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Do you find yourself wishing you had a gas mask when you turn your A/C on in your car?

Recently, companies have begun making high quality, washable cabin air filters as replacements for the paper air filters that come in most vehicles nowadays. One of those companies is K&N Engineering. They have been manufacturing engine air filters for decades and are one of the leaders in automotive filtration. So to hear that they are coming out with a washable cabin air filter, you can bet we were definitely intrigued.

K&N cabin air filters install easily in the housing and feature an OE level of fitment

Compared to paper cabin air filters, K&N cabin air filters are much sturdier and guaranteed to last

When it comes time to clean the filter, it is as simple as spraying it with the K&N cabin air filter cleaner and rinsing it with water. Then simply spray the filter with the refresher spray and reinstall. K&N guarantees that their cabin air filters will last with a 10-Year/100,000 Mile Limited Warranty. If you want to give you’re a/c system a boost of freshness, go to Knfilters.com and check out their cabin air filter line. While you are there, use their application search tool to find all of the products they make for your muscle car or any other vehicle you own.

Rather than throwing away your cabin air filter, all you have to do with a K&N filter is clean it

Harrison Burton wins the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Bristol Motor Speedway

Burton won the rain-shortened, rain-delayed K&N Pro Series East race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee after starting on the pole and leading all but two laps. The rain came and ended the race after 70 laps of the scheduled 125.

It took 17 starts and two seasons in the K&N Pro Series East, but the 16-year-old Burton won his first race in the series.

“I was pretty excited to come back and get the win,” Burton said. “It was something I circled on my calendar for probably a whole year. I knew we had a really strong car the last time we came here. Even though it was a different team, I knew my guys were capable of giving me a fast car and I feel I was really confident here. I am just really excited to get the win for sure.”

Burton won the pole and led the first 13 laps of the Zombie Auto 125 K&N Pro Series East race at Bristol in 2016. He ended up finishing in 23rd place.

Rained washed out qualifying for this year’s K&N Pro Series East race at Bristol. Burton leads the K&N Pro Series East standings and was awarded the pole. The rainy days at Bristol led to delays in practice for the accompanying NASCAR Xfinity race, pushing the start of the K&N Pro Series East race back almost two hours.

Harrison Burton leads the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East field at the start of the race at Bristol

The race was halted on lap 70 because of rain and never resumed. Burton was declared the winner.

"I feel like every team circles this race on their calendar," Burton said. "We kind of wanted to run the whole race and win it that way. We were confident our car was good enough that we could win it that way. I feel like it would've been cool to cross the line in dry conditions. But, I'll take it. I never wanted it to rain so bad in my life."

Burton is also racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. His next race is at Dover International Speedway. Burton said winning a K&N Pro Series race will help him in the Truck Series.

“I feel that it increases my confidence,” Burton said. “I know I can get it done in a big, heavy stock car. I was pretty confident in the super late model division, which are light, high horsepower and really fast. I am really confident in these bigger, heavier cars. I feel like I can go out and run with the best of them.”

Ruben Garcia Jr. was second in the K&N Pro Series East race at Bristol. It was the best finish of his K&N Pro Series career.

“Every time we get on the track, we are getting better and better,” Garcia said. “If we keep working at that, if I keep putting all my effort every time we are on the track, something will be on the checkered flag.”

Harrison Burton led 68 of the 70 laps in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Bristol

Burton leads the K&N Pro Series East standings by 15 points over Baize after three races.

“It was a lot of fun for sure,” Burton said. “It’s been a long time coming. To come out and get a win, it’s super, super cool. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life for sure.”

The next K&N Pro Series East race is at South Boston Speedway.

The Fair Market in Austin's cool downtown was this year's home for the Handbuilt Show

If that’s the goal in Austin, the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show is doing its part to keep the creative soul of the Austin motorcycle scene alive. The annual event celebrates the art of the hand-crafted motorcycle in all of its unique variations. If you are looking for cookie-cutter, mass produced “customs” you’d best look elsewhere.

In the words of the folks at Revival Cycles, the creative force behind the Handbuilt Show, the event is a kind of revolution. It is, in no small measure, an analog revolution.

Jessi Combs and Theresa Contreras with their BMW R nine T custom

The Handbuilt event showcases some of the world’s most intriguing customs crafted by the most creative builders in the business. The show is a three day event for good reason. One day is not enough time to study, imbibe, and appreciate the treasures that reside in Austin’s Fair Market. The Fair Market provides the perfect ambiance for the show.

Organizers tried to moderate attendance by charging admission - no such luck

“I get so much inspiration from the truly unique customs that you find at the Austin event,” said Theresa. “Everywhere you look there is something new to appreciate. I love seeing the vision of other builders.”

Colt Wrangler's 1971 Honda CL 175 is fitted with a KX 100 front fork and wears a K&N air filter

The organizers decided to charge an admission fee this year in hopes that it would make the crowds more manageable. It didn't work. The event was so popular that the huge venue was at almost perpetual capacity with lines of eager custom motorcycle fans waiting in line for folks to exit and make more room.

Surely you are ready to see some of the hand-built customs that graced the space at the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show. Take note of the sheer number of builders who have trusted the performance and protection of their rolling pieces of art to K&N. Well here you go.

Jessi Combs and Theresa Contreras' R nine T custom graced the entryway to the show

The Suzuki Katana built by K&N's Nick O'kane was a fan favorite

Tommy Goode's custom Cushman features a WWII Borg Warner Supercharger and a K&N filter

This custom Ducati features one of the most outrageous frames at the show and a big K&N filter

Curtis Miller's custom cafe Sportster features a K&N intake

This 1975 Yamaha XS 650 custom with a great naked look and K&N pod filters

This cafe has a 1965 Norton frame, a 1977 Triumph engine, and K&N filtration

It was impossible to miss this neon side hack custom at the Hand Built Show in Austin, Texas

This heavily-armored custom has a fairing ready for the post-apocalypse

Some beautiful wall-flowers at the Handbuilt Show in Austin, Texas

It's hard to imagine the hammer work that went into this Moto Guzzi's fairing

This BMW rocket ship was a magnetic attraction for showgoers

The Scott Free Racing Teams' 30-foot Extreme powerboat competes at Key West, Florida in 2016.

Stephen Kildahl has been racing offshore boats for Free Scott Racing since 2007 and his father, Steve, has been boat racing for 33 years. Free Scott Racing has participated in the Sarasota Power Boat Grand Prix for all 33 years of existence.

Scott Free Racing took second place in the Key West event

The team also has a history with the Key West World Championship, which was created about 37 years ago, Stephen pointed out.

They race in the Super Boat Vee class on the Super Boat International Circuit and the Offshore Powerboat Association, the two major organizations that sanction boat racing events. The team races in six Super Boat International racing events and two Offshore Powerboat Association contests.

They race a 30-foot Extreme powerboat and compete in five or six races in Florida as well as races in Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri. Races take place on oceans, lakes, and rivers. When racing in Florida, the contests are held in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

The racing team has developed a good reputation for the past several years. Since 1985 they have garnered:

• 3 World Championships

• 2 National Championships

• 3 Florida Championships

• 2 Endurance Records

• 2 World Speed Records

• 1992 Throttle Man of the Year

In 2017, Scott Free Racing will participate in 8 events, primarily in Florida

Scott Free Racing does not compete in every Super Boat International and Offshore Powerboat Association sanctioned races. Stephen and his dad have other responsibilities during the racing season. For example, they each have a full time job. Stephen drives a forklift for Bonita Bay Marina in Bonita Springs, Florida, and Steve owns Central Marine Services in Sarasota, Florida.

As a result, they participate in from eight to 10 events of 15 to 20 events scheduled during the year. That means that they have to select what races in which to compete.

“Last year we competed in 10 events and this year we will participate in eight,” said Stephen. “We select the races with feedback from our main sponsor, Boatfloater.com. They tell us what events to attend based on demographics and we choose what we consider to be the premier events. That includes the Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix, the National Championships in Clearwater Florida, and the Super Boat International World Championships in Key West, Florida,” said Stephen.

The Kidahl clan at the 2016 Lake Race in Michigan City Indiana.

“We consider the Super Boat International World Championships in Key West a premier event because it is a week long and it is our Daytona 500. It has been going on for about 37 years.”

We interviewed Stephen in 2016 when Scott Free Racing had competed in just a few races. During the present interview we asked him how things turned out.

“2016 ended up being a pretty good year,” he said. “We ended up finishing second in the Championship.

“We learned a lot,” he continued. “We tried a lot of set up changes. We didn’t know how they would work out, but we actually learned a lot. We got a lot of data throughout the year that will allow us to do better this year.”

Scott Free Racing's 30-foot Extreme powerboat getting a fresh coat of paint before the 2017 season

“We did some playing around with the weights,” Stephen continued. “Obviously, things vary from race to race. It all depends on water conditions. We tried a lot of new things like placing weights in different areas of the boat and it really worked out well, especially in rougher conditions. It allowed the boat to fly a lot more level. We moved the weight around mainly in the bow area.

“The tests that we did last year allowed us to learn where to run the weights and where we don’t need to run them for certain conditions.

“We still have a little bit of work to do on our rough water set up, but as far as flat and intermediate water is concerned, we pretty much know now where we need to run the weights,” Stephen said.

Stephen also pointed out that they introduced a new engine package.

2017 marks the sixth year that K&N has sponsored Scott Free Racing

The new engine generates about 600 horsepower while the old Vortec engine offered between 550 and 570 horsepower.

The team now has three engines –- the new one, the Vortec, and a Mercury 525 engine. The new engine is used in Super Boat International sanctioned races, the Mercury 525 is used in Offshore Powerboat Association sanctioned contests, and the Vortec engine serves as a backup.

Scott Free Racing won podium positions in two of the premier races in 2016. They won the Sarasota Power Boat Grand Prix and finished second in the Super Boat International World Championship in Key West, Florida.

The 2017 season for Scott Free Racing starts in May. Their schedule for this season includes:

• May 21, 2017 – Space Coast Grand Prix, Cocoa Beach, Florida

• June 3, 2017 – The Lake Race, the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri

• July 2, 2017 – The Sarasota Power Boat Grand Prix, Sarasota, Florida

• July 23, 2017 – Mentor Grand Prix, Mentor, Ohio

• August 6, 2017 – Great Lakes Grand Prix, Michigan City, Indiana

• October 1, 2017 – The National Championships, Clearwater, Florida

• November 12, 2017 – The Super Boat International World Championships, Key West, Florida

• November 19, 2017 – The Offshore Powerboat Association World Championships, Englewood Beach, Florida

The new engine powering the Scott Free boat includes a K&N 66-1480 Oval Air Filter Assembly.

“In 2017, K&N will be providing us with product. We use K&N air filters. We change the filters out about two to three times per season. We’ve run K&N Filters since the beginning and we’ve never had any issues. Our engine builder puts K&N in all of their engines and they have government contracts and they trust K&N filters for all of their engines,” said Stephen.

2017 marks the sixth year K&N has sponsored the team.

In previous years Scott Free Racing has used the K&N RU-2800 universal clamp-on air filter. However, with the new engine they now use the K&N 66-1480 oval air filter assembly.

The K&N 33-3057 air filter is designed for five Renault models manufactured between 2015-2017

First, it is washable and reusable and can be used for the life of your vehicle. You may never have to buy another air filter again. That will obviously save you a great deal of money. That’s because most conventional air filters that are neither washable nor reusable will probably last for about 15,000 miles. Assuming an engine life of 150,000 miles you will go through ten air filters over the life of the vehicle.

Second, the K&N air filter features a unique multilayered cotton gauze medium that performs better than conventional paper or foam air filters. The cotton within the air filter is treated with a special grade of oil that makes its strands very sticky. This allows them to capture and hold potentially harmful contaminants. This is all done without sacrificing air flow. And better yet, as the filter gets dirty, the dirt and dust it collects absorbs some of the oil from the filter. This makes the contaminants essentially become part of the filtration media.

Third, the K&N air filter better airflow than conventional paper filters. That’s because conventional paper air filters must be thick and/or the fibers must be tightly compressed and dense just to meet minimum filtration standards. So, right out of the box the conventional air filter is typically more restrictive to airflow than the K&N air filter. In addition, conventional paper air filters become more and more clogged as dirt collects on the surface. The air pressure inside the filter drops while the air pressure outside stays the same. As the air pressure differential between the inside and outside of the filter becomes more severe, the filter becomes more restrictive and pulls contaminants through the paper medium threatening its ability to protect the engine. As a result, the performance of the paper filter decreases near the end of its service interval.

Conventional foam air filters lack enough surface area and that hinders the filter’s ability to capture and hold contaminants. Dirt builds up on the outside and blocks openings causing higher vacuum pressure that distorts the cells and causes contaminants to be drawn deeper into the filter and potentially into the engine.

Unlike conventional paper and foam filters, the contaminants captured by the K&N filter become part of the filter medium because they are suspended in the cotton strands. So there is less of an effect on airflow. The air continues to pass through the cotton strands and is not affected by the captured contaminants.

K&N offers the 99-5000 filter service kit, which is specially formulated to cleanse and rejuvenate the K&N air filter. If the air filter is properly cleaned, it can be used over and over again. As a result, K&N backs the air filter with a 10-Year/Million Mile Limited Warranty that guarantees that the filter will perform for up to 10 years or 1,000,000 miles without needing replacement.

The K&N air filter works with the car’s original equipment electronics and will not void the vehicle warranty. It is designed to fit into the existing factory air box and can be installed in less than 5 minutes.

The K&N 33-3057 air filter is designed for the following vehicles:

2017 RENAULT TALISMAN 1.6L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2017 RENAULT TALISMAN 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2017 RENAULT TALISMAN 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2017 RENAULT SCENIC IV 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2017 RENAULT SCENIC IV 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2017 RENAULT SCENIC IV 1.2L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2017 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.6L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2017 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2017 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2017 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.2L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2017 RENAULT GRAND SCENIC IV 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2017 RENAULT GRAND SCENIC IV 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2017 RENAULT GRAND SCENIC IV 1.2L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2017 RENAULT ESPACE V 1.6L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2017 RENAULT ESPACE V 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2016 RENAULT TALISMAN 1.6L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2016 RENAULT TALISMAN 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2016 RENAULT TALISMAN 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2016 RENAULT SCENIC IV 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2016 RENAULT SCENIC IV 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2016 RENAULT SCENIC IV 1.2L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2016 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.6L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2016 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2016 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2016 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.2L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2016 RENAULT GRAND SCENIC IV 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2016 RENAULT GRAND SCENIC IV 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2016 RENAULT GRAND SCENIC IV 1.2L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2016 RENAULT ESPACE V 1.6L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2016 RENAULT ESPACE V 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2015 RENAULT TALISMAN 1.6L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2015 RENAULT TALISMAN 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2015 RENAULT TALISMAN 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2015 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.6L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2015 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2015 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.5L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models
2015 RENAULT MEGANE IV 1.2L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2015 RENAULT ESPACE V 1.6L L4 Fuel Injection - All Models
2015 RENAULT ESPACE V 1.6L L4 Diesel Engine - All Models