Panel Air Filters - The Next Wave In Custom Car and Truck Intakes

19 Jan 2017

Panel filters can be installed inside the hood or beneath, with a tight seal to the engine intake

These panel filters are fed through a hood scoop tightly sealed by a rubber gasket

If you’re a car, truck, or motorcycle customizer or a race car builder, a panel air filter can be a valuable addition to your bag of tricks. Whether you have a particular demanding customer or you’re just looking to do something different, a panel air filter is incredibly versatile in that it can be mounted to any flat surface, opening up all sorts of possibilities of how to integrate the filter into your next project.

For example, we know of a builder who fabricated a hood-mounted intake with panel filters inserted into the underside of the hood (along with a fabricated fitting to direct the intake air to the inlet). With this arrangement, when the hood is open, all anyone sees is the engine. Furthermore, there’s no need to run an intake pipe across the engine bay to a large conical filter (or two), reducing the amount of clutter under the hood. So if your next build is looking for a super clean look under the hood, consider a panel filter as a means to reduce the underhood components.

A panel filter can also be utilized in a custom air box, whether on a race car or a show car. Mounted remotely near the fresh air source, a panel filter-equipped air box can flow sufficient fresh intake air while keeping the intake sound common to a conical filter to a minimum.

Panel filters offer a great deal of versatility in installation locations

Panel filters allow for a wide variety of placement options around the engine bay

Another application for a panel air filter is on a multiple inline cylinder motorcycle. The builder can provide the customer with a unique, custom solution with a one-off fabricated air box fed by a panel filter.

One panel we recommend for many of these and other applications is the K&N 33-5018. At an overall length of just shy of a foot (11.063 inches) and height of almost four inches (3.813 inches) it’s size allows a great deal of flexibility. Need more airflow? Use two K&N 33-5018 filters. Let your creativity be your guide. If this filter doesn't fit your needs, use the panel filter search by dimension tool.

K&N panel air filters are constructed of several layers of oiled cotton filter media, which offers less resistance to intake air than traditional paper filters. The multi-layered cotton material also filters out microparticles that could damage the engine. However, prior to any filter entering production, each design is evaluated in K&N’s own filtration testing lab. Testing adheres to ISO 5011 standards, ensuring that your K&N filter provides high airflow while maintaining engine protection.

K&N offers a panel filter part number 33-5018 suitable as for use in custom installations

Panel filter K&N part number 33-5018 is a great starting point for an installation

The only maintenance required of a panel filter can be done in no time at all. At intervals of 50,000 miles (depending upon your driving conditions) only the application of a K&N recharger kit to clean and refresh the panel air filter is needed, preparing it for another 50,000 miles of driving. A K&N panel air filter is designed to last for the lifetime of the vehicle, which K&N guarantees will perform for up to 10 years or 1,000,000 miles without requiring replacement. For full details visit the K&N Million Mile Limited Warranty page.