Completely. Its well known that paper filters are better than K&N, as Mobil 1 is better than Rotella. The fact that many people choose the lesser does not somehow improve its quality/features.

Not entirely, as I believe part of this is preferences and perceptions. For dusty west Texas excursions, I have found the K&N to be a better performer. If your unfamiliar with caliche roads and west Texas dust storms, they can be brutal on air filters and an oiled filter is better. I've had to replace paper filters after a single storm. Whereas, the K&N, or any oiled filter, can be cleaned and recharged in just a few minutes. This is why I don't think a paper filter is always the top performer in every situation and question some of the "research" that is posted. I chose a K&N air filter and have been very satisfied with their quality and performance. If you choose a paper filter and works best for your environment, go for it.

I thought the same thing about oil and the idea that synthetic was higher quality. After reading in The Star of an MB gasser with ~500K miles using dino-oil, I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't more to this than most are aware of. After all, I'm sure there have been continuous improvements in testing factors and the quality of additives for dino-oil. I'm also sure that the greater markup for synthetics is appreciated by distributors and might be a factor in advertising and it wouldn't surprise me if this isn't "built in" to some testing results.

In both cases, as with many other choices on a car, I've seen where some of the "well known" has been distorted by marketing, profitability & other unknown motives. Many testing "results" are questionable. You might bring this to point with the K&N filters but I want an oiled filter and they just happen to be the brand I chose after surmising their manufacturing quality,warranty and availability, not because of their marketing tactics. I'm sure there are other manufacturers of oiled filters.

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

I am constantly amazed at the things people will fall for.

I have a K&N Air Filter that is made to fint the Stock Federal Air Filter housing. If it was passing anything particles through it surely some of them would stick to the oily film left by the Blow By on the bottom of part of my Filter Housing.
Yet when I feel this area it is never gritty. This makes me believe tha in my case the K&N is doing the job.

Don't let the title of the thread fool you; the below detailed thread concerning K&N has extensive arguments on both sides.

Washing K&N air filters

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I ran one of these stupid things years ago until I started reading up on it (years ago). It is a four letter work "JUNK".

When my truck was new I wondered why I had crud on the leading edge of the intake side of turbo blades in the HX35. The fact is that the crud was oil coated with DUST that had made it past that POS filter.

I have not taken the time to read the above thread. But I have read plenty on diesel truck forums (more than I care to admit). Since those days I have run a BHAF with the Baldwin Duralite element filter. K&N can't compete. There are many studies done that measure the amount of dust that passes by these filters. The studies were done in controlled enviroments. The facts are there. I have forgotten more than I know about it. I do remember that the VOLUME of air that flows through some of the modern diesels is massive compared to a gasoline engine.

One more thing... If I am looking to buy a used car... If I pop the hood and see a K&N sticker or any trace of K&N smell or oil anywhere... I walk away.

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AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

If you would have read, maybe you would have realized what it's really about....... A choice. Again I restate, my personal experience is different. Maybe it's because I don't believe the so-called "research".

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

"Faith" has been the cause of most of the biggest mistakes in history. If you can't trust actual professional research then you're useless as a valid comparison for other people that are willing to make an informed decision.

Here is another comparison against K&N and others using the ISO 5011 standard test: http://www.thetruthaboutfilters.com/ (Skip the intro and click "View test results" at the bottom right) That isn't to show S&B makes better filters, their own tests show that paper filters are better than theirs!

"believe" being the key word. I'd trust known facts and standardized testing far more than I'd trust the opinion of one biased individual.

As I said before, "The fact that many people choose the lesser does not somehow improve its quality/features."

That makes no difference at all. We don't know your circumstances or your testing methods. With that many vehicles its likely you either bought them with lots of miles on the stock paper filter system or drive mostly highway miles which will have little dirt to dust the engine through your K&N.

I lost my mass air flow sensor on my VW GTi 16v due to K&N, I was stupid, I didn't learn, when I lost it on my Honda Accord did I believe that K&N was the culprit.

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99 Gurkha with OM616 IDI turbo

2015 Gurkha with OM616 DI turbo

2014 Rexton W with OM612 VGT

Uh.... Yes it would. This oil on the blades is directly related to the amount of air passing through the engine. The VOLUME of air that a diesel pulls through is a large part of the problem. The K&N cannot handle it.

So your theory (unscientific and unproven) means that K&N did not oil there filter properly from the factory.

The only way not get oil on the blades of the turbo in the Cummins is not to oil it at all. I tried every possible amount of oil.

I'm not starting a pissing war. In my eyes these K&N threads are about as useless as the oil threads.

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AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

Hmmm, this is interesting. I have an open air cone type K&N filter on my Saturn SC2. I also have an aftermarket intake too. But I've never noticed it causing a problem with the car. I've used it for almost 80,000 miles. I just wash it, oil it, and reinstall. I don't have any traces of oil or dirt in my intake either. Every car is different though and probably reacts differently to the use of a K&N filter.

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1985 Mercedes Benz 300SD, TMU
2015 Chrysler 200S

Well now! I believe you are eventually getting part of my drift.

I've used K&N filters in extremely dusty conditions with great service life and experienced none of the so-called "research-proven" problems. Instead, I've had good results. I don't deny some folks have had problems and with any system which requires servicing the filter with oil, there will always be.

My statement is that it's extremely biased, and not true, to say that "you will ruin your engine" by using their system. If you want to say that you've read of many folks having problems with them, or your personal experience caused problems, fine.

Bashing the filter company or a poster that has an opposing view or experience is not an "informed decision".

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Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

So instead of "you will ruin your engine", perhaps: from available research data, you are likely to introduce oil and additional abrasives to the engine through the use of a K&N, and thus shorten the life of your engine and MAF?

No, it is not likely to die a quick death, it's pretty hard to kill an engine with improper lubricants and filters, but you can degrade its performance/compression etc.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Actually, for those that know what they are talking about, it is.

I guess this is off subject but Fram is making a washable non-oiled air filter. Unfortunately I do not think they make one for the older Mecedes and I have not been interested to look for the newer ones.
But the above would make everyone happy.


Other K&N comments
I have read that in some applications the K&N do not seal well in the air filter housings. And indeed the rubbrer used on mine is hard compared to the Old Fram that came with the Car.
The next thing is that they have to be oiled enough to work. While they do come already oiled new they still may not be oiled properly even out of the box.
While the Oil is colored so that you can see where it goes; how much you apply is still extremely subjective.
This means that I could see some people trying to conserve how much oil they put on the filter and not putting enough to do the job. Verses my thought that I do not believe that you can over oil it; the excess should just run off.
I also put a bead of Silicone Sealant around the area where the Filter is supposed to seal so that it would have something soft to sink into (like I said the rubber on the filter is hard).

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel