K&N Filter Cleaning

[Hekta]

How often should you clean out your K&N Filter ? The instructions say to clean it out every 50-100,000 miles or 'more often in offroad applications'. Apparently the dirt buildup helps to filter the air

I've cleaned mine a couple of times when it's looked dirty though. Is that the way to go ?

[bogged]

I've cleaned mine a couple of times when it's looked dirty though. Is that the way to go ?

Since it takes 10 mins to clean, clean it when you do oil and filters..

[DIRTY ROCK STAR]

Dude i had one in my hsv, and i dont know if it was the cold air induction or the under bonnet heat from extractors or what but mine used to get dryish, covered in bugs and dirt heaps quick.

i would do it every 10,000kms or so. or try it at a few intervals and see how it is. but mine used to be pretty dry too alot quicker then what they advertise.

my 2 cents.

[BIg StEvE]

Yeah mine gets pretty messy off road in dry dusty conditions!

The oil does a top job at catching the crap thats why!

Listen to bitsamissin and do it with ya oils!

[bigpat]

I'd say to gently tap the filter o a bench after every trip to get rid of the big stuff. It's true a bit of dust does help the filtration as it offeres more surface area to catch the muck. Wash it every 10-15k, not the 50-100 k as they say. But here's the trick...

When re-oiling after a wash, be sure to only apply enough fluid to change the filter colour from white to pink/red inside the pleats. Any more than necessary, and it actually starts to strangle airflow. (we tested this on a dyno).

Remember that with the 50-100, 00 km wash claim, that yanks are well known to be lazy bastards when it comes to car maintenance. K&N probably sell as many filters in the states based on service intervals rather than performance gain....

cheers,

Pat

[HRZOOK]

What is the best thing to wash these in??

[bigpat]

From memory, when you buy the re-oiling kit or"Recharge Kit" as K&N calls it, it comes with both the washing agent and the filter oil. I do remember that we washed them in warm water, and left them to dry themselves.

Cheers,

Pat

[phippsy]

I don't know if a k&n filter is the same as a unifilter but a guy I used to work with used them in his rally car and he said he cleaned them in turps to get the old oil out, then put the filter oil in a small ice cream bucket and mix it with a small amount of petrol, about 50ml. Then soak up the mix with the filter. The petrol evaporates and leaves a fine coat of filter oil over the entire filter.
Have tried it myself and works a treat getting a good cover of filter oil. I leave the filter in the sun for a few minutes while I change the other filters and it runs great.

[Hekta]

Thanks guys, I knew the 100k was too much. Are you supposed to spray the oil on both sides or just the down/dirty side ?? Mine is a flat square type that goes into a filter box.