Truck Trend claims 10% more MPG with K&N in 2009 Ford F-150 after bogus road test

[jamesqf]

Well, I just put a K&N in my '88 Toyota - not in hopes of increasing mpg, but because I don't like throwing away stuff. I've been getting close to 28.5 mpg over the last several tanks, so we'll see what it does now.

I did see a bit of an improvement when I put one in the Insight, but I couldn't say whether it was real or just warmer weather or something.

[Frank Lee]

I don't throw stuff either. Maybe it's my clean livin', but paper filters last at least 80,000 miles here.

Probably could still be running the factory filter on the '94 F150 but I changed it at 80k out of pure guilt.

[Christ]

I use a T-shirt. It's washable, and doesn't require oiling.

BTW - where does that oil go when you wash your K&N? Fram has a washable filter that doesn't require oil, and costs around the same as a K&N.

[Bicycle Bob]

Let's not complain too much. When these cowboys spend a few hundred bucks to save gas, they often lighten up on their foot to "prove" it works.

[Christ]

I just wonder who they're trying to convince, Bob. I just wonder...

[Frank Lee]

So I'm still sniffing around this thing...

It makes no sense at all to make dyno runs without all the inputs i.e. fuel, air, etc. hooked up...

It was done after morning break but before lunch so they probably spent all morning prepping (or B.S.ing and eating donuts- yeah, I know what goes on in engineering departments)...

The SuperFlow dyno they use has the inputs for fuel consumption...

They must have that data; after all the "article" is about fe???...

They do show air/fuel ratio (green bar at lower left corner)...



...but that was likely measured at the O2 sensor.

I think they opted not to provide it because then their whole scam piece would fall apart.

THEN this other red flag jumps out at me (I'm kinda like a bull that way)...

LOOK at their dyno chart:



I added the four straight lines, to illustrate something weird...

See where their text claims 291.8 ft/lb peak?

My line shows it's probably 281.8 ft/lb!

That also drags HP down to about 249... hella bunch less impressive than 260.8 ain't it. (HP line does appear to just cross the 250 mark but definitely doesn't make it, much less cross, the 260 mark.)

Just found more nonsense numbers not a paragraph away from each other:

Ford F-150 5.4L V-8 -- +16 hp

and

By the Numbers (box)

Stock F-150 Peak Horsepower 241.4 @ 4700
Stock F-150 Peak Torque 272.1 @ 4600
Stock F-150 Fuel Economy 19.2 mpg
Intake Kit F-150 Horsepower 260.8 @ 4700
Intake Kit F-150 Torque 291.8 @ 4600
Intake Kit F-150 Fuel Economy 21.0 mpg
Horsepower Increase 8.5%
Torque Increase 7.3%
Fuel Economy Increase 9.4%

Well, my math says 260.8 - 241.4 = 19.4

Hey, 19.4 isn't 16.

Actually MY figures are 249 - 241.4 = 7.6 (got 249 from the HP formula using rpm and torque values)

Oooooh... +3%!

They weren't off by much eh?

Think that, judging from the rest of it, there isn't at least a 3% margin of error here?

Fudge a few percent here, fudge a few percent there, pretty soon you have a +10% claim that the casual reader/chart lookiter will never see.

Who am I going to yell at... "By the author"?

Yeah, I wouldn't put my name on that P.O.S. either.

The whole purpose for the made-up "road test" was to provide cover for the damning dyno results.

How can a guy make an alert for magazine fraud like this go viral?

*FRAUD*FRAUD*FRAUD*FRAUD*FRAUD*FRAUD*FRAUD*FRAUD*F RAUD*

Man I just can't let it go.

I go to the K&N site and find:

Core Purpose

To Provide a High Performance Experience for our Customers and Ourselves. We are committed to Working Together as a Team Toward Achieving a Unified Vision Through:

Quality Products that Perform as Promised

People Helping People Enjoy their Lives More

Honesty, Integrity, and Respect for People

Innovation, Creativity, and Personal Development

Living with Passion, Commitment and Enthusiasm

Just Focus and Do It

Hmmm. If I was K&N and these really were my values...

and of course I got to see a copy of the "article" before publication...

I would have to make plenty of "corrections"...

No?

[blueflame]

I'm getting jerked off by more than just K&N. But they are on the counters at part shops and magazine covers. Every boy racer starts with a K&N style pod.

I remember when flames painted down the side, fluffy dice and sheepskins were more important than metal plates on the pedals or a 'carbon' shifter knob.

[aerohead]

Isn't free speech wonderful! Just wait 'til you use K&N toothepaste!

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I don't throw stuff either. Maybe it's my clean livin', but paper filters last at least 80,000 miles here.

Maybe so, but that's "up North", not northern Nevada. I imagine it's just a little dustier around here even at the best of times :-) And this truck seldom gets driven except when one end of the drive is on fairly rough dirt.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by aerohead

Isn't free speech wonderful! Just wait 'til you use K&N toothepaste!

Smokers beware, K&N is coming for your cigarette filters, too! Recent studies suggest a 10% increase in nicotine consumption per cigarette, while reducing tar and other contaminants wholly by 25%!

They're making a healthier cigarette!!! (Don't mind the oil you're sucking in, it's OK for you and the environment... )

/sarcasm

Man, I love false advertising.