ted clement said:
Do you clean your car filters or change them? How often? They're the same type paper. Personally I wouldnt but can give you no factual reason other than I don't think the clogged pores of the paper can be cleaned and that its likely to drive the microscopic dirt particles into the pores.
Before I found out that K&N filters were so porous, which is why they can claim your engine breaths much better, I did the cut and paste and made one. Having spent about $50 doing this, I'll keep using it. With hindsight, i'd spend the money for an OEM.
You won't go wrong with the OEM filter for sure. As for reusables:
I have a K&N filter in a 1990 Isuzu 2.6L 4x4 that has 186,000+ miles on it. It's had a K&N filter since I could first find one for it. The engine's cylinder walls still exhibit cross hatching (inspection revealed this when I had to change a head several years ago that had warped and could not be planed any futher).
I have a 2006 Hyundai Sonata with just about 60K miles on it, and the first thing I did after I bought it was stop by the auto parts store and get a K&N filter.
We have a 2004 GMC Envoy that's had a K&N filter in it since day one.
We have a 1993 Olds Delta 88 that has a K&N filter in it as well.
None of these vehicles has had ANY problems with air filtration or any problems caused by the air filter.
As for K&N:
...
http://cars.about.com/b/2006/05/18/can- ... nd-out.htm
Scroll down and read in particular Dave Vespremi's contribution to the discussion...
You don't buy a K&N or BMC filter (by itself) for performance improvements. You do not buy it for better mpg. You buy it, because in the long run, you can clean and reuse the thing over and over and over with no ill-effects. At $40+ now, the OEM filter is very costly for my 650, so if I'm going to CLEAN and reuse a filter, I get one that is
MADE TO clean and reuse. I paid about 60 for my BMC (because K&N doesn't have one yet for the 650) and I live in AZ where it's particularly dusty. That means that instead of replacing my filter yearly or twice yearly, I can clean it and reuse it.
No K&N filter voids any manufacturer warranty. There is NO proof whatsoever anywhere that a K&N filter caused an engine failure or premature wear. I've seen and read
lots of 'word of mouth' urban legend things, but no real, documented proof.
The only thing I ever 'cleaned and reused' a paper filter on is my 16 gallon Craftsman shop-vac. And even at that (since I use it regularly to clean the cars and to vacuum the garage), after one or two "good cleanings" with soap and water, the
paper starts turning crappy, gets stiff and eventually non-porous (yes the paper degrades). You're just better off to take the paper filter and vacuum out the debris with a powerful vac as well. Use the shop vac itself (unfiltered) to pull the debris back out of the dirty side....LoL...I've tired it all.....
Paper air filters have a weave in them which catches and retains dust, you cannot get
all the dust out by simply dipping them in water and then running
a tap over them - it doesn't work because the filter is designed to
retain the particulate matter it traps. The only way to get all the dust out is to destroy the weave in the paper. As part of the washing process you'll also end up with fibers that are stuck together, trapping dust inside the filter and reducing it's capacity when compared to a 'new filter'.
I mean, if you're going to the trouble of cleaning and reusing that air filter, just take it one more
small step and flush out that dirty OIL filter and reuse it too. Makes sense to me. :?
It's amusing that folks first go out and spend the $$$ on a Burgman..then sink a lot of money into accessories and gear, and use costlier synthetic oil and good oil filters, but want to scrimp on
air filters of all things.
That's like driving a BMW or Mercedes, eating at fine restaurants, wearing only the best clothes, and having the coolest electronics in your home,
but buying your underwear at the 2nd hand store. :lol: Yikes.
If you don't like the cost of paper replacements are are just not 'sure' of reusables, then there is an alternative: The
Nano Fiber filter media!
"The synthetic Nano Fiber solves all the issues of pleated paper and oiled gauze filter media's. It has un-believable particle efficiency: 100% efficiency at only 2 microns, catching particles in that critical 5 to 20 micron range.
Nano Fiber air filters are 3 to 5 times more efficient than the best-pleated paper filters and 50 times more efficient than oiled gauze! Its Nano Fiber material also flows air like an oiled open gauze media, even when heavily loaded with contaminants for great dirt holding capacity.
Nano Fiber air filters also have the advantage that they can be cleaned and re-used several times just like the oiled gauze filter. The difference being that the Nano Fiber air filter does not require the expense of a special cleaning and re-oiling kit. The synthetic Nano Fiber has a non-stick like surface. The filter can be vacuumed off or blown off with low-pressure compressed air and used over with no messy cleaning needed."
I like that idea - so where can we get one at what cost?? Where else... AMSOIL! Though I'm not sure one is available for the 650. I sent them a message asking about it.
