So over and over again we have seen the K&N vs foam filters being posted.

Having said that i Have not seen anything from anyone anywhere who can give me real hard evidence (tests, graphs, etc..) about why or why not a foam/K&N filters are better.

Other than (My K&N is great) or (Foam is better)

So other than just opinion what is the superior filter?

So which filter and why?

Just do a white glove test. Swipe the intake boot after riding with each filter. You will see for yourself that the foam, if oiled properly, is superior when it comes to keeping dust out of your motor. It's not too scientific, but it gets the point across.

I wipe my intake out with a white rag everytime I clean my k&n type filter and it's still clean so I'll keep saying what i've always said if your running mostly on sand stick with a k&n type filter cause the foam filters are a nightmare to clean when they are caked with sand and eventually after a few cleanings the sand works it's way through the filter and gets into your intake. If your not running on sand then stick with the foam filter.

So why would you use foam in dirt and K&N in sand why would one be better in the other for either why not one for all around?

neither is really better then the other, but the thing that i like best is the price

you can get a UNI foam filter for about 25 bucks

then the K&N is about 50 bucks + the outerwears it needs which is like 10-15 so it comes out to around 38 bucks MORE than the UNI for no performance gain and the same cleaning

also i think the UNI is much easier to clean, if you let it get "Caked" in sand then your not cleaning it enough

all you have to do to clean the uni is pull it off take it to the sink and wash it with dish soap rinse it out good and let it dry, reoil and go

ive ran both and couldnt tell a difference in power at all, but the uni is much cheaper and easier to maintain

i have 2 UNI's i always keep 1 clean and in case 1 gets dirty on the quad i just switch so i dont have to wait for the other one to dry and to have 2 UNI's was still cheaper than getting 1 K&N

I clean my filter after every ride or every other ride tops so sayin I'm not cleaning it enough is laughable. Should I stop half way through a ride and clean it lol. You do realize that sand blows all over the place and gets in everything right? All I do is dune ride I don't even know where my stock wheels with dirt tires are even at I think their in my buddies garage 3 towns away. Everybody I know runs cotton type filters in the dunes its common sense if you've ever ridden strictly sand.

I have had K&N in my quad since day one.
Almost going on 4yrs now with no engine failure and valves always in spec not getting eaten away
from debris.
Its the age old ? of maintenance, How often do most maintenance there stuff.
For me every race/practice as well as my oil changes two practices at the most.
Foam vs K&N will never die everyone has there opinons.

I always clean and oil my filters after EVERY ride, yes EVERY SINGLE ONE. I always had dirt with my K&N even after short trips in a field! I switched to UNI and the issue went away. Some may say that the UNI users dont know how to properly oil a K&N, my question is, if its so difficult for so many people to figure out, why bother using it at 2x the money?

I have seen factual tests showing that the K&N flows SLIGHTLY more than a foam filter (wasn't a UNI I dont think...), but the foam filters better than the K&N.


Its not really science, there are two ways to get more air into the motor. Using larger holes in the filter, or more surface area. The UNI has more surface area...

I agree that it probably comes down to mantainence. And im pretty sure its a gauze filter not a cotton one unless im wrong. But i would think if your filter is "caked" on there then that's a good think in a way because i for one would rather have a dirty filter then a clean one after a day of riding but that's just me.

chyt....you guys clean your filters after EVERY RIDE!.....yikes....i am doin somethin wrong then, i haven't cleaned my K&N once, and i ride mostly sand...now i missed the thread about cleaning them. I see it you take your hose, rinse it thoroughly, let it dry, then take some 4stroke oil and oil it?....am i right?...

You dont do that w/ a kn filter. Buy a recharge kit.

lol no the best way is to take it to a automatic car wash and let it go through, but you have to sit on it or it wont work lol j/p

I use to run a k&n, and it was ok i liked it. but the outer wear kept getting holes in it, and didnt want sand to get through the outerwear/sock so i got a foam pro desgin and love it! i dont have to worry about the dust and sand getting trough it. and you can see in my opion how dirty the filter gets and a reminder to clean it more often. the k&n might make a lil more air flow. but nothing you would notice compaired to foam. i would rather have the extra protection then thinking i have more power.

Gauze is made of cotton. So everybody is right, now hug and make up!

If your outerwear keeps getting holes in it then your cleaning it with a wire brush or it's rubbing on something inside your airbox. I had to take out the little rubber grommet that held the engine breather line in place because it was rubbing on my filter but after I removed that haven't had any problems at all.

here you go


http://www.trx450r.org/forum/index.php?sho...15&start=15

If your using Foam in the sand the sand eventually works its way into the foam and no matter how many times you clean it you can not get it out. You can clean your foam 10 times and you are still gonna find sand in it..

Anybody that grew up on the dunes knows this but some of these guys will argue this topic to the grave and it all comes down to the fact that they don't know what it's like to run on strictly sand. I guarantee you if any of these anti gauze style filter guys came over and ran on the dunes with me for a month or 2 they'd change their mind about their superior foam filters lol. Sand and pavement are the only times I recommend these filters though anything else and the foam is the better filter.

No, no wire brush lol. no it was wearing a hole on the top where it wasnt touching anyting, cuz i always put the pro design logo up, cuz im ocd like that ha, but it could have been a bad outter wear. i just like the foam in my opinion now.

I do that with mine not so much to where the logo has to be facing up but the seam in the outwear can't be visible cause it drives me nuts lol.