Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

I have ordered one of these, as the OEM filter is nearly $ 100.00 a time. DNA air filter, Part # DNA-P-K14S12-01.



Has anyone used this brand here? Opinions?



Fred

Ron at Flywheels fitted one to improve breathing when I fitted the Akra and PCV and it works really well. Lesser known but probably better than K&N I suspect.

K&N / DNA / BMC = almost identical breathing in every case. They actually flow a bit less than OEM filters according to some ......the benefit is more about cleaning and re-using these. But some sports filters flow way better than stock......and do SFA filtering so only good for the track.

I was told a few years ago that the K&N filter-charging kit (cleaning solution and oil) was a waste of time because I would use them up really quickly........well, the filters in the MFP12 have now been cleaned and re-oiled about 5 times - plus the big K&N in the VN dunneydore about 3 times.......plus the K&N in the Pearl - maybe 4 times ? and I have used less than 1/2 the amount in the bottles !! So don't believe the hype - filter cleaning and recharging is waaaayyy cheaper than OEM replacement - in the long term. I reckon if I had just used the cleaning kit for the 12 filters and nothing else - there is enough cleaning and oil for 30 to 40 re-charges !!

The research I have done to date shows that the DNA filter, outflows all the other major brands to quite a margin, here is an example.
This is info is provided by an independant company for DNA (zx14R 2012)
DNA FCD air filter flow: 188.20 CFM (Cubic feet per minute) @1,5”H2O corrected @ 25degrees Celsius
KAWASAKI stock paper filter: 164.70 CFM (Cubic feet per minute) @1,5”H2O corrected @ 25degrees Celsius
Unverified reports show the BMC to be around 170.0 CFM, more to come on this!
The filtering efficiency is extremely high at 98-99% filtering efficiency, with 4 layers of DNA® Cotton.
The flow of this New DNA FCD filter is very high, + 14.25% more than the KAWASAKI stock paper filter!
I am not chasing HP here, my only concern is the OEM filters are nearly $ 100.00 ea & it looks like my current filter will need replacing in the next 6K's
Delivered to my door the DNA is around $ 122.00.

This seems to be bourne by other dyno tests done by individuals. Examples.







These 3 images were sourced from another website, the only thing changed was the air filter. These dyno runs were performed on a 2011 ZX1000.
I didn't expect such a HP gain just from an air filter!


Fred

Fred wrote: I didn't expect such a HP gain just from an air filter!


Fred

2-3 % ... taking a dump would = same ...

If your not worried about hp - then any of the filters will do the job.

What you should do first though - is get a couple of baseline dyno runs on your own bike first, with the stock filter.

Then go and get another couple of runs when you fit up the DNA.

My educated guess is that you won't see anything like a 10hp difference seen in that 1st dyno picture. All things being equal, just changing the filter will result in 2-3hp gains at most. But the savings over time are worth far more than any minor hp increase.

They aren't going to put a negative story on their website are they?

I highly doubt that any horsepower gain happens at all, infact for every study in the affirmative is met with another in the negative.

I do agree though, they are much cheaper however $122 is a bit steep. I only paid $60 for my K&n recently and that was from local Kawa dealer not on special

Blurr wrote:They aren't going to put a negative story on their website are they?

Agreed, most of the info didn't come from their website though.

I highly doubt that any horsepower gain happens at all, infact for every study in the affirmative is met with another in the negative.

Let the results speak for themselves, I will dyno the bike with the OEM filter, then with the DNA filter.

I do agree though, they are much cheaper however $122 is a bit steep. I only paid $60 for my K&n recently and that was from local Kawa dealer not on special

The equivilent BMC filter (no K&N yet) is $179.12 delivered (bit steep imo) So not a lot of options. Different bike, different prices!

Fred

I will be really interested in the dyno charts - before & after.

$179.12 for a BMC ? Was this local or from US ebay ?

Gosling1 wrote:I will be really interested in the dyno charts - before & after.

$179.12 for a BMC ? Was this local or from US ebay ?

Neither.
I have tried to source a BMC filter locally (not available yet) Source was from the US but not Ebay.
We cannot buy directly off BMC US & Canada only. The reason for the high price is postage.

It said 98-99 percent filter efficiency. But it did not say at what micron. A worn footy sock would do the same if the microns are high enough. It may save money with being able to be cleaned but if it lets larger particles through the benefits may not be there.

ZXR750 wrote:.....It said 98-99 percent filter efficiency. But it did not say at what micron. A worn footy sock would do the same if the microns are high enough. It may save money with being able to be cleaned but if it lets larger particles through the benefits may not be there....

lots of truth in that....

I am pretty sure Madkaw had some tests on various filters a few years ago, including all the brands mentioned thus far. The results as I recall - were that nearly all the a/m brands flowed basically the same as OEM, and the 'race only' versions flowed much better - but provided far less filtration.

This is just common sense really. You can have high flow or high filtration but not both.

yeh the postage costs do make things more expensive than they should be. I would be scouring every dealer in the west coast looking for a better deal.

ZXR750 wrote:It said 98-99 percent filter efficiency. But it did not say at what micron. A worn footy sock would do the same if the microns are high enough. It may save money with being able to be cleaned but if it lets larger particles through the benefits may not be there.

No but the OEM filter does not specify what size microns it filters to either? Just because a filter lets more air through does not mean it doesn't filter as well. Just that it is filtering in a different manner.
These companys spend many dollars on research & development, I dont have the qualifications or expertise to second guess them, do you........?


Fred

So does Kawasaki.

For me i worked out that aftermarket filter such as K&N or BMC I would need to do at least 150k kms on the 12R to actually have them pay for themselves against stock filters at the Kawasaki recommended service intervals.

I still put BMC in anyway because i did a lot of long rides and quite often the dust or bugs would render the service interval irrelevant and this is where they do pay for themselves.

ZXR750 wrote:It said 98-99 percent filter efficiency. But it did not say at what micron. A worn footy sock would do the same if the microns are high enough. It may save money with being able to be cleaned but if it lets larger particles through the benefits may not be there.

New info on this the filtration is down to .5 of a micron, apparently the same as the OEM filter.



Fred