Latest News | Read Our Blog

Logano Wins NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona

21 feb 2017

NASCAR, Joey Logano, K&N, Daytona International Speedway

Joey Logano wins the Clash at Daytona International Speedway

Joey Logano won the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, weaving around the crashed cars of Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski on the last lap.

Hamlin, who was leading the race with one lap to go, and Keselowski collided in turn one on the last lap. Hamlin won the season-opening Daytona 500 in 2016. Keselowski, Logano’s teammate with Team Penske, tried to pass Hamlin for the lead. Hamlin went to block him and made contact.

“Denny had to make the block, but I was able to see that the block was coming way too late and it wasn't going to work,” Logano said, “so I immediately went to the top because I saw that they were going to crash, and we were basically in the right place at the right time and were able to drive our Shell-Pennzoil Ford into victory lane at the Clash, so it was a pretty fun, eventful race. Fun to be able to change our strategy up and figure out a way to win throughout the race.”

Logano took the lead twice for four laps in the 75-lap exhibition race. The race was delayed a day because of rain. Logano said he made some mistakes early in the race and worked his way to the front to put himself in position to take the lead, working with Keselowski and Kevin Harvick during the race.

NASCAR, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, K&N, Daytona International Speedway

Kyle Busch finishes second in front of Alex Bowman

“We kind of grabbed one at a time, one at a time, and Brad was doing a good job of getting a run, getting outside of them, pulling back, and I was able to follow Brad through,” Logano said. “Kevin was following me, and then there at the end, I kind of got shuffled out, got stuck in the middle, lost some spots, and was able to eventually get a good enough run to break free again, get back to Brad's bumper, give him the run into Turn 1, but that was either going to win the race or they were going to crash. And the good thing is he had the run, he had to make the move.”

Hamlin and Keselowski each led twice, with Hamlin out front for 48 laps and Keselowski leading for 18 laps.

"You do everything you can to stay in front," Hamlin said. "But I think he had such a head of steam, there was not a whole lot I could do."

Kyle Busch came in second place, finishing 0.018 seconds in front of Alex Bowman, who finished in third. Busch led once and was in the lead for five laps.

“Everything as far as the 2018 Camry feels good,” Busch said after the race on Sunday. “Feels like the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing have done a great job building some really fast speedway cars. We had the fast cars last year. I feel like we've got fast cars again this year thanks to JGR and Toyota. I'm looking forward to closing out this week today, I guess, and getting some qualifying laps in and seeing where we stack up in order to get ready for the Duels next week.”

Joey Logano celebrates his victory at Daytona International Speedway

Danica Patrick came in fourth place moving up from 10th place on the last lap after Hamlin and Keselowski crashed.

Logano is the first Ford driver to win The Clash race at Daytona since Dale Jarrett did it in 2004. The field for the Clash at Daytona premiered 17 drivers, all invited, and made up mainly from the pole winners and drivers who were in the Chase for the Cup Championship playoffs.

The Daytona 500, the season-opening race for the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series, is Sunday, Feb. 26, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Chase Elliott won the pole for the Daytona 500.

K&N PRODUCT SEARCH

WHERE TO BUY K&N

A Look Inside a K&N Wrench Off Oil Filter to See What Makes It Different

20 feb 2017

K&N oil filters are made to provide outstanding filtration and high flow rates

One of The most important thing you can do for the engine in your vehicle is keep it lubricated with a constant supply of fresh, clean oil. Oil is not only necessary for lubricity, it also keeps the internals of the motor cool and washes away metal particles. To keep the oil clean and remove the fine metal shavings, the oil filter is an important part of the system. That is why it is imperative to change your oil filter with every oil change.

Oil filters have a lot of different parts and it is the quality of these parts that your engine is dependent upon. Let’s take a look at how K&N, who is a world leader in automotive filtration, builds their oil filters to ensure your oil stays clean and your motor stays healthy.

K&N oil filters are designed for all types of oil including conventional, synthetic, and blends

K&N’s top of the line Performance Gold oil filters are specifically designed to offer high durability and high flow rates in extreme conditions. The first part of the filter is the heavy-duty steel outer canister. This ensures extra durability and longevity. At the base of the canister is a base plate with an o-ring seal. The K&N base plate is made of thick steel with a double-rolled seal. The base seal is made of thick rubber and comes pre-lubed for ease of installation. The last and most unique feature of the outside of the K&N Performance Gold oil filters is a 1-inch nut welded to the top of the canister. This is for easy wrench-off removal with a standard tool. No more forcing a screwdriver through the side of the canister to remove a stuck filter.

Moving inside the filter, there are three main components. The first is the pleated filter media. K&N oil filters are made of a resin-impregnated cellulose filter media. This media helps trap harmful contaminants before they have a chance to do any damage to your engine. Next is the tensioning spring at the top of the filter. K&N Performance Gold oil filters use a leaf spring to keep constant pressure on the filter media. The last major component is the anti-drainback valve in applicable filters. The K&N anti-drainback valve is made of thick rubber and ensures contaminated oil doesn’t drain back into the engine where it can do harm. Again, this feature is only applicable in filters where the oil filter is mounted in a position with a potential for drainback.

These filters are made to be used in both race and street applications

All of these features combine to make a filter that is guaranteed to last, with a K&N 1-year Limited Warranty. K&N also offers oil filters for lots of other applications including marine, motorcycle and ATV, heavy duty diesel, and small engine applications.

K&N PRODUCT SEARCH

WHERE TO BUY K&N

K&N Washable and Reusable Cabin Air Filters Can Help Make the Air You Breathe Better

20 feb 2017

K&N's line of cabin air filter are designed to electrostatically grab and hold onto particles

Have you ever been driving down the road, kick on the A/C and have a funky smell smack you across the face? If you’re nodding your head at the screen like a bobblehead, you are not alone. That funky smell is usually the result of not changing your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, or HVAC system air filter. These filters are also known as cabin air filters and are your car’s only line of defense against potentially harmful contaminants before they reach you and your family.

Whether you use your vehicle for commuting to the office, hauling gear to the worksite, or taking the family on a road trip, you shouldn’t have to worry about harmful particles being forced into your cabin by your HVAC system. Many OEMs have begun incorporating filters into the HVAC systems of their vehicles. These filters are typically located in one of three locations; under the dashboard, behind the glovebox, or inside a compartment on the passenger side of the firewall in the engine bay. The primary goal of these filters is to stop these contaminants before they are forced into the cabin by the blower motor.

As you can see, the K&N cabin air filter is made to last 10 years or 1,000,000 miles

Over time, these pleated paper filters can become saturated with dust and dirt. They can even accumulate larger pieces of leaves, dead bugs, and other items that are allowed to enter the system. If you fail to change the filter at the recommended interval, these pollutants can clog the filter, causing extra strain on your blower motor and potentially making you sick. There are plenty of manufacturers of replacement cabin air filters and there are even companies making washable and reusable cabin air filters.

K&N is one of those companies. Known for their washable and reusable engine air filters, K&N took their extensive knowledge of filtration and applied it to cabin air filters. K&N’s washable and reusable cabin air filters are made from an advanced synthetic filter media. This media is coated in an electrostatic spray that is designed to grab and hold on to dust particles. It isn’t just dust that these filters can remove from the air either, they are designed to capture most mold, mildew, pollen, spores, fungus, and germs. For all you allergy sufferers out there, these could be a real help in the spring time when all the plants are blooming.

One of the benefits of K&N cabin air filters is they are washable and reusable

The best part of these K&N cabin air filters is that they are washable and reusable. K&N recommends servicing them every 12 months or 12,000 miles. And the process is simple, just spray the K&N cabin filter cleaner onto the filter, rinse the dirt and grime away, and refresh the filter with the K&N cabin air filter refresher. The refresher gives the filter its electrostatic abilities and is made from safe, biodegradable ingredients. The K&N cabin air filter also comes with a 10-Year/Million Mile Limited Warranty so you know it will last. If you haven’t checked your cabin air filter in a while, you should take a look at it. If it is time to replace your cabin air filter, take a look at K&N’s washable and reusable cabin air filters.

K&N PRODUCT SEARCH

WHERE TO BUY K&N

A K&N Cold Air Intake System Can Increase Your Car's Horsepower While Protecting Your Engine

20 feb 2017

It only takes 90 minutes to reap the benefits of a K&N cold air intake system

It doesn’t matter if you own a 15-year-old commuter or a brand new sports car, you can always find a reason to want more power out of your car. Whether it will allow you to merge onto the highway more safely or to pull ahead of your buddy between stoplights, the need for more power is insatiable. However, most power-adders are either too expensive or too labor intensive for a casual enthusiast. What if we told you there was a bolt on solution that can add power and was easy enough for you to do in your driveway?

One of the fastest ways to add more airflow, horsepower, and throttle response to your car while still protecting the engine is with a cold air intake. The way an engine works is by taking in air, mixing it with fuel, and combusting the air/fuel mixture, which then sends power to the crankshaft and onto the transmission. The more fuel you can add to the mixture, the more power you can make, to a point. But if you just add fuel without increasing the amount of air in the cylinder, you will run the engine rich and lose power. That is where the cold air intake comes into play.

K&N air intakes provide a less restrictive, more direct path for air into the engine

Cold air intakes are also called cool air intakes and performance air intakes. They typically consist of a type of plastic or metal tube, a heat shield or air box, and a filter. The way they help your engine is by providing a larger, less restrictive airflow path to the engine. By allowing the engine to intake more air, the vehicle’s computer can add more fuel, resulting in a more explosive mixture, thereby making more power. Let’s take a look at a cold air intake to help you better understand how it can help your car make more power, while still protecting your engine.

This particular intake is from K&N Engineering. They have been making cold air intakes longer than any other company and are the worldwide leader in cold air intakes for cars and trucks. As you can see, the air intake tube is made of a black plastic, which is called high density polyethylene, or HDPE. This material allows the engineers the ability to maneuver around obstacles in the engine bay when looking for the best airflow path. At the end of the tube is a signature K&N red washable air filter. These filters are made from multiple layers of cotton filter media that has been treated with a special oil to help stop contaminants that can be harmful to your engine. Around the filter is a custom aluminum heat shield. When the hood is closed, it seals against the weather stripping on the heat shield, making a sort of air box that helps prevent the intake from ingesting hot engine bay air. That is where the cold in the name comes from.

If you ever questioned the power gains, here is a 2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 dyno chart: 56 hp!

The cold air part is also important in making more power. Cold air is denser and contains more oxygen molecules than warm air does. So if you can get cooler air into your engine, your car will be able to mix more fuel with that air, making more power. Combine that with the more air through the larger and less restrictive filter and intake tube and you can see up to a 10-15 horsepower increase. K&N has even reported an estimated increase of 56.96 horsepower out of the 57-2571 intake for 2007-2009 Shelby GT500!

Companies like K&N typically offer several different cold air intakes for vehicles. These vary by type of materials used in the intake tube, to type of filter: from a traditional oiled cotton media to a non-oiled synthetic media. The choice is ultimately up to you. One cool thing about K&N intakes is that they come with a 10-year/Million Mile Limited Warranty and are guaranteed to increase the horsepower of your vehicle. Check them out to see all the intakes they have to offer.

K&N PRODUCT SEARCH

WHERE TO BUY K&N

K&N Engineering to be Official Sponsor of the 2017 Mint 400 Race in Las Vegas, NV

20 feb 2017

Mint 400 Banner with K&N as an official sponsor of the race

"The Great American Off-Road Race”, aka the Mint 400 will happen March 1st - 5th 2017

One of motorsports’ oldest off-road races is upon us. Over 350 vehicles including trucks, UTVs, and buggies will be competing in an off-road race that has been around probably since before you were born. Surrounded by thousands of miles of open desert just south of Las Vegas, the famous (or infamous) Mint 400 is about to come to life once again.

You may or may not have heard of the Mint 400. If you’re a race fan and haven’t, well, you’re not a race fan. If you frequently visit Las Vegas, there’s a good chance you might have spotted a flyer while checking in at your hotel. Or perhaps you noticed one of the wall posters on the way to the casino to lose your first $100 at blackjack. (Buy a K&N intake next time; the joy of horsepower lasts longer!) Maybe you’re just a huge Johnny Depp fan and you remember the scene from the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas where Depp’s character is shooting photo coverage of the Mint 400 while attempting to drink a beer amidst the slew of dirt and dust. (Spoiler alert - he ends up dumping the muddy beer.) Of course, that’s just one of the many outrageous antics that happen in the film adapted from Hunter S. Thompson's novel of the same name, but truth be told, even Johnny had no clue what was in store for the Mint 400.

The first Mint 400 race was an endurance race from Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe, California

Here’s a little bit of what we know about the Mint 400. Back in 1967, a Las Vegas Journalist and auto racing enthusiast by the name of Norm Johnson was working in public relations for Del Webb's Mint Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. To generate buzz for the new hotel, he created an endurance off-road race between two identical dune buggies from The Mint Hotel in Vegas, to the Sahara Hotel in Lake Tahoe, California. Media coverage caught race teams and auto racing fan’s attention and thus, the Mint 400 was born.

Norm took title of Race Director through 1974 and even participated in the race from 1969-1982. During the second year (1968) Norm’s close friends and famed race car drivers Mel Larson and Parnelli Jones helped him with financing a purse prize of $30,000, increasing the participant list exponentially. Some of the most famous and recognizable names that have raced in the Mint 400 include Parnelli Jones, Al Unser, Mickey Thompson, Jack Flannery, Walker Evans, James Garner, Steve McQueen, Mort Sahl, Gordon Cooper, and many more.

The "Pit Crew Challenge" has become a popular event at the Mint 400

In 1972, the Mint Hotel executive and longtime Mint 400 Race Director K.J. Howe created “The Girls of the Mint 400” to add glamor and PR value to the race. Today it is known as the “Miss Mint 400” competition. Hundreds of girls submit their photos to the Mint 400 website and then are posted up for viewers to vote. Six Miss Mint 400 Finalists are then selected and one winner is determined through a series of interviews made by a team of judges.

Come 1988, the Mint 400 race ended when the Las Vegas Mint Hotel was sold to new owners. After a 20-year hiatus the “Great American Off-Road Race” was revived in 2008 by longtime sponsor General Tire with help from the Southern Nevada Off-Road Enthusiasts group. Trucks with newer and better-than-before race technology were competing and media coverage was abundantly improved due to social media and portable cameras and phones used by teams and fans alike.

The various Mint 400 races tend to go on into the night

In 2012, the Mint 400’s new owners, film and TV producers Matt and Joshua Martelli, partnered with the Best in the Desert Racing Association to get the Mint 400 on the championship schedule. For the first time, a new one hundred mile loop was carved out for the 400-mile race.

With the 2017 race coming up fast, last minute modifications and testing is being done by race teams and spectators are booking their Vegas suites. Sponsor spots have all been claimed with the Polariz RZR taking the title role and BF Goodrich as the presenting brand. K&N is proud to be an official sponsor not only of the Mint 400 race, but also of many of the teams and drivers competing in the race as well. A few of the K&N-sponsored racers include names like Bryce Menzies, Curt Leduc, Tracy Graf, Steve and Brett Sourapas, Mitch Guthrie Jr, Nicole Pitell-Vaughan of Total Chaos Fabrication, and even Katie Vernola, a former K&N Calendar model who will be racing in the UTV Pro Turbo Class.

Race Director K.J. Howe created “The Girls of the Mint 400” to add glamour to the race

It makes sense for K&N Filters to be a part of the Mint 400 because of our involvement in the development of filtration technology for all kinds of off road vehicles. When racing off-road, filtration can be the deciding factor between a win and a loss. Many K&N products are available for trucks, dirt bikes, and UTVs.

So get ready for the action! Get ready for the madness! Go grab the family and make a trip to Las Vegas that you’ll never forget. The “Great American Off-Road Race” is just around turn 2 and coming up fast!