K&N High Performance Air Cleaners: Nearly Too Good To Be True 

Yep, A better mousetrap has arrived, and you need one…
Enough feedback is in and it is true, a“U-do it/bolt-on” gain of 4-5% hp (for cheap) is here! 

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For once we aircraft owners finely have an economical “U-do it” up-grade or mod us pilot/owners can install ourselves to noticeably increase the performance in a hour or less, that won’t break the bank.  K&N Engineering, the well- known high performance automotive, motorcycle, and marine, air filter purveyor now offers FAA Approved low-restriction units for most Mooneys and several other popular model aircraft.  And the good news is that enough feedback is in to establish that they perform as advertised are are cost effective.  In fact, enthusiastic users report they offer enough extra performance to make them perhaps the cheapest speed and efficiency mod around! 

The question is, are you clever enough to realize what they can do for you? 

Given the fact your Mooney’s engines are really air pumps (of sorts), the concept is simple:  The more air and fuel you put in (at the proper air/fuel ratio, of course), the more power or torque you get out.  Restrict the air coming in and you lose horsepower big time; clear and simple.  All air cleaners restrict air to some degree, some lots more than others and tests show K&Ns restrict the least of any.

Typically intake systems and air cleaners hardly ever got much attention from airframe designers.  Nearly to a man, airframe manufacturers always took air filters for granted or never took the time to compare flows between differing types of filters.  But nowadays with the help of sophisticated computerized dynos, it is easy to prove the overall construction or type and condition of your air filter/cleaner can make a substantial difference in the output and efficiency of your Mooney’s engine.

Mooney’s OEM Stock Pleated Paper Filters vs K&N Oil Treated Cotton

Unless you have a Brackett (shown on left) after-market oil coated foam filter (which are actually less efficient and more restrictive than your stock paper filter), your Mooney’s OEM filters are made of pleated paper.  Not only are some model Mooney filters hard to come by nowadays, both with the factory and fewer and fewer Service Centers out there carrying much inventory, but paper itself has its critical limitations. 

OEM paper air cleaner elements break down (M20K/252 paper element shown on left) and soon develop holes and gaps in the pleats especially as they accumulate dirt and grit, and/or get wet. More importantly, as it filters dirt and grime, it gets blocked and more restrictive far sooner than you would think, and the pressure on the filter element itself increases as it collects grime and grit; often dramatically.  Whether you know it or not, as the paper element ages and traps dirt/grit, the engine sucks in fragments of a deteriorated paper element as well as more and more dirt and grit-hence the “high silicon” (dirt/sand/grit) notes we get in our oil analysis. 

We have even had owners report “hard starting” and actually seen engines that have failed to start first-hand due to starving for air because of a dirty paper filter.  So, it is vital you inspect and change paper elements regularly even if they don’t appear to be overly dirty to the naked eye as they fill up with grit far sooner than most owners realize.  The difference between paper vs K&N’s cotton is that cotton elements are far less restrictive in the first place, and cotton can be washed and re-used numerous times and is better at trapping dirt and grit.

How Well Do They Work On Mooneys?
We have embarked on a quest to contact individual owners who use K&N filters and nearly to a man, they rave about the noticeable increase in power as evidenced by increased manifold pressure and/or better ROC!   The only complaint we heard was from owners who didn’t yet receive theirs due to slow approvals through the FAA and backlogged production.  Both of MOA’s engine experts, Terry Capehart of High Performance Engines in Mena, Arkansas, and Charlie Melot of Zephyrhills Engines, concluded that K&N’s horsepower projections were both reasonable and obtainable, especially if you compared K&N filters to the more restrictive foam filters which many owners currently have installed.  Interestingly both men use K&Ns on their own vehicles for years and pay the same price for them as you.

With that said, please keep in mind the gains posted are typically at high power settings and not generally seen at partial throttle settings.  The gains in Mooneys would be expected primarily at full power take-off and climbs and especially at higher cruise altitudes where full throttle is used.  Most owners report slightly more manifold pressure to the extent of an extra inch or so especially above density altitudes of 6-7,000ft.  

What Users Report

Users we talked with rave about these little jewels and most pilots report noticeable increase in manifold pressure and/or a reduction in fuel flow of .2 to .4 gph.  Some owners report an increase in ROC of upwards of 150 fpm and reports of increased cruise varies from model to model Mooney, but generally once you are above the density altitude where you are operating in a wide open/full throttle regime (on non-turbos), increases of several to upwards of 4 mph are not uncommon.  Older M20E/F 200 hp M20 owner report that with a K&N their filtered air provides just about as much "boost" as when their ram air is open!  Thus, the benefits of running with the unfiltered ram air open doesn't appear as important or as effective as before-an indication that the engine breathes about as good WITH a K&N than before by-passing their old paper or Brackett element! 

However, unlike the older ram air systems, the newer M20J/201 induction system's ram air butterfly valve design does not close off the filtered air from the engine and thus the engine can draw from either or both sources with the ram air OPEN.  We believe this is the real reason the stock M20J ram air doesn't appear as effective as the older ram air "trap door" system.

Nearly to a man, users are ecstatic about the performance and efficiency gains the Challenger/K&N system affords ALL Mooneys.  On top of that, when you consider the fact this filter can be cleaned and re-charged (via the K&N Recharge Kit) some 20-25+/- times, this air cleaner system is far more economical than the "throw away" foam or stock paper elements.  To put it simply, these air cleaners are simply too good to ignore and we feel they deserve a place on every Mooney out there!  

Note: Chart above represents typical automotive filters

A U-Do-It Increase

Putting it another way, when was the last time you (as an owner) have been able to walk up to your Mooney and with simple hand tools and within a few minutes, bolt on a piece of engine accessory or performance gear and increase your effective horsepower output and performance noticeably, if at all?  We Mooney owners are lucky in that we have a proliferation of sophisticated airframe mods and up-grades, but still the same most mod/refurbs are relatively expensive and require lots of Mooney savvy experience to install.  This time, this performance improvement is different!  Challenger/K&Ns are an economical, quick, "U-Do-It" up-grade that make great sense, AND they work as advertised-period end of discussion!   We think they deserve a place on every Mooney out there.  

MOA has implemented a special arrangement with K&N/Challenger to be able to offer these filters on-line at a special price for MOA Members through Magna Labs and at prices less than from Challenger directly.  Frankly, from what we can tell, there is no logical reason not to have one on your Mooney as given the performance advantage and the low long-term cost, they are the best thing that has come along for your Mooney since laminar flow...

A MOA (Mooney Owners of America) Staff Report

 For more information see MOA August '04 and August ’02 Aviation Consumer

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