enlighten me....did I do the right thing? I just couldn't bring myself to pay 50 bones for an air filter.

Surfer

p.s. How do you guys put a picture of your Truck underneath every post?

 

Everything the dude told you is true.
$50 seems like a fair price, I would scoop it up.

The K & N will be the last filter you will ever have to buy, so it will pay for its self eventually.

Also, the K & N is designed to bring more air into your engine because of its freeflowing design.
Many people have reported slight MPG increase as well as better performance.

Return the Fram and get the K&N.

Habibi

 

CalifSurfer
some love them and some think they are a waste of money.
I put one in the powerstroke and love it. more power (pants-o-meter) and seems to flow much more air than the OE filter. I also put one in the 97 4.6l, got a small increase in fuel mileage and seemed to help the low end power. You will have to get the recharger kit too ($8.00 or $10.00, I think) I clean the filter in the powerstroke about every 10K, the f250 gets cleaned when necessary. you might want to check the Technical articals for some airbox mods, some interesing info there. good luck.
conner

97 F250ld 4x4 xlt sc 4.6 at
99 F550 super duty 7.3 powerstroke 6 spd

 

while i find it fine if you do not purchase a great quality air filter, but you purchased crap. fram, in my opinion, is one of the worst quality anythings you could purchase. i hate their products, and i hate their advertisements (change your airfilter every time you change your oil? theyre just trying to sell their horrid filters). just my opinion though.

 

There has been some negative opinons posted on FRAM oil filters, but I have not really ever heard anything bad about there air filters. There really isn't quite as much to complain about on an air filter, but that's another story... As far as the price, $50 for a K&N is probably pretty close to average. $20 for a replacement filter seems a little high though... I belive I used to pay around $10-$12 for the cheap replacement filter before getting a K&N.

 

I'll not comment on what's the "best" brand, but just from my own experience, I kinda like the K&N's.....

Here's some "real world" pics on mine.

Here's my engine compartment after a week of eating dust in Idaho a couple weeks ago.



This is what the filter looked like when it came out. Had lots of buildup on the upper part of the filter, but the lower part was still basically clean. I just brushed off the loose dirt with a soft brissle paint brush (never used with paint before either) and re-oiled, per the instructions for use in "Dusty condidtions". I've not done a complete cleaning of the filter yet, but will probably do it once the dirt is covering the entire filter.

 

That's a sensitive "tush" you have there.

 

CalifSurfer,

Do you'reself a favor.
Return that piece of ***** FRAM air filter, and drive back and buy the K&N.
If its good enough for the united states military to use k&n air filters in the apache attack chopper in the gulf war, its good enough for you're truck.

 

it,s the best ,last filter youll ever buy...have i sterred you wrong yet?

 

Hey Cali, same for me,

I had a 1998 F-150 with a 4.6 V8 and had the K&N filter in it for about 3 years, that was when I purchased my new ride (2002 Lariat supercab 4X4 FX4). It was great, I only had to clean it. I will be installing one in the Lariat shortly.

 

Thanks for you continued help guys...

I thouroughly enjoy this site, it's so helpful and informative.

Surfer

 

I purchased a Holley PowerShot filter, which outflows the K&N version by 5-8%. Holley guarantees their oil will not harm your sensors.

FRAM makes a good air filter. I use to run them along time ago. Keep it until the next filter change, then upgrade. It won't hurt anything, to do so.

I have heard of the K&N filter oil building up on the MAF sensors on the F-150's, causing the Engine Service light to come on. (no matter what filter you would use, you need to remember and not use an excessive amount of oil)

I have ran K&N filters for the past 15 years, on my cars and trucks. The only time I've noticed a seat in the pants improvement, was on a manual transmission vehicle.

K&N has been around for years, and other people besides the Military use their filters. They last a long time... I will continue to use these type filters in the future. But, it will most likely be the Holley PowerShot, instead of the K&N.

By the way, the Holley PowerShot filter is a few $$ less.

I purchased mine from www.TruckPerformance.com

R1968

 

20 bucks sounds high for a paper filter I only pay about 14 bucks for the paper ones I use the main reason i don't have a K&N is all the problems I heard of oil and dirt getting into the intake causing problems.