Hi Joe,
I am impressed at the level of reseach you have done on the K&N.
Most consumers do not take the time to do so.
I have run K&N filters on all my cars and motorcycles for the last 15 odd years.
The first one I did was a replacement filter for my Blazer back in 1989.
I have never noticed a real deep advantage over the paper with this caveat:
The K&N's and thier many impersonators, being oiled cotton element, are pretty much waterproof. This is good if you have ever seen the airfilter on a Ram Air hood RoadRunner or Superbee. The paper elements were frequently destroyed in a heavy downpour. I have done the 'hood-mod' on my 03 SRT-4. This would destroy a paper element for the same reason. The same hold true on my motorcycle, if caught in the occasional rain burst.
Also, it is nice to just buy the filter once. I have a very hard time finding a paper filter locally for my 83 Rampage. i looked today just to see what was available. The little K-based cars used to be everywhere, so parts shouldn't be an issue. Not any more! Just popped in the K&N and never had to worry about it again.
Cleaning them takes about 30 minutes, you just have to be careful not to over oil them.
I'm not a big drag racer either, but when I switch to K&N's I tend to notice a 1-2 tenth improvement in the 1/4. Not huge but something, and fairly consistant for the 6 odd cars I've done this to.
Finally, the reason they state such a large gain on your Ford is that they are replacing the ENTIRE intake system. As you note, no gain for just the filter.
I think it is like alot of things in the car world- personal preference.
Just my pennies,
Charles.
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