Added a K&N air intake to the F-150....Wow!

[Capt Steve]

Like the man said..."Opinions vary" and obviously there is a lot of that here. A couple of additional thoughts. The 5.4 liter Ford V-8 is a very successful engine, (google it for some objective evaluations). It does not lack torque as it is rated at 365 foot lbs, stock. The dyno testing shows the K&N adding 15.79 HP to this engine.

Priced conventional paper air filters lately? At about $30 to $40 a pop depending on what model you need a plain old K&N air filter will more than pay for itself in a year or two. PITA to clean? Hardly. Take it off, spray the it down, hose it out and lay it in the sun to dry. If it takes you more than 5 minutes you did it wrong. Now it is back to original spec which is usually better than the not so cheapo paper filters. Look at the pics in my original post and note all of the crapola that came off vs the K&N. None of those twists and turns have anything to do with air filtration but do impact air flow and not in a good way.

As far as my perception of lower rpm's a a given speed here is what I noted. On a long grade that I drive frequently before the K&N, at 60 MPH it would shift down out of OD into 4th and I would turn 1600 rpm. Same truck/grade with the K&N and it held 60 without shifting down turning just under 1500 rpm. I believe the increase in power accounts for this.

I am not trying to sell anyone on a K&N, either you believe and like them or you don't. Like I stated earlier YMMV. I had the K&N air filter on my last truck for ten years, (also run one in my brides Solara) it ran great and I saved serious dollars vs paper filters. Regardless of what filters I use I change my oil every 3K. Can most vehicles go 4 to 5K between changes? Certainly, but in a truck that sees its fair share of towing, mountains and dusty desert driving you will not convince me that more frequent oil changes is anything but a good idea. I have heard from a lot of folks that redoing the exhaust makes more noise than improved performance but will continue to research the available systems before I commit.

 

[Jst1mr]

The effect of a CAI varies quite widely per engine - that is, it may do more for a Ford 5.4 than a Dodge 5.7. You can see what it will do for your particular engine on the K&N website. It doesn't add much for my 5.7 Hemi, but a Flowmaster "American Thunder" cat-back dual exhaust did...but you've got to love the sound of power - I haven't used my CD player since!

 

[writerinmo]

I always get rid of the restrictive factory air cleaner system on my vehicles, if an aftermarket one isn't available, I'll make one out of something. Also, there is a prefilter available for most of your cone filters like the K&N, basically a foam sock, but much easier to clean, just a bit of dishwashing detergent and hot water, squeeze it dry in a towel and a bit of the filter oil and slide it back on.

As far as longevity, my first gen Neon has had a CAI on it for five years and is a bit over 200k miles, the Cherokee has had it for six and is over 300k.

 

[dacoontz]

I have a K&N typhoon kit on my Pontiac G6, it's cool. It actually came with the same heat shield as the F-150 which doesn't shield much. So if anyone is interested in a heat shiled then let me know as I will give it up for pretty cheap (maybe a trade). I also was lucky enough to get in touch with a guy that makes custom heat shields for my g6 and it is very tight. I actually know guys that go even farther and figure out ways to make ram air systems for their kits as well.

And I like the K&N advertisement on the top of the page, nice timing.

 

[cp1969]

Actually more power - YES
More longevity - NO. In fact LESS.
High flow filters give more flow by being less restrictive. Less restrictive means more little things get by the filter. Little things floating in oil grind interfaces up.... They get to work on the valve/valve seat interfaces and ring/cylinder wall interfaces before they even get to the fun stuff.
With a less restrictive air filter - if you want longevity - oil changes become a VERY FREQUENT thing.
These things are for race car engines. Some race car engines are rebuilt almost every week - NO BIG DEAL - Others as needed. It's just part of the game (and fun) of racing.
The nice K&N filter will help your engine breathe - BUT - the cost isn't limited to what you pay for the filter........

Another negative aspect of free flow air filters (for most, mostly male, drivers) is reduced fuel mileage. For some reason it's hard to keep your foot out of it when that foot is unleashing more power

AND
IF added torque is lessening your transmission's slip, I believe you need to have that trans rebuilt or replaced...... At cruise, in OD with the torque converter locked up there should be very little to no slip.
Personally, I abhor automatic transmissions. A very complex device that reduces efficiency and adds to the cost of the vehicle - How wonderful.

Agreed, both on the filter and the auto transmission. For a car in which max power is the goal (racing), I'd use a K&N. Not on anything else.

 

[GregG]

There is no way I would EVER install a K&N air filter on a street vehicle. They allow too much dirt into the engine.

I'm in the racing industry and love more HP as much as the next guy, BUT............

My Father-In-Law bought a new 5.7 Tundra a few years ago, and was dead set on putting a K&N on it to pick up an extra 10 HP. I forbid it.

A better idea would be fab a *cage* where that K&N filter sits to hold 3 or 4 good filters flat filters. Increasing the filtering area will help a lot.

 

[ralph7]

hey guys, i was talking about FILTER longevity.

 

[therevjay]

I put a K&N filter kit & later Magna-flow mufflers, on a 94 Mustang. You will get slightly better mileage and a performance boost from either mod. If however you do both, you will still get the performance but lose your mileage gain, because your computer will dump in more fuel due to getting more air and haveing less backpressure.