K&N Cabin Filter QA

[JohnnyO]

Agreed about performance especially since it's the cabin. At $44 though I'd expect quality to be top notch though. A little disappointing. Appreciate the input!

K&N's all look like that. No big deal. Their main advantage is that you can clean and reuse them. Cost more up front but they last pretty much forever.

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[fusseli]

That filter looks perfectly fine. The effected surface area is what, 0.001% of the total?

 

[awd.nv]

Ok, so did anyone get better airflow out of their vent with the K&N Cabin filter?

In December I went with a carbon one since the truck smelt like shop rags after being at the dealer for about 2 months, it worked great at cleaning the air but I noticed a tiny ding on airflow over the Ford stock one.

Most people in the K&N reviews just praise the cleaning aspect, haven't seen anyone comment on better airflow over stock ones.

If filtration is your preference, I have been happy with the Purolator Boss version

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LGS8DNJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[jdamtb918]

I appreciate yee who spoke about the charcoal filters for our trucks! Just ordered me one

 

[Dereku]

Adds HP to the HVAC system probably.

 

[pismo1]

The better the filtration the less air flow.Just the way it is.

 

[Jamie Jack]

OK, so I read that the K and N cabin filters are reusable, like all their other products, so I went on line to look at the process. First, they are advertised as being pretreated prior to installation, but they don't mention what they are pretreated with. Like their other products, it's probably some sort of petroleum distillate that attaches to the element and captures dust. One would expect that recirculating cabin air would carry a small amount of that distillate for you to breath. Cleaning instructions are that you need to buy their cabin filter cleaner kit, which like their other air filters, require a solution to clean it, a rinse, and to reapply the original distillate in order to make them effective. I could not find what is in their proprietary distillate, but I'm pretty certain that I don't want to breath it in recycled air for the many hours that I'm in my vehicle. I use cheap disposable filters and change them every 6 months because I spend a lot of time in dust and pollen environments.

 

[Grumpaw]

OK, so I read that the K and N cabin filters are reusable, like all their other products, so I went on line to look at the process. First, they are advertised as being pretreated prior to installation, but they don't mention what they are pretreated with. Like their other products, it's probably some sort of petroleum distillate that attaches to the element and captures dust. One would expect that recirculating cabin air would carry a small amount of that distillate for you to breath. Cleaning instructions are that you need to buy their cabin filter cleaner kit, which like their other air filters, require a solution to clean it, a rinse, and to reapply the original distillate in order to make them effective. I could not find what is in their proprietary distillate, but I'm pretty certain that I don't want to breath it in recycled air for the many hours that I'm in my vehicle. I use cheap disposable filters and change them every 6 months because I spend a lot of time in dust and pollen environments.

I have a K&N cabin filter. Clean it every oil change/5000 miles. I do not use the K&N cleaners...just soak it in a bit of Dawn/water and rinse it out. And I just use the filter...no spray...works just fine.
Lest you all worry about the filtration of the K&N that it might be letting bigger particles in....remember, it wasn't till just a few years ago that cabin filters came into being...
What about all those years when there were no filters, and even no AC.....rode around with the windows down....now everyone complains about the filter letting in particles so small you can't see em....

 

[Jamie Jack]

K and N is quite adamant that their filters do not work correctly without the distillate; so why are you paying 5 times the price for an inferior product?

 

[Grumpaw]

K and N is quite adamant that their filters do not work correctly without the distillate; so why are you paying 5 times the price for an inferior product?

First, I got it for less than the price of a paper filter via another member.
Second, the gauze material works fine .
Third, I grew up with no AC and vent windows and from 1963 to 2010 I never owned a vehicle with a cabin filter, so the plain untreated K&N is a big step up.
Fourth, do you ride around 365 days a year with your windows up ? Or is it possible you drive with the windows down, occasionally....if you do than it dosen't really matter what kind of, if any, filter you use, does it ???
I breathe just fine, thankyou !!!

 

[awd.nv]

Adds HP to the HVAC system probably.

So my logic is if the blow motor pulls less amps because less restriction, more HP..... JUST KIDDING

First, I got it for less than the price of a paper filter via another member.
Second, the gauze material works fine .
Third, I grew up with no AC and vent windows and from 1963 to 2010 I never owned a vehicle with a cabin filter, so the plain untreated K&N is a big step up.
Fourth, do you ride around 365 days a year with your windows up ? Or is it possible you drive with the windows down, occasionally....if you do than it dosen't really matter what kind of, if any, filter you use, does it ???
I breathe just fine, thankyou !!!

Yeah, my first car that I still have is a 66 Mustang, no AC and in the summer it was for sure windows down in Los Angeles Country, stop n go at times, leaning forward to keep your back off the seat to sweat less lol

What kind of started it all was me talking to the home HVAC guy about our house filters, asked about the super good ones vs cheaper ones. He basically said the ones that catch more just restrict air flow and sure you will NEVER need to clean your AC system but the years of use with lower air flow are not worth it. Just replace normal filters on time and you wont have issues anyways. I said good point and literally thought we have the doors open in the spring anyways. Made me think about the truck AC when it is +100F every bit of airflow matters.

 

[RedDakooter05]

I saw better airflow and decent filtration from the one I had, which also had the gasket flashing like that.


As for the spray, they do sell the cabin airfilter oil on their website but it's not all that cheap. Rinsing with water and allowing to dry is reality all you need.

https://a.co/d/iy6hlA0

https://www.knfilters.com/99-6000-c...U2jV9vyTOzHli6wJiR6KuCx7aFYPjr3n4G-Zc_S3-iQCh

 

[Dereku]

So my logic is if the blow motor pulls less amps because less restriction, more HP..... JUST KIDDING



Yeah, my first car that I still have is a 66 Mustang, no AC and in the summer it was for sure windows down in Los Angeles Country, stop n go at times, leaning forward to keep your back off the seat to sweat less lol

What kind of started it all was me talking to the home HVAC guy about our house filters, asked about the super good ones vs cheaper ones. He basically said the ones that catch more just restrict air flow and sure you will NEVER need to clean your AC system but the years of use with lower air flow are not worth it. Just replace normal filters on time and you wont have issues anyways. I said good point and literally thought we have the doors open in the spring anyways. Made me think about the truck AC when it is +100F every bit of airflow matters.

Or remove the air filter for superior flow! Half kidding. I have 100k and never replaced mine. Im removing it today to look at it. Probably add it to my next rock auto order. Honestly didnt know we had one

 

[got3fords]

Or remove the air filter for superior flow! Half kidding. I have 100k and never replaced mine. Im removing it today to look at it. Probably add it to my next rock auto order. Honestly didnt know we had one

100k and never replaced your cabin air filter? I guarantee it will be dirty. They are really easy to replace. I put the date/mileage on mine so the dealer can't try to sell me on a new one.

 

[Dereku]

100k and never replaced your cabin air filter? I guarantee it will be dirty. They are really easy to replace. I put the date/mileage on mine so the dealer can't try to sell me on a new one.

I just didn’t know it was a thing. Last truck was an 08. Never had one. AC was amazing too, great flow. Noticed it was flowing poorly yesterday. Think this is it.

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