Alan Peters
Well-Known Member
I read 15K miles online for the FIPK and I know the regular flat filters are 50K miles. Which is it? A friend that has one told me 30K miles he cleans or replaces the filter.
How Many Miles Before Cleaning the FIPK K&N Filter??????
- Thread starter Alan Peters
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EddieS'04
In Memoriam 1950-2022
25k to 30k replace paper filter. For K&N 50k clean and reoil. K&N dusty Areas can vary. Depends on how much dust you drive in. K&N can look dirty, but actually can flow and filter better than freshly serviced....
TrainTrac
Well-Known Member
You can't ever clean a K&N too much, so clean it as often as you feel the need.
50K miles with a K&N filter.l If you clean it more often you are causing excessive wear on the cotton gauze filter.
Paper filters need to be replaced every 8K-10K miles. Rarely do they last much longer than that without wasting gas.
...Rich
Paper filters need to be replaced every 8K-10K miles. Rarely do they last much longer than that without wasting gas.
...Rich
Rich is correct, 50,000 miles is the normal service interval for a K&N filter. They base their Million Mile Warranty on this schedule. Supposedly after 20 cleanings the filter media will degrade and not filter as well as it should. 20 cleanings X 50,000 miles = 1,000,000 miles.
Deleted deleted
Well-Known Member
Excessive cleaning is not recommended with the K&N filter. Their website states that the filter does it's best when moderately dirty.
TomT
Well-Known Member
Not if your changing your oil every 50,000 miles!
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The Ape
Active Member
You really need to read the instructions. K&N says that is a bad idea.
Ape Out.
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Frank Marano
Well-Known Member
I do mine about every 3 oil changes........12k miles. So far, no problems.....they do claim it works better dirty on the K&N site.....
TrainTrac
Well-Known Member
Okay... I stand corrected.
Jeff C
Well-Known Member
I just did my Volant today. Had about 10K on it, and the water that came off after I rinsed the soap out was black as night. Of course, the place I worked at all summer, every day, required me to drive up and down a dirt road...whatever, it's been cleaned, oiled, and runs like a champ.
Gavin Allan
Well-Known Member
K&Ns don't trap much dirt-- that is why you can let them go 50,000 miles. Much of the dirt just goes right through them and into the engine. K&N's are designed for racing use where maximum airflow is desired, and little regard for engine life is needed, since the racing engine is never expected to last more than one season before teardown and overhaul.
Be smart: Use a stock paper filter element and change it every 15,000 miles.
Deleted deleted
Well-Known Member
Gavin: where did you get this bogus information? The K&N filter has been tested by independent labs and provides as good a filtering ability as a paper filter.
Engine in my 1998 Mazda 626 ran perfectly for 135,000 miles using a K&N drop-in filter the entire time I owned the vehicle.
Engine in my 1998 Mazda 626 ran perfectly for 135,000 miles using a K&N drop-in filter the entire time I owned the vehicle.
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Gavin,
That is totally not true! Because it flows more air does not mean that it's sacrificing good filtering.
May of the cone filters made by K&N are not recommended for street use because they have not been tested and certified for each vehicle. They are not recommended for use on emissions controled engines.
The exceptions are the drop-in replacement filters and their FIPK kits. They have been tested and CARB Certified for the specific engine applications and that appears to be the standard that most/many states require.
...Rich
That is totally not true! Because it flows more air does not mean that it's sacrificing good filtering.
May of the cone filters made by K&N are not recommended for street use because they have not been tested and certified for each vehicle. They are not recommended for use on emissions controled engines.
The exceptions are the drop-in replacement filters and their FIPK kits. They have been tested and CARB Certified for the specific engine applications and that appears to be the standard that most/many states require.
...Rich
Gavin Allan
Well-Known Member
You all can keep thinking that a window screen with a bit of oiled gauze will filter as good as a pleated paper media filter, but you won't convince me. Every design has trade-offs, and I will choose a clean pleated paper filter element for my daily drivers every time. Yes, if I was racing, I would choose a K&N.
Jeff C
Well-Known Member
It's all physics. A larger filter area can have a thicker, less efficient filter, and still filter just as much, or more air, better, because there's more media for the particles to get caught in.
Oh, and I do race, but I have a modified Volant CAI.
Oh, and I do race, but I have a modified Volant CAI.
Johnny O
Well-Known Member
On my previous truck I had a K&N, I cleaned it once a year. I also didn't think it made any difference in performance or mpg. A 4.0 liter simply doesn't flow enough air for it to matter.
Main thing is not to over-oil it or the excess will foul the MAF. It's easily cleaned with some aerosol electrical contact cleaner and a blast of compressed air, but that's just one more thing to have to deal with. I never had a problem with it though.
Main thing is not to over-oil it or the excess will foul the MAF. It's easily cleaned with some aerosol electrical contact cleaner and a blast of compressed air, but that's just one more thing to have to deal with. I never had a problem with it though.
Deleted deleted
Well-Known Member
Uhhh Gavin... the K&N drop-in filter IS a pleated filter made of several layers of cotton gauze.
Other than being able to re-oil and re-use it, it looks almost identical to a paper filter.
I didn't buy mine for increased performance or mpg.... I bought it because I only had to spend $35 on a filter that lasted the life of my car. How much have you spent on paper filters to drive your car 135,000 miles?
Other than being able to re-oil and re-use it, it looks almost identical to a paper filter.
I didn't buy mine for increased performance or mpg.... I bought it because I only had to spend $35 on a filter that lasted the life of my car. How much have you spent on paper filters to drive your car 135,000 miles?
