Fallen for? Given my e-mail interchange with royal purple when I was a mod and trying to substantiate something about them, I'm not a fan (let's leave it at that) but I don't get the dis to K&N. They're a legitimate company that has been around a long, long time with solid science and quality engineering behind their products. Most cars have a poorly-designed/engineered intake system, and K&N's products actually do produce a measurable increase in performance, mileage or both, and all while providing better filtration. On the other hand, some cars -- like Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari, etc. design their intake systems with the same attention to detail as they give their combustion chambers, so there's not a lot of improvement to be had. That said, I still use a K&N filter in my E320 (second thing I bought for it, after cable chains) and on my Ducati. While I did see a minute improvement in mileage on the Benz, I can't say that I might not have seen that with a new, clean paper filter (definite improvement on the Duck, though), but their products are designed (if properly maintained, which is really the key for K&N air filters) to provide better filtration than pleated paper, and particularly so as the filters age and get dirty. Never having to buy another air filter (okay, not lifetime, only for a million miles) is also a nice feature. (And before anyone starts: again, if they are properly maintained, they won't hurt your MAF.)
And that said, no, I wouldn't encourage you to run out and buy a K&N filter for your MBs; as I say, MB's engineers didn't leave much on the table. (That's not why I bought the K&N for the E.) But if you have a regular old domestic product, say a Ford Taurus, or a BJC like an Corolla, then you would in fact see benefits across the board (and even more if you sprung for an induction kit). Of course, why you'd spend $40 for a filter or $250 for an induction kit for a disposable car is a different question, but...
Your comments have been noted and appreciated here as always. The reason I wrote what I did was primarily due to the abundance of negative comments (maybe a mis-perception) I've read on here about the K&N/Mercedes combination. And, no, I have not counted all of these so I could be wrong. I'm also not doubting that K&N is a reputable company. With that said, I might look into what they offer for my Plymouth and Toyota.
I can't recall where I saw the test results I'm about to mention but a lab compared several OEM filters to K&N and the latter had one of the worst filtering characteristics of all. In other words, K&N will allow particles/dust into the system that OEM filters don't.
I get great results with OEM (Mann, Hengst) but never tried K&N to draw my own conclusions...
Desoto magnets? Darn, I don't have a Desoto. Do they have any for Mercedes? (On the other hand, seems like anything would improve the mileage on a Desoto...)
I remember years ago Tom and Ray were discussing this stuff, one of them had gone through the J.C. Whitney catalog to review the "fuel saving" devices and they calculated that if you installed all of them that you could drive 100 miles an hour with clean exhaust ... but you'd have to stop every so often to siphon gas out of your tank (as it would be filling itself as you drove) -- at least based upon all of the claimed savings. I wonder if you could sell the excess gas back to the petro companies the way you can sell your excess electricity back to the utilities if you go solar?
Way back to the original post, a friend of mine (who is a domestic SUV fan) said that some of the guys on those forums suggest adding acetone to the gas tanks for some unknown benefit. Acetone is clear...and so is EthosFR...I wonder...
Interesting; are you talking about those fuel-line magnets?
Curiously, I did a bit more checking on Ethos and they originally developed the product for diesels. In some of them it did have a significant impact on emissions and economy; apparently much less so on modern gas engines. (I don't know how you reduce emissions on a ULEV benz anyway; my last emission test all they were able to read was CO2, everything else was zero.) The Ethos stuff is predominantly an ester of some variety, one of the things I read was that it was very similar to some of the oil additives that reduce friction. That would explain why they also say to add it to oil, and I suppose that might help "cushion" some of the impact in a diesel injector and combustion chamber...but it would have to be a pretty significant ester to hit diesel at a 128:1 ratio. If it would in fact help clean up some of the commercial diesels I'd be all for it; walking to work yesterday I was nearly asphyxiated, sounded like Gollum/Smeagol for five minutes or so.
Well since this thread has resurfaced, a person well known to me has tried Ethos in a 2005 VW Phaeton this person is the most OC (obsessive compulsive) I know and keeps records. His claim so far, 800 mile test, MPG went from 24 to 27 all highway same route under similar conditions. I may try this on an upcoming trip in my 430. BTW if you ever get the chance to check out a Phaeton they very nice cars.
Recently a friend pointed me to the article linked below and it makes me wonder if Ethos is primarily acetone.
The article and FAQ make sense, but not being a chemist I have asked one that I know (guy is scary smart) to read through the article as well as some of the tech references. In the meanwhile I thought I'd toss this out for review and comment.
hogswallow
he probably augmented his brown gas generator and his vornado intake turbine and his 300,000volt built in capacitor spark plugs.
ohlord:bowdown:
11 mile per gallon increase on a Malibu with magnets?Last i checked gasoline was a aliphatic hydrocarbon.Try to pick up a drop of gas with a magnet
I have a new hypothesis
The higher fuel prices go,the more morons are added to the population.
HFP=MMP
not quite as sophisticated as E=MC²
But it will have to do until I can refine the covariance tensors in the basic equation.
Give me a few hours,I have a bridge that is in escrow in Brooklyn:thumbsup:
hogswallow
he probably augmented his brown gas generator and his vornado intake turbine and his 300,000volt built in capacitor spark plugs.
ohlord:bowdown:
11 mile per gallon increase on a Malibu with magnets?Last i checked gasoline was a aliphatic hydrocarbon.Try to pick up a drop of gas with a magnet
I have a new hypothesis
The higher fuel prices go,the more morons are added to the population.
HFP=MMP
not quite as sophisticated as E=MC²
But it will have to do until I can refine the covariance tensors in the basic equation.
Give me a few hours,I have a bridge that is in escrow in Brooklyn:thumbsup:
It was a 3,000,000 KVA FLUX CAPACITOR and my bank is holding the second and third on that Brooklyn property.
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