I got a new car!

[smallblockjay]

But it's not a very exciting car. :-[ We went car shopping over the weekend and got a Chevy Cobalt 2-door. It's a pretty nice little car and it fit in our budget. The fuel we've been spending driving our trucks over 30,000 miles a year was killing us. I figure what we save in fuel will get really close to making the payment on the car. Now I just need to get to work on the little car. K&N air filter, tint the windows......I think I'll skip on the big fart can muffler and neon lights. ;D

[VTJUNK]

Re: I got a new car!

I saw a 4 door Cobalt run 16.40 over the weekend, bone stock. 78 Camaro in the other lane 16.50 something. Pretty respectable.

[smallblockjay]

Re: I got a new car!

Was it the supercharged 2.2? The little 2.2 in this car isn't supercharged, but it's got a little zoom to it, for what it is. It's not the lazy dog I thought it would be.

[Joeys66chevy]

Re: I got a new car!

find a supercharged junker and get you a supercharger ;D ;D ;D

[dieselgeek]

Re: I got a new car!

Yikes! don't run the K&N filter on the street car. I learned a lot doing filter media testing, definitely stay away from the K&N on the street car, unless you like sand in your crankcase.


Otherwise, the EcoTec in that car can make 500hp on stock internals, get yourself a 150-shot and have fun!

[smallblockjay]

Re: I got a new car!

Yikes!  don't run the K&N filter on the street car.  I learned a lot doing filter media testing, definitely stay away from the K&N on the street car, unless you like sand in your crankcase.

I'll take your advice.  Do you know of any other manufacturer of good air filters that I can put in it?  I have a K&N on my truck as well as my girlfriend's truck.  I've never heard that before.

[dieselgeek]

Re: I got a new car!

AFE is good stuff.

You may laugh, but the newer Spectre filters are really good - same particulate capture as OEM paper, almost the same flow as K&N and far better dust carrying capability than K&N.

I spent a year testing media, the guys at Spectre busted balls to figure out a better media. Yes, it's made in China. By the same people who make air filters for heavy construction equipment there though.

If not, I'd just run paper filters. Safer, and who cares if the DD makes 4 less peak HP, honestly.


The reason I post this is not that I dislike K&N, as a company they're awesome! but I sent in a sample of the oil in my LT1 camaro to Blackstone Labs a few years back, had high silicates in the sample (that's SAND), and when I called the guy at Blackstone to ask him about it, he chuckled, "you run a K&N filter, right?" The problem with K&N media is that, until it "loads up" it passes a LOT of dust in the 10 micron size, the other problem is that when it loads up, it really starts causing pressure drop from restriction...

[dulcich]

Re: I got a new car!

Yeah, I agree with Diesel Geek again. Didn't need the lab analysis to see the dirt and grit in the air filter case of my Dart after real street driving with those filters. It was pretty obvious that pretty big particles of dust and dirt went right through it and that was enough for me.

[JeffMcKC]

Re: I got a new car!

X3 here, best way I know to dust a Turbo.

[smallblockjay]

Re: I got a new car!

Thanks for the info guys. I'll take that advice and look around for something else. The main reason I've used K&N in the past is for the washable filter. The supposed gain you get from them really isn't worth the money, but being able to clean it rather than spend money on new paper filters all the time seemed to be a benifit. I've never noticed a problem with the K&N in my truck, but it's been in there for years. Now I know why the destructions said the filters work better a little dirty and not to clean too often. Maybe I should start looking for a header for it instead. But no fart can muffler! ;D

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: I got a new car!

What about those foam prefilters that you see on the dirt track cars running the K&N's? You know those guys don't leave power on the table if they can help it and they live in a far dustier environment than our road machines do.

[dieselgeek]

Re: I got a new car!

What about those foam prefilters that you see on the dirt track cars running the K&N's? You know those guys don't leave power on the table if they can help it and they live in a far dustier environment than our road machines do.

I think you answered your own question, but to be sure, how many miles do you think those track cars go between rebuilds or oil changes?