I just built a warm air intake out of 2.5" aluminum pipe and went and bought a APC Steel Mesh Filter for it and now I'm wondering if I should have just payed the little bit more for a K&N Filter. What do you think?
There's a full chapter in the "Performance with Economy" book (Written by David Vizard, contributing technical editor for Popular Hot-rodding Magazine) on the effects of different filter medias to choose from... And he said (In a very obvious side-bar) "Don't go with media that's just wire-mesh!". A lot of times that media does nothing for air-flow, not to mention the amount of damaging dirt it allows into the engine (Hence why filters were invented!).
K&N was originally designed by dirt-bike enthusiasts who wanted to improve their engine's breathing, while keeping as much dirt out as possible. The oiled cotton-wire media was it, and it grew in popularity among dirt-bikers that other off-road enthusiasts (Wheelers) wanted it to. So then they started making filters for them, too. Eventually, the word of how good K&N filters were trickled-down to street-racers & pro drag-racers and the like, and more apps & designs went into production, it's become the single most popular choice for air-filtration media ever since. Oh, and their oil filters are really good too (Maintains line-pressure better, unlike Fram's which cause drops of 5-10psi)!
So should you go with one? In a word: Yes!
Go beyond the "bolt-on".
Thanks guys, I went and returned the APC and got a K&N.
some joker was tryin to tell me that the AEM filter that came with my intake is better than a K&N. I still put in the K&N.
so why exactly is a k&n filter better than a aem dryflow?
screw that I use my vibrant filter no problems lol
"As I lay rubber down the street, I pray for traction I can keep, but if I spin and begin to slide, please dear God protect my ride." -Amen
Dan Cummings wrote:so why exactly is a k&n filter better than a aem dryflow?
they're about equal, k&n usually being the cheaper of the two to aquire, but OP didnt ask about the dryflow. he asked about the apc steel mesh filter:

. which is junk.
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