Thinking about getting a K&N. Worth tha money or not? Are there any noticable power gains to be had here?

Would they work better if I somehow customize the breather or get a new one??

 

Well considering you already have a header / exhaust, it's a no brainer - best "bang for the buck" IMO - considering they flow a lot better, filter as well as paper, don't cost a lot, and because they don't need to be replaced, they pay for themselves over the years.

 

I personally advise something other than K&N. Tests have shown that K&N filters let disgusting levels of dirt and other crap in. I wouldn't stick with a stock filter, I'd look in to Cool Blue filters, but K&N is a no go.

 

Not much power to be made from a K&N really, just a handful of horsepower.

But I definitely think they're worth the cash. If not for the flow rate, then for the re-cleanability.

The stock airbox is quite a restriction, Carl has gone to some lengths to try different things and flow test them. Modding it is definitely a worthwhile idea. If you can find them Bonez (I think is the name) makes a kit that extends the bolt on top of the carb, and replaces the lid of your airbox with one that's just big enough to cover the air filter, and tightens down with the carb's wingnut. What this does is allows air to enter directly from the top in that inch around the air filter.

Watch in a few days. I've got my carb (hush hush, I'm not ready yet), and I'll be installing it and taking plenty of pictures, including my K&N and Bonez intake assembly.

And as for the "digusting levels of dirt"... well if you don't properly oil the filter and keep it oiled properly, then yeah it'll let pretty much anything through it. It's just light cotton after all.

Every little bit helps, every spare hp that you can squeeze will eventually add up. Electric fan, air pump removal, DLIDFIS, K&N, Bonez intake, Iridium Spark Plugs, it all adds up slowly. And they allow you to take more advantage of your other mods like Header/exhaust and aftermarket carbs. A K&N may not flow much different on a stock carb on a stock port with stock exhaust, but on a streetport with a modded carb and header/exhaust, I'd think the numbers with and without the k&n would be different by larger amounts.

Why do you think you never (or rarely ever) see modded cars with paper filters? Why was there a need for these filters to fill a niche? There must be a reason for their existance

Jon

 

I found a picture of the bonez:
http://www.rx7.com/pics/sa-bonez-intake5.jpg

Edit: Found out where to buy them:
http://www.rx7.com/store/rx7/saintake.html

Jon

 

why buy them???? buy a piece of sheet metal...trace a line around it with a marker......buy your self a threaded rod that fits the carb...cut out the circle from the sheet metal, drill a hole in the middle, cut the rod to be long enough to come out the top of the sheet metal circle...assemble logically and bam, you have what you wnat for $15.00

 

Find me a threaded rod that fits the carb/air filter as the one in the kit does and it would make sense. I haven't been able to find them around here.

I agree that $30 is a little steep for a threaded rod and a cut-out piece of sheetmetal, but it's not the most expensive thing in the world either, and it's pretty much worth it's value to me, until I can find a local, cheap source for threaded rods of exactly that size.

Jon

 

You can cut a threaded rod, you know. Screw three bolts into the middle, trim it to your heart's delight, then remove one off the newly-cut end, using the other two to hold the rod. Easy as cake.

Edit: Oh, wait, you guys are talking about one that's threaded on the inside.

 

K&N filter better then your **** paper ones. Anyone got any proof that they don't? My filter cost me $115. It would want to filter better.

 

comradegiant,

"I personally advise something other than K&N. Tests have shown that K&N filters let disgusting levels of dirt and other crap in. I wouldn't stick with a stock filter, I'd look in to Cool Blue filters, but K&N is a no go."

I want to know more. I have bought K&N for my truck and motorcycle. I was going to by them for my RX-7. I don't want to mess up my vehicles. Do you have some experience you can share?

 

Personally, no. I have not, and never will buy, K&N filters. My opinion of K&N results from several friends of mine, and the bad happenings they had with K&N. It all boils down to engine longevity, if you don't mind having to rebuild your engine all the time then K&N is fine. My main sources for K&N badness are my So-Cal racer friend who used to semi-pro race Sciroccos, he told me that when he ran K&N the power was pretty good but the oil got dirty as hell really fast, and that on tear-down and rebuild the engine was torn up far more than it should have been. The other group I listen to on the matter are my off-roading friends, who warn that their engines get really messed up when they run K&N. The off-roaders aren't really that important to this discussion, since they drive on dirty backroads, but my So-cal buddy drove on some pretty clean areas.

 

kick ***. I'm going with the bonez! I work at a fab shop and could get the metal for free, but NO WAY could I cut a perfect circle like that with what we have here.

The filter alone runs you like $45 at most retails. Why not pay another $15 for (what I think) would be a really effective mod.

I've had k&n on every nissan I've owned. Never had a problem-ever. My maxima had 255k mi. when I sold it and it still ran like new. Depends on where you drive I guess. May not want one in Iraq, but hey wtf would a Rx-7 be doing there? lol

 

I just ordered my K&N the other day and should be getting it today ! (yaaaayy) ! I will try to build my own bonez kit for it and tell you how it went ... I've got a couple of ideas on how to do the metal rod in the middle. Can't wait to see if there's gonna be a big or small power diff. :P

 

you can buy the rod from canadian tire......just bring your wing nut from your carb with you....make sure it fits on the rod...and bobs your uncle....

 

What tests? The only tests I have read are the ones by K&N that say the opposite.
I have been using these filters for years in all my cars and they work fine so long as you keep them oiled and clean.
BTW, what is the diff between K&N and Kool Blue other than name?

 

K&N on my '80 RX7=no noticeable difference in power.

K&N on my Ford Fiesta=noticeable power increase.

At least that's been my observation.

So I suppose it depends on how well the original filter was designed. What's the advantage of being able to flow more air than the engine actually requires?

 

K&N + Bonez intake system in my car = noticeable difference, esp. at high rpms.

 

K&N is the way to go. I wouldn't place a lot of emphasis on what 2nd hand information 'comrade' has been able to provide, since this is off-road use, and also appears to be heavy use racing applications.

What I have found for street use is that the K&N filter does provide more airflow, filters about the same as a paper element (Mazda Factory part), and rarely needs cleaning or replacement. Re-oiling is recommended by K&N for dusty conditions, but a good 'shake-out' seems to work just as well for me.

For the money, the K&N is a cost-effective improvement because you'd have to change out your stock paper element filter about 3-4 times to make up for the cost of the K&N that has a million mile warranty.

I run one about 5k miles with a Cold-Air intake, front-entry Ramair duct, and have seen no downsides to using the K&N. But that's only my direct experience,

 

Too bad we can't delete!

 

Yep, still going!

 

K&N is the way to go. I wouldn't place a lot of emphasis on what 2nd hand information 'comrade' has been able to provide, since this is off-road use, and also appears to be heavy use racing applications.

Slow forum response!

 

Damnit.

 

The difference between K&N and Cool Blue is that Cool Blue has a tighter weave and lets less dust through. Which, upon further consideration, might not be as big of a deal for some people as it is for me. I live in the boondocks, and often drive on dirt roads. Thats the main basis for my distrust of K&N. That and I saw someone who runs K&N change their oil last night, it was dirty. But he drives in the same places I do, so that doesn't help city folks much.

 

Wow... vicodin makes my writing suck. Basically what I was trying to say with that last post is: it depends on what your driving situation is as to what filter you should use.

 

But wait a goddamn second. How in hell would a faulty air filter affect the cleanliness of the oil????