Its funny that Tim @ MPH recommends that the cobra/KB guys use a K&N filter WITHOUT oil because of the oil getting sucked out of the filter and tiny amounts coating the MAF sensor, which causes a lean condition due to false readings
The small amount of dust that will get past the filter wont do anything to the engine....what you need to do is keep out the bugs and debris and an unoiled K&N does that just fine.
I run foam filters with no oil. But I will admit that I used to run K&Ns and oiled them about every 10K...never had any problems really, and I havnt had any problems with no oil either. But then again I wasnt running 400+RWHP with an oiled filter...just N/A. A N/A GT probably wont suck out the oil, but with hurricane force winds from a powerful FI car....that could easily suck the oil out.
Internet myths huh?
The small amount of dust that will get past the filter wont do anything to the engine....what you need to do is keep out the bugs and debris and an unoiled K&N does that just fine.
I run foam filters with no oil. But I will admit that I used to run K&Ns and oiled them about every 10K...never had any problems really, and I havnt had any problems with no oil either. But then again I wasnt running 400+RWHP with an oiled filter...just N/A. A N/A GT probably wont suck out the oil, but with hurricane force winds from a powerful FI car....that could easily suck the oil out.
Internet myths huh?
And your going to believe test results from the company in question?
Maybe Tim can chime in directly, BUT from what I recal reading....they were having trouble with cars on the dyno going lean due to the K&N filters loosing oil and putting a thin coat over the MAF sensor.
Tim tunes a CRAP TON of cars, and is all about safety in his tunes.....if he says to not use oil based filters, im not going to use them. Hes not going to just pull this crap out of his...ear. And like I said I recal him telling the cobra and high HP cars this ONLY. (generally it seemed the cobra and KB cobra guys...guys with blow through MAFs would have MUCH less to worry about)
How many 600RWHP cars have you tuned in 15 years? How many different filters combos have you seen and dynoed while datalogging the MAF readings? Hmm?
I dont take Tims words are teh truth as you say....but the man has alot of experiance and knows what hes talking about. SO if its something like this where ONLY a tuner could see the problem...im not going to believe K&Ns "inhouse" testing to prove that their filters cant coat the MAF sensor, im going to believe someone who has real world experiance and data.
And im sure as heck not going to be like "well iv been using K&N filters for the past 10 years and never had a problem....so that must mean im right and it cant happen. Afterall, K&N said their filters wont coat the MAF"
Now if Tim comes on and says that it hasnt actually caused a problem....then fine, im just going off what I recal reading. Better to be safe than sorry IMO.
Maf contamination can happen from over oiling air filters, Ford has covered this with us in EEC training and there is SSM's out there about this.. I do think it's rare and you have to screw up to have this happen but it's not a internet myth
I will believe Ford when it comes to Fords over what anybody says. Even my own personal experience
WOW! I have a ton of respect for Tim and his tuning prowess, but that recommendation is downright careless. Running a K&N without the oil is not wise unless you only run the car indoors.
U.M.
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U.M.
Hmmmm.....let me see. Who do I know who has a bone stock car still driving around with the paper filter? I wonder....
U.M.
Well I have both foam filters and like 2 K&Ns....as well as a paper filter.
Paper will definatly > ALL when it comes to filtering....freegin nothing gets through that stuff. But the reason automanufactors do that is bacause they dont know where you live or where you drive your car. You could live in the desert for all they know...so they must provide a filter that filters dust VERY well.
K&N also offers their foam/oil wrap that goes around your K&N filter to help keep dirt out if you in a very dusty area. Their regular filters with oil definatly keep alot of dust out...but still some will make it through.
And then we come to regular unoiled foam type filters like I have. They are VERY dense and thick...but stopping dust, they will not. They will stop some, and will definatly stop the big stuff though. Many people use them without issue...and I have no problem running them on mine.
And finally unoiled K&Ns. Quite honestly, an unoiled K&N will do a perfect job at filtering bugs and anything remotely large. Dust...it wont stop much. But what the adverage cobra driver encounters is nothing....definatly wont harm the engine. What you want to keep out are rocks, road debris, leaves, bugs, large dust particles, ect.
I guess he feels that if you must use a K&N filter, then oil is a larger threat to it, then a little dust.
Im also sure he would ask where you live/ drive before recommending that...if you lived in the desert I would hope your smart enough to run a paper filter and forget K&N altogethor. And if you did use K&N in a dusty area, I would say to run oil even with a KB cobra....but frequent MAF cleanings would be a must
Be smart about it...I for one, let off the gas completely and push in the clutch if I happen to run into the middle of a dust cloud from construction or whatnot. If I happen to be on a dirt road following someone, I stay WAY back and stay at low RPMs very light throttle. Little stuff like that helps keeps dust intake to a minimum.