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K&N Performance Air Filters      Aldon Automotive

K&N Performance Air Filters

K&N Filters believe the primary function of an air filter is to deliver both high airflow and superior dirt protection. K&N Filters design their air filters to provide minimum restriction allowing high airflow into an engine. In the vast majority of cases increased airflow will increase engine performance measured by horsepower and throttle response (torque).

K&N Filters design their air filters to provide superior filtration of the contaminants that can harm your engine while maximizing the airflow characteristics of the filter in question. Because no two air filters are alike, the specific airflow and overall filtration efficiency will vary depending on the filter in question. However, you can rest assured that each air filter K&N sell, has been designed to achieve high air flow while providing superior filtration.
What’s the Big Deal About Air Flow?

Simply put, Everything! At its most basic level, an engine is an air pump. More air entering the engine increases the efficiency of the combustion process creating more horsepower and torque. Horsepower is a measure of the engine's maximum power while torque measures how quickly you can accelerate.

The K&N Filtercharger® is designed to increase engine performance in both horsepower and throttle response by reducing air flow restriction.

Paper vs K&N

To meet minimum filtration standards, paper air filters must be thick and/or the fibres must be tightly compressed and dense. Therefore paper elements that provide adequate filtration are more restrictive to air flow by design. Additionally, as a paper filter becomes more and more clogged, the pressure inside the filter drops while the atmospheric air pressure (approximately 14.7 psia at sea level) outside the filter remains the same. It’s like using your lungs to draw the air out of a plastic milk bottle. When the pressure differential becomes too great, the bottle will collapse. The same thing could happen to your paper filter, although it is unlikely. But what will happen could be just as severe. An excessively high pressure differential created by a restricted filter can literally pull dirt particles through the paper medium. In other words, the performance of a paper filter, i.e. air flow through the filter and its ability to protect your engine, DECREASES near the end of its service interval.

The K&N air filter is somewhat more complex. The unique design features multiple layers of oiled cotton fabric which captures the airborne dirt particles. These dirt particles cling to the fibres of the filter and actually become part of the filtering media. This process, allows the K&N air filter to retain significantly more dirt per square inch than a paper filter. The cotton fabric is sandwiched between pleated aluminum screen. Pleating increases surface area which in turn prolongs service intervals. Pleating exposes substantially more surface area compared to a flat element like foam.
The dirt particles collected on the surface of a K&N element have little effect on air flow during much of its service life because there are no small holes to clog. Particles are stopped by layers of crisscrossed cotton fibers and held in suspension by the oil. As the filter begins to collect debris, an additional form of filter action begins to take place because air must first pass through the dirt particles trapped on the surface. That means a K&N air filter continues to exhibit high air flow throughout the life of the filter while it is accumulating dirt. At the same time, the air flow for an average paper air filter can decrease dramatically as the paper element gets dirty. So as dirt accumulates, the performance advantages of a K&N air filter can increase!

Washable and Reusable

All of K&N’s air filters are washable and reusable. They can be easily cleaned and oiled using their K&N Recharger kits and returned to your vehicle up to 25 times. K&N recommend you check your air filter every 30,000 miles, however, under most street conditions the filter will not require cleaning until 50,000 miles of continuous use.

K&N replacement air filters are designed to provide up to a 4% increase in horsepower and torque. The amount of performance gain varies from vehicle to vehicle based on the overall factory air intake design. The greater the restriction created by the stock paper element, the greater the potential performance gain when you switch to a K&N.

Carburettor Bolt on Units and Induction Kits

Addressing the next area of restriction, K&N engineers looked at the vehicle’s air box (the container that houses the air filter) and any hoses or duct work connecting it to the engine. Because the air must first travel through this system before it reaches the carburettor or throttle body, the overall size and shape of the system has a profound effect on air flow. Air, like water, does not like to turn corners nor does it react favourably when confronted by an obstruction such as a sharp bend in a hose or a baffle. In many cases, the air box and/or the hoses and duct work used to create the air filtration system is just as restrictive as the original paper filter element. In some extreme cases, the air box and/or the air delivery system is the greatest source of restriction.

The inlet to the air box is a good example. In many instances this opening is one half the cross sectional area of the throttle body or carburettor opening. It would be like trying to run a marathon while breathing through a soda straw.

An original-equipment cylindrical air cleaner box covering a throttle body or carburettor is another example. Most often, these round air cleaner housings are sealed to the outside air. The engine must then breathe through a snorkel attached to the perimeter of the housing. At times the snorkel is fed through a network of hoses and scoops.

To directly address the problem, K&N introduced a line of air intake kits. These kits replace both the air box and the restriction. K&N 57i Kits are available for a large range of cars.

K &N Performance Air Filters
K&N Performance Air Filters
Paper vs K&N
Why K&N ?
K & N Intake Kits

	K&N Performance Air Filters Aldon stock a wide range of K&N performance air filters: Click here to buy K-N 57i Induction Kits Click here to buy K-N 57i Generation 2 - Induction Kits Click here to buy K-N Typhoon Intake Systems