At full throttle my TPS reads 80.

I don't want to turn this into another "fuel injector cut-off" thread, but I'd like to know what my throttle plate is really doing.

 

The attached "Torque Based Electronic Throttle Control" document is from the 08 service manual.

 

I've also consistently had a 2mpg increase after installing the K&N on my 4WD.
It should be mentioned that the oiling problems with these filters that have been discussed had been determined to be the result of owners cleaning their filters and then re-oiling too heavily. When you re-oil a K&N, it's hard to see how much you have sprayed on, so people will bathe their filters in oil, creating the MAF problems.
I'm keeping my stock paper filter, though, for whenever I need to take the truck into the service .

 

What is the part # of that K&N filter??

I'm still skeptical on the mpg claims but I am definitely willing to give it a try myself.....

~John

 

For 2005-2007 anyway:

Part# 33-2347

BTW, even without a MPG increase it will still pay for itself.
With a 1 million mile warranty, it should be the last filter you will ever own.

I put K&N in my 1988 Dodge truck back in 1991. I still have the same air filter in there.
1 filter purchase in 16 years! Not bad, eh?

 

"will still pay for itself..."

Only if you discount, at a "collective" level, all K&N users included, the cost of cleaning or a new MAF/IAT sensor every ~50,000 miles and an engine overhaul at 100k due to the debris getting through the more "open" K&N.

IMMHO opinion once you re-oil the K&N the only way you can assure yourself that there is no excess oil to wick into the airflow is to simulate that airflow outside the engine for say 24 hours.

Does anyone know how the K&N factory does the oiling process such that you don't get an over-oiled filter right out of the box?

Would the FE gain be 4 mpg with no filter at all....?

 

I don't really look at it as something that will "pay for itself" & you make some good points. As far as the MAF going bad, I'm not real worried about that happening & even if it does those things have come WAY down in price lately (they used to be a couple hundred dollars) & it takes about 2 minutes to replace (I have replaced tons of them in cars I've worked on)

As far as an overhaul at 100,000 miles, I don't really see that happening either & I won't keep my truck over 100,000 miles anyway so I'm not going to lose any sleep over that either.

~John

 

I have used K&N air filter in 2001 Prius for about 65k miles. Have re-oiled it once and let if drain on paper towel overnight before reinstalling. The MAF drip thing...

No observed difference in power or fuel eff., but the Escape engine may be different enough. The main thing was to buy and toss less filters.

What I do want to mention is that these filters have a general reputation for letting some dust get by. I do used engine oil analyses (UOA), and over the last couple, the silicon has been creeping up a bit. If it gets a lot higher, or if the wear metals start to climb, I will switch back to conventional air filters.

Am always suggesting that folks get UOAs, and with air filters like this, there is an additional reason for doing so.

DAS

 

I have used K&N filters for years with no problems. I ran them in a several Subarus and there was a noticeable performance benefit, especially in mountain driving. I did not see a significant fuel economy benefit. Maybe 1 MPG.

I had a screaming fast SHO Taurus for a couple of years in the mid 90s and a K&N was a MUST in that car. I believe I got slightly better economy but it was maybe 1-2 MPG. Noticeably better performance, however, and lower cost/waste.

As D-mac points out, the problem with sensors is not the filter but rather users not oiling properly. The concern has evolved into urban legend, not unlike myths about hybrids. Like that you might get electrocuted or that the battery pack might fail. It's usually someone who knew a guy whose ex-girlfriends brother had a problem.

K&N used to say that their filtration was better than paper, but I noticed a few years ago they stopped saying so. Because of that, I concluded (but have no proof) that there may be a small but measurable loss of filtration with their products in some applications. Because I have not seen proof either way, I have no opinion on that. I suspect top quality paper might filter better, but is probably more restrictive. I don't know.

How does the factory oil them? When K&N filters are shipped, a thin line of oil + tackifier is applied every couple of inches. The product is wrapped in plastic, boxed and shipped. Over the days/weeks before the it's unwrapped and installed, oil saturates the cotton evenly. To imitate this process, I personally have always done what Tochatihu does: Oil it lightly with the K&N oil + tackifier spray and let it sit, at least overnight. The cotton absorbs the oil and it's distributed amazingly evenly the next day.

Many motorcycle, scooter and watercraft come with oiled-foam air filter elements. Anyone who has one of these will tell you that it only takes six to ten drops of oil to completely saturate the element. Like with a K&N, the first time you change it, it's really easy to screw up and over-oil.

 

Doesn't an Atkinson Cycle engine have less manifold vacuum and intake charge?
Engineers out there, good or bad for a K&N application or would it matter?