K&N Air intake system -Hmmmmm

[Kirkinsb]

Well, currently I have the stock air intake tube with S&B Filters from Roe Racing on my Gen 3 Viper. Not sure why, but for the heck of it, I ordered the K&N intake to check it out.

I was not really impressed. Here are my impressions:

1. Overall the filter area seemed to be less than the S&B. K&N are round and S&Bs are oval...basically OEM size.
2. The filters themselves were VERY lightly oiled. Very! Easy fix I know...but I could see LOTS of daylight through many tiny open holes.
3. The intake tube did not fit well in the airbox. It caused the top of the airbox to miss-align somewhat to the ram-air opening on the hood. I tried everything to get that sucker to line up correctly.
4. There was quite a bit of opening where the airbox clamps around the K&N Tube. about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch on the bottom! Forget any ram-air benefit with the K&N! (Stock tube seals pretty tight)
5. The stock tube allows some flex with the rubber boot. The K&N does not allow much flex if any. (not sure how important that is.) but if you ever tear a motor mount and don't fix it soon, the motor will flex and I can see with the K&N having no "give" it could work itself off. Unlikely I know.

I never did hit the dyno with it to see if it ads 14hp over stock intake and paper filters....because I really did not like the way it fit together. I returned it this morning and will stick with the stock intake tube and S&Bs.

Not sure if this review will help anyone considering a K&N for a Gen 3...but be aware, for me it just did not fit well. When I put the stock intake back in with the S&Bs it just felt right and fit right!

 

[cdover73]

I have the K&N setup. It was on the car when I bought it. It seals well and doesn't contact anything. Maybe you had a bad one out of the box?? As far as the oiling and tiny holes, I haven't looked at mine yet, but I have seen that in the past with other K&N's on my other vehicles. I think it is the gauze type material they use. I always questioned how effective they were at catching debris, and I refuse to use K&N on my 08 Ram 3500 Cummins. I do know over-oiling will cause them to collapse. Happened to me before. It's a good point you made and when I get my car back I will have to check it out more closely.

Thanks,

 

[NMviperguy]

Good info. I also have the roe filters on mine. I figured the tubing wouldn't make as much of a difference as the filters themselves. The cost difference was huge as well l