[trez63]

Opened up my stock filters and they were filled with wood chips. Thought I'd try the K&N. They arrived last Friday and I installed them over the weekend. The quality of the filter actually seemed quite high, visually at least.

The thing that surprised me though is the SVR exhaust got noticeably quieter after this install. Then I thought about it and it kinda make sense. Here's my theory. The SVR pops and crackles a lot. Almost as if the car was running really rich on gas. The new filters likely allow much easier flow of air which means more air to fuel ratio, hence less rich, and less crackles and pops. I'm going to keep them on for a week and see how I feel about them but will likely put the stock filters back.

As for added power it's really hard to tell with this car if you have an additional 20-40 BPH because it's a small change overall. I don't think there's really a noticeable difference in the butt dyno. I'll test with the dashboard app and see what I see.

One questions I have though, does anyone know if the stock filters can be somehow safely cleaned? Or is it always a replacement?

 

[Booyah]

The stock air filters are paper based and can't be cleaned like the K&N. You can knock out the large stuff like wood chips but the pores will still contain the trapped particles.

 

[GPS]

I installed the K&N one year ago and I am very happy about it.
Use their kit to clean it and you have a very efficient filter for a long time.
I didn't notice any increase of power, I installed the ecu and exhaust system from Urban.

 

[Tony420]

Also have the K&N filter in my Autobiography. Was added along with the ECU tune and crank pulley from Velocity about 6 months ago. Hard to tell if power increased. Like the idea that it can be cleaned and re-used.

 

[Bails]

K & N may flow more air but they will also filter less as the air flow is a factor of surface area in the filter and the size of the holes in the filtering media. A folded paper filter has a much larger surface area than the foam K & N filter which equates to the K & N having much larger holes and hence more abrasive contaminants entering the engine. There are some good test available on the web that prove the statements I have made .

http://nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

 

[Patarix]

K & N may flow more air but they will also filter less as the air flow is a factor of surface area in the filter and the size of the holes in the filtering media. A folded paper filter has a much larger surface area than the foam K & N filter which equates to the K & N having much larger holes and hence more abrasive contaminants entering the engine. There are some good test available on the web that prove the statements I have made .

http://nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

Thanks for sharing the link Bails, it's got some VERY good information.

 

[trez63]

I totally agree @Bails. But it largely depends on where you live I think too. Here in SoCal the roads are relatively clean and we have no dust or dirt roads near us. There's also no "weather" so the filters don't really get a whole lot to clean up. This car did come from Scottsdale though which is basically a big patch of dirt and sand. I think if you live in a place with relatively clean landscape and air then high-flow filters might be fine.

 

[pl626]

I totally agree @Bails. But it largely depends on where you live I think too. Here in SoCal the roads are relatively clean and we have no dust or dirt roads near us. There's also no "weather" so the filters don't really get a whole lot to clean up. This car did come from Scottsdale though which is basically a big patch of dirt and sand. I think if you live in a place with relatively clean landscape and air then high-flow filters might be fine.

Trez's right. I carry paper filters for off-road, but K&Ns for driving around town. If most of your driving is dusty, I'd stay away from high flow filters and stick with the stock paper filters.

 

[RangeR-Over]

Has anyone done a BlackLab Oil analysis to compare silica contents of the oil with K&N vs paper filter? I live in NYC and I'm kind of on the fence. I'd like to drop the K&N's in but don't want to harm anything either...

 

[JaRod1]

All gasoline Range Rovers are force induction aka supercharged, a better flowing filter is not going to do anything in terms of performance, in some cars because K&N filters are open and not enclosed inside a housing the engine produce different sound as you can actually hear the air as its sucked into the engine and it can make your brain believe its faster, but it isn't.
In terms of filtration I am not sure if its better or not than the OEM. personally I rather keep it stock so if there is any problem down the road the dealership can not claim the car has been altered in any way.