I have a 01 Silverado(Loaded LS)2500 HD ExCab. LB with an 8.1 & Allison. I've put on a 6" Fabtech Lift with 35X12.50 TSL Super Swampers, A K&N Air Kit, Hypertech PP3, Magnaflow Cat-back ex. Willmore
3 step nerf bars, and TracRac adjustable racks and diamond plate tool box. I have 22k on it and It's been a great truck. I am contemplating finally doing some performance work under the hood. I've looked into putting a carbon fiber ram air hood kit on the truck $$, and plunking dow the $$$ and installing a Whipple Supercharger. Obviously the Whipple is the more expensive way to go, but the higher performance boost.
Does anyone have any other performance upgrades they could suggest? I've looked into a throttle body spacer and descreening the MAF sensor, but I doubt that would make much of an increase in HP.
change back to a paper element. Loose the hypertech and get a custom tune much more bang for the buck. If you get the whipple you will want a tune anyway.
Forget about throttle spacers. I think this whole idea came from carburetor spacers. They worked somewhat by insulating the carb and allowing more runner distance for the fuel/air to mix. Throttle body has no fuel going though it so no advantage by raising it.
Leave the MAF alone the screen smoothes the air flow for a more accurate reading.
Let to much dirt in, when they rebuilt it only being two years old they said it had all kinds of sand in it, wears the bearings out and then you have no oil pressure, If you would like experiment for your self and lear what I learned, between the two engines it only cost me about 6,000, First one was a new rebuild then I put a K& N in it and Wrecked it, so it had to be rebuilt again.
Ouch $$$! After reading the test results I'm going back to the stock AC Delco filter!!! Thanks for the advance warning. I never really noticed much of a difference with the K&N, but I was going off the recommendations of a couple of "wingnuts" who swore the K&N was better.
Do you know anyone with a Whipple? If so what do they have to say about it?
This is more B.S. about K&N's. If you "wrecked" a engine because of a K&N filter, why didn't you call them? That Million Mile warranted would have been in effect.
The only Reason GM is having fits about them, is some people over oil them, causing oil to leak down the intake track to sensors. Same with Ford & Chrysler.
K&N Filters were developed for use on Semi Trucks. Engines where
1,000,000 Miles is the Rebuild point. Semi Trucks in a large fleet get drove all over the lower 48, to Canada, even Alaska. Some times down to Mexico as well. They transverse in a few runs the harshest of enviroments in the north American continent.
Car people heard about these filters and got K&N to adapt them for Racing usage. Including Off Road Desert Racing. Where the only Modification required is a Coarse Foam Pre-Filter.
I have ran K&N Filters on stock engines & highly modified Race engines. I have NEVER had a engine fail from ANY air Filter. Not even el-cheepo off brand paper filters.
I have on the other hand Over Heated engines running with blown radiators in races. I have taken Small Block Chevy's over
280 degrees to the point on thermal lock-up.
Do you know what happens when you Over Heat a SBC? All the CASTING sand left in the lower coolant gallies, and in the lower oil gallies dislodges. This happens with about any brand of American Engine, and some import engines.
Which is why ANY machine shop worth a penny HOT TANKS a block. A Hot Tank is a tank filled with heated Costic Soda. A engine is lowered in to it and taken to above 400 Degrees. This not only dislodges Sand trapped in the engine from the casting process, it also removes any baked in oil sludge, and galvanic corrosion.
If you want to see a good example of what some of my engines go thru:
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When it comes to finding out why stock engines die, Amature class races tend to learn quickly.
I`ve been running a K&N for years.I`ve had several different sizes,on several different vehicles and never had a problem.Rebuilt my last motor that had a K&N for 62,000 miles and everything was good.I just wanted to freshen up the motor!
B.S. K&N was NOT developed for OTR trucks. Matter of fact if you can find a OTR truck that isn't running either a Fleetguard or Baldwin filter from the factory I'd be REAL surprised.
Considering Im not a Heavy Deisel Mechanic by trade, I don't even have a clue what is OEM on Semi's. I get goat roped in to helping out at a fleet terminal from time to time. Every truck get under the cowling/hood of has atleast 300,000 miles on it.
OEM stands for Orginal Equipiment Manufactor. In a OTR truck, how long does the OEM filter the factory put in stay in for?
Im not a heavy Deisel Mechanic by Trade. I do some work on them, yet it is not my primary means of income. Yet I do enough work on them to see the same trucks in a service bay at a Fleet Terminal.
I started to service Heavy Deisels as a Hobby. Cars, light trucks, and vans get boring after a while.
Actually, it stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer.
Until it's dirty, then it's replaced with one that meets specifications.
Well, I was, for a paving company and for a large utility serving a large metropolitan area. An air filter other than what meets OEM specs on a truck such as this is just plain stupid.
10K and changed out. 99% of the time with a new Fleetguard or Baldwin ! I don't know any drivers who use K&N in their OTR rigs. After reading the tests about them being junk it makes sense why.
Read some of the following and then tell me how "great" K&N are.
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Info - Automatic Transmission Shift, Engine Driveability Concerns or Service Engine Soon (SES) Light On as a Result of the Installation of an Aftermarket Reusable, Excessively Oiled Air Filter #04-07-30-013 - (03/05/2004)
Automatic Transmission Shift, Engine Driveability Concerns or Service Engine Soon (SES) Light On as a Result of the Installation of an Aftermarket Reusable, Excessively Oiled Air Filter 2004 and Prior Cars and Light Duty Trucks 2003-2004 HUMMER H2
First, Inspect the vehicle for a reusable aftermarket oiled air filter DO NOT repair under warranty if concerns result from the use of a reusable aftermarket oiled air filter.
The installation of an aftermarket reusable, oiled air filter may result in: a.. Service Engine Soon (SES) Light On b.. Transmission shift concerns, slipping and damaged clutch(es) or band(s) c.. Engine drivability concerns, poor acceleration from a stop, limited engine RPM range
The oil that is used on these air filter elements may be transferred onto the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor causing contamination of the sensor. As a result, the Grams per Second (GPS) signal from the MAF may be low and any or all of the concerns listed above may occur.
When servicing a vehicle with any of these concerns, be sure to check for the presence of an aftermarket reusable, excessively oiled air filter. The MAF, GPS reading should be compared to a like vehicle with a OEM air box and filter under the same driving conditions to verify the concern.
Transmission or engine drivability concerns that are the result of the installation of an aftermarket reusable, excessively oiled air filter are not considered to be warrantable repair items.
This part is from a gentleman who actually TESTED K&N in real world applications.
Subj: K & N filters John: If I wrote "subjective" I meant "objective".. I was responsible for evaluating re-usable air filters for a major construction/mining company that had hundreds of vehicles ranging from large earthmovers to pick-up trucks and salesmen's cars. This study was embarked upon due to the fact that we were spending upwards of $30,000 a MONTH on paper air filters. Using them one time then throwing them away.. I initiated the study in that I was convinced that a K&N type filter or oiled foam would save us many dollars per year in filter savings, man hour savings, and of course engines as these would filter dirt better than paper. (yes, I had read the K&N ads and was a believer)
Representative test units were chosen to give us a broad spectrum from cars right through large front end loaders. With each unit we had a long history of oil analysis records so that changes would be traceable. Unfortunately, for me, every single unit having alternative re-usable air cleaners showed an immediate large jump in silicon (dirt) levels with corresponding major increases in wear metals. In one extreme case, a unit with a primary and secondary air cleaner, the secondary (small paper element) clogged before even one day's test run could be completed. This particular unit had a Cummins V-12 engine that had paper / paper on one bank and K&N / paper on the other bank; two completely independent induction systems. The conditions were EXACTLY duplicated for each bank yet the K&N allowed so much dirt to pass through that the small filter became clogged before lunch. The same outcome occurred with oiled foams on this unit.
We discontinued the tests on the large pieces almost immediately but continued with service trucks, foremen's vehicles, and my own company car. Analysis results continued showing markedly increased wear rates for all the vehicles, mine included. Test concluded, switched back to paper/glass and all vehicles showed reduction back to near original levels of both wear metals and dirt. I continued with the K&N on my company car out of stubbornness and at 85,000 miles the Chevy 305 V-8 wheezed its last breath. The top end was sanded badly; bottom end was just fine. End of test.
I must stress that EVERYONE involved in this test was hoping that alternative filters would work as everyone was sick about pulling out a perfectly good $85 air cleaner and throwing 4 of them away each week per machine...
So, I strongly suggest that depending upon an individual's long term plan for their vehicles they simply run an oil analysis at least once to see that the K&N or whatever alternative air filter is indeed working IN THAT APPLICATION... It depends on a person's priorities. If you want performance then indeed the K&N is the way to go but at what cost???
And no, I do not work for a paper or glass air filter manufacturing company nor do I have any affiliation with anything directly or indirectly that could benefit George Morrison as a result..
ok, so the data suggests cotton/oil filters aren't as efficient as paper. is there a cone shaped filter to replace the K&N? i ask only because i replaced the stock filter box with the K&N 'filter charger' version and only god knows what i did with the box.
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