Incredible Shrinking K+N Filter

[skids]

it happened to me too(shrink and loose color)...it's because of gas in the air box, I'm absolutely sure of it...

I had to replace 1 of the 4 I have had and it was the only one with gas in the airbox. Man did it shrink! Others did shrink a small amount tho.

[jwhughes3]

doesn't kn cleaning kit contain spray oil for filter?

Yes.

But the spray oil is Vegetable Oil, not motor oil.

CZ, I have no idea about their return policy even though I run one. Looks like Nate had luck.

John

[GLoweVA]

What about shrinkage with age?

Last year, when Nightengale put pods on his ride, he gave me his K&N that was in his bike. It had a small tear on one of the edges where the PO had forced it to conform around the airbox lip. I tried to put it in my SG (until I got a replacement) and noticed that it had shrunk its diameter and thus why it wouldn't fit right. Maybe it's an age thing too. As the rubber/plastic gets to be, say, more than 5-7years old, it looses its fleaxablilty and won't fit anymore. JAT.
I suppose with them fitted into the airbox, the lip prevents/minimizes the shrinkage, but if they're off the bike for too long and nothing helping it to hold its shape, then it'll shrink enough to not fit anymore.
The one in my G has been there for probably 7+ years and still fits just fine, but then it's never been off the bike for more than a day.

Alright after proofrading my post, Insert age shrinkage jokes...

[Rasputin]

With a million mile warranty it should not shrink under any circumstances in my mind (small as it is).
I sent them an email questioning why it was happening and it's causes. I will let you all know of any response I get. If it is a matter of our carbs leaking and causing this then there is not much sense in installing one on these bikes unless they are completely reliable so far as leakage is concerned.
They are a bit too expensive to fart around with as well as they add additional hardship to tuning. I love the final product when all the tuning is done but if I can not take a filter off long enough to ship it to another member then there is a problem.

[Rasputin]

Ok I have heard back from K+N. They say that yes exposure to gas will cause it to shrink in size. They also say that any cleaning method other than their own cleaning kits will also cause damage or shrinking.
That said I explained to them that I may not be the original owner of this filter and that I was not sure it would be a warranty claim as I had no record of purchase nor knowledge of how it had been cleaned in the past.
They did require me to post a photo of the filter including one of the mold number. Mine was a H070A4 while the newer ones I have had other letters embossed on them as well Like a -B or a -T. They also asked what date I bought the filter and what mileage was on the bike. I answered that honestly I did not know that I even purchased that filter nor did I know the mileage put on it. I told them that I may have bought a bike with it installed from god knows when.
It did take a couple of emails and a phone call but they told me that they have a million mile warranty and it does not matter if I bought it installed on a bike and had never purchased it myself. It is covered under their warranty and a new one is one the way.
It was also mentioned that many of us clean our K+N filters far too often as unless the dirt build up is to the metal part of the filter, it does not need to be cleaned. They explained that the dirtier the filter got the better it actually filtered air, up to the point of dirt being even with the mesh. I was advised that I was wasting money on their filter cleaning kits if I was cleaning more often and that the filter would work better if I left it longer. The reason for the phone call was to advise me that just because it looked a little dirty to not bother spending money cleaning it and to give me more direction on causes of shrinkage.
The fellow I talked to said that he had heard that applying heat to the filter would renew it somewhat but he also said he would not recommend that method for anything that had been soaked in gas. He said that they would replace a filter that had shrunk before recommending that to anyone.
Long story short if you have issues then contact them and see if they will pony up. My story is the same as Nate's in that it was a hassle free thing to get them to warranty the filter.