MODBUSTERS PRESENTS THE SPECTRE AIRFILTER

[GonneVille]

Bill, read your reply and TRY to imagine somebody posted that to you.

Anyway, there ARE independent tests out there, and when one shows that one filter or another filters better AND flows better, I'd call it a better filter. Especially if it's a dry reusable filter, without the worries and negative effects of over-oiling and getting that crap on the MAF elements.

BTW, my dry reusable filter is NOT an Amsoil. I actually can't remember the brand right now, but I did do my research before I replaced a damaged K&N with it.


And while small particles may not spell engine death, I can tell you that I have personally seen K&N filters kill several cars. Being SUCKED CLOSED tends to have a detrimental effect when your engine is turning 7,000rpm... more so when the filter material actually separates and gets sucked through the carb. I admit that that could happen to a filter from any brand, but the specific filters that I witnessed doing this were K&N.

[willwren]

In our application, and with proper care, with hundreds of K&N's installed since 2002 (most likely in the thousands), we have yet to see a SINGLE failure of any kind.

[Sadden]

Im the one who posted the independent tests.

I have taken a K&Ns off of more than a few vehicles , and have shaken the dust out of the inside of the filter , im fairly sure thats detrimental to any engine , i cant imagine that being good for anything in a motor.

Next time i replace someone elses K&N air filter ill take a video.

[01bonneSC]

Im the one who posted the independent tests.

I have taken a K&Ns off of more than a few vehicles , and have shaken the dust out of the inside of the filter , im fairly sure thats detrimental to any engine , i cant imagine that being good for anything in a motor.

Next time i replace someone elses K&N air filter ill take a video.

If you are shaking dust out of it.....then I say its doing its job. Also make sure you document how many miles/time were on it since it had been cleaned and oiled last.

[willwren]

That's been my point all along. It's those that don't provide proper care that are having the problems.

I've been running K&N's on every vehicle I've owned since 1985. I've never had a compression loss of any kind, nor any other related engine failure that could be remotely tied to the air filter. If you take proper car of them, they work exactly as advertised. If you don't, you may pay the price. Sounds like just about any other scheduled maintenance item under the hood, doesn't it?

[GonneVille]

Bill, my only point is that there are other filters that perform as well or better than K&N. Why does that stir up such an impassioned defense? Is it a problem if I say that people should do their research before buying a product?

And if the filter doesn't use oil, that alone is a pretty big advantage, since it eliminates a step in the maintenance process that can easily be screwed up. Is there some debate I don't know about over whether it's a bad thing to get excess filter oil on the MAF elements?

[willwren]

Again, it comes down to proper care. The product shouldn't get a bad name from improper use or maintenance. I've never had an over-oiled isssue, and the oil is a benefit when it comes to trapping fine dust and particles. Oiled filters have been used for years for good reason.

My beef isn't with you at all, it's with the idea in general. K&N's have been bashed quite a bit in the last couple years here, yet we haven't had a single instance of any kind of failure here that I can recall since 2002. It all comes down to people really thinking about "Hey, all these guys have used them on their H bodies for how long? And there have been no posted issues?"

So why are people crying wolf? Because they hear stories of other applications, or failures that are likely attributed to misuse or lack of proper maintenance. Those reasons don't make it a bad product.

In some ways, this is very similar to the INTENSE bashing we see from time to time. I know for a fact that you're a fan of INTENSE (as I am), so does that run you away from that brand? Have you ever personally had a problem with any air filter on any of your cars (this question being asked of whoever bashes K&N, not you directly)?

You'd be hard pressed to try to compare the top 3 performance filters on the market (wet or dry) and actually PROVE which one is better. Better or worse filtration is a debatable point at the very least. What's better? What's worse? Where's the evidence in the motor of one or the other?

Bottom line is that it's pretty much related to FLOW. And most performance filters of the same size flow the same, or flow enough that the application they're installed on can't out-flow them anyway. Quality brands don't stick around for years for no reason. They stick around for years because they work.

[01bonneSC]

I personally think oiled filters are great for the FWI, incase you do happen to get a little water splashed up there, the oil immediately lets it run off the filter. Paper cone filter....not so much.

[Sadden]

If you are shaking dust out of it.....then I say its doing its job. Also make sure you document how many miles/time were on it since it had been cleaned and oiled last.

Not when lots of the dust is coming from the INSIDE of the filter.
Cleaned an oiled on record every 5000k , on record because this guy gets everything done at this local diesel performance place.

I cant even remember how man K&N's ive seen fail , saw 3 sucked flat last year , one unravel on its way out of the box , cap came off of one and was missing for an unkown period of time causing the motor to ingest some leaves...

I havent see one fail on an H-Body , but there are alot more vehicles than H-Bodys out there. And i have seen more K&N air filters fail than any other brand.

I believe that K&N probably moves the most air than any other filter , making it ideal for a racing application , but at what cost? What else does it let through? To allow more air you need to allow more debris , there is no way around it without sizing up to a larger filter.

[01bonneSC]

If you are shaking dust out of it.....then I say its doing its job. Also make sure you document how many miles/time were on it since it had been cleaned and oiled last.

Not when lots of the dust is coming from the INSIDE of the filter.
Cleaned an oiled on record every 5000k , on record because this guy gets everything done at this local diesel performance place.

I cant even remember how man K&N's ive seen fail , saw 3 sucked flat last year , one unravel on its way out of the box , cap came off of one and was missing for an unkown period of time causing the motor to ingest some leaves...

I havent see one fail on an H-Body , but there are alot more vehicles than H-Bodys out there. And i have seen more K&N air filters fail than any other brand.

I believe that K&N probably moves the most air than any other filter , making it ideal for a racing application , but at what cost? What else does it let through? To allow more air you need to allow more debris , there is no way around it without sizing up to a larger filter.

How do you know its coming from the INSIDE of the filter? How do you "shake" or "blow" it out to clean?

Any pics of sucked flat or unraveled filters?

[willwren]

K&N clearly states to either not use them or clean them more often in dusty environments. Being that it was on a diesel truck, it sounds like the wrong application. If you get ANY filter covered in enough fine dust, it's going to suck it flat. It's simple physics.

The reason you don't see them fail in our application is because we tend to:

1. Maintain them properly.
2. Not drive on dusty roads every day.
3. Look under our hoods more than once a month.

[razmatazz]

Well this post seems to be active than i imagined. But i will agree with willwren in saying that most of us look under our hoods more than once a month (me twice a week). Over all how ever ever product that has been made has most likely had a couple of there items that were defects upon production. or were improperally used thus created said "flat filters", "ripped filters", and really dirt ones. if your going to put money into a filter like K&N you should be sure to read on how they are intened to be used and maintained. if your not willing to do that then stick to the paper ones that are 3-4 buck a pop.

[willwren]

Right on the money.

[00Beast]

I think the moral of this story is that no matter what brand of filter you choose to run, there will always be haters, and that if you keep it clean and in good shape, you likely won't have issues.

I have personally had a number of K&N's on 5+ vehicles over the past few years, and a yearly cleaning keeps them in tip-top shape.

[crash93ssei]

My next filter will be a dry filter. Not at all because I don't trust K&N, but because I hate that if I forget to grab oil or the cleaner for it I am stuck with a dirty filter still. I would be much happier being able to just rinse, dry, and reuse. I have never had a problem with over oiling, I currently run a K&N in both the Bonneville and the Cutlass without issue, just hate the extra step lol.

Do a google search on K&N and you will find some people and forums that say they are garbage and tell people NOT to use them or they will kill their engine, and you will also find some people and forums that say there is nothing better and highly recommend them.

Bottom line is this.... paper, Spectra, K&N, Amsoil, AEM, etc. Go with whatever you feel will do the best job for your application. I would bet that you will never see a 3800 suck a K&N filter in that is properly maintained or didn't have a factory defect, they simply don't flow enough air to do so. Air filters are very rarely the cause of death in a daily driven vehicle, so do whatever you think is best.

[jedwards83]

Personally I don't think K&N is better than Spectre or vice versa. There are some junk ricer cheapies out there that should be avoided however, but I don't think Spectre is one of them.

There's been plenty of tests done that demonstrate that regular paper filters filter better than K&N's and other reusables. The gap widens each time a K&N is washed. For most enthusiasts that minor loss of filtering efficiency is an acceptable trade-off for the extra performance.

If one really wanted to see if their filter is doing its job, you could send away for a $20 oil analysis that will quantify the amount of particles and especially silicon (dirt) in the oil. Yes the filter removes a good portion, but the amount of silicon present in the oil is a good indicator of whether dirt is making it past the air filter.

[willwren]

Rule of thumb, never buy any performance product that was designed and marketed for the import tuner market. Spectre has been seen and proven over the years on this forum to be absolute garbage, and designed primarily for cosmetic looks.

[BonneMe]

The danger of FWI may not have happened here yet, but it has in other cars with less protected areas. Aftermarket companies who make similar systems sometimes include a safety setup incase water is ingested up the pipes. FWI are good, and for the GP and Bonneville they're a good solution, but not without some danger. Just trying to put all the information out here.

Jason, there isn't an intake on this forum that can make the difference between breaking them loose or not. You had some other factor working for you. Whether it was temperature, humidity, fuel, a sensor twitch, the placebo effect, or anything else. Even the placement of your IAT if it changed.

But no 5hp improvement on any L27 ever made the difference in breaking the tires loose. Your horsepower was varying more than that from morning to afternoon just due to temperatures alone.

And the more exposed filter on an FWI never caused anyone any problems.

I'm going to ignore the condescending attitude for now.

This wasn't just a one time experience, it was noticeably different in ANY favorable driving conditions. A few times back to back, and thousands of miles between either setup. The L27 really was choked by it's stock air filter, the offset of the box inlet and outlets kill all the flow. I'm not suggesting using stock accordions or PVC, but a metal pipe with a real silicone reducer/coupler will give a decent boost over an OEM box. SC maybe not as much, but N/A performance is all about removing restrictions.

The Placebo effect typically has nothing to do with traction either....

My experience has been that road surface and the temperature of that surface made a major difference on wheel spin or not. A few degrees made a difference. - BC

I'm well aware of that. There's a reason a year ago we were running civic street tires

Rule of thumb, never buy any performance product that was designed and marketed for the import tuner market. Spectre has been seen and proven over the years on this forum to be absolute garbage, and designed primarily for cosmetic looks.

Rule of thumb? for Ricer parts yes, but imports are as supported as old school muscle by quality aftermarket parts. Yes anything at the parts store can be considered a waste of time/money, but it's a hell of a lot more supported by quality parts than the 3800 market has been.

[willwren]

Jason, there was no condescending in that post whatsoever. Just the facts. 5hp isn't going to make the difference between breaking loose or not.

[defretted]

Lol... I know I'm new here, and walked into a hornets nest debate... I was just looking at options to un-choke my L27...
But here is an interesting find....

http://classic-recreations.com/modules. ... age&pid=89
Watch the video at the bottom.

My boss is a Mustang guy, and we were looking at Eleanor stuff the other day....
I saw this, and thought of this thread immediately.
Obviously there is an endorsement deal going on here... Note the Spectre windshield sticker.

I really hope these guys are reputable, with the $200k+ pricetags and all... That being said, they are running Spectre cones on Highly expensive Prochargers on more highly expensive 427 Crate motors in even more expensive cars..

I would think they would research the product before endorsing it like this. But, then again, seemingly reputable people will do anything for money.