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Date:         Fri, 5 Jan 2001 07:53:55 -0800
Reply-To:     Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bill Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Subject:      Re: K&N Air Filters
Comments: To: Peter Cassidy <pcassidy@APPLE.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> >A K&N air filter drops in just like the stock. You clean and re-oil them > >rather than replacing them. According to their literature they filter much > >better than stock paper filters while passing much more air.

Just to offer a different view: I haven't read the K&N information for about two years.. but... I do remember coming to the conclusion that if I read the words carefully they said nothing about filtering 'better'... better meaning smaller particles... there was much said about passing more air and better performance... the information that they offered at their web site was very much focused on racing and performance... nothing about longevity of the engine. The conclusion I came to was that these guys are catering to the performance crowd. My experience with the performance crowd is that their priority is speed and power; not longevity of the engin. My good sense tells me that if more air is passed, then there is a good chance that more particles are passed too... perhaps only the very fine particles, but particles that could scower the inside of your piston walls none the less. Being a Syncro owner that goes to extremely dusty/sandy places I decided not to risk the K&N filter.

Another concern I have is if the K&N filter can be re-oiled by the average owner as effectively as they are turned out at the factory.... too much oil and there is a chance it will migrate down wind and coat the potentiometer in your AFM causing drivability problems (as I remember the K&N literature specifically warns about not getting too much or too little oil on the filter... and getting a consistent layer on) .... my conclusion: for those who gum up the original oil on the filter quickly by driving in extremely dusty places it might be best to just buy a new filter every 10k miles rather than risk doing a sub par oiling job... but... does a $40 filter make sense every 10k miles???

Just my 2 cents...

Bill Davidson 90 Westy Syncro

Plus they have > >a million mile warranty -- I'm looking forward to collecting on that in about > >99 years! A lot of FLAPS (NAPA, Autozone, etc.) are carrying them now but > >will likely have to special order one for a Vanagon. Fast German Auto and > >Summit Racing are two mail order sources I know of. > > *blatant plug* 8-) > > Get Martin Schneider's custom air intake system for your Vanagon. I've > been running mine for over a year now with excellent results. There's > definitely a discernible improvement in overall power. The engine does > tend to sound 'throatier' however. It also uses the oilable K&N style > filter, although the MSDS one is an almost 360 degree cone! > > check out http://www.msdsinc.com for more info > > Pete C (just a happy customer) > > -- > Peter Cassidy, pcassidy@apple.com > Sr. Dev. Engineer +353-21-4284316 > WW Operations Engineering > Apple, Cork, Ireland. >


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