S3, E43 - Bert Heck, K&N

Hey everybody, it's that time of week where we huddle in the pod shed and drop a new episode

of the Truck Show podcast for your education and enjoyment.

On this episode, we invite Bert Heck from K&N and we have a whole slew of questions for

him about the brand, the product, and even where K&N is headed.

It's a storied brand that's had several significant changes in the past few years

and it is positioning itself to be relevant for years to come, so we'll find out more

from Bert himself.

Beyond that, we'll check in with our listeners to see what messages we have in the inbox

and the five-star hotline.

And funny side note, I just got back from Colorado and it was the first time Marin and I have

been on an airplane since an accident, we were out there to see some friends and be there

for a wedding.

So for those of you who travel, you know that getting a rental car is always a pain in

the butt.

Fortunately, I've got some status with Hertz, which puts me in gold with the President

Circle and I like that because you can get a certain level of car and if a better

car is in the lot, you can take that for no extra charge.

So we've done that a few times where it's like, okay, got a midsize, look, there's some

cool SUV, we'll grab that or there's a sports car or whatever.

So we go through the airport, we get off the plane, flight was great, we both survived

and we get to Hertz and I look on the board and we get off the shuttle bus and it says

S. Holman, President Circle.

So I'm thinking, yeah, President Circle, that's pretty good.

That means we're going to get some nicer cars and we roll out to the President

Circle and we get off the bus and everybody in the bus is President Circle and the

selection is pretty awful.

There's a Buick SUV that was probably the nicest thing there and immediately got

gobbled up.

So then we move over down the row and there's some Kia's and Hyundai's.

I'm not taking one of those.

A clapped out Forester outback.

Nope, sunny and nope, I don't need the all wheel drive and I need space

because we're going to have five people in the car and do an airport runs,

things like that.

So then I look at Volkswagen Atlas and it was like, okay, well, that's probably

okay.

I've rented Volkswagen before it was fine, walked up, boom, somebody's

sitting in it.

So then I looked and there are two Jeep compasses, one Trailhawk and one

limited and one of them had 8,000 miles, won't have 5,000 miles.

And I'm like, well, I guess I'll grab the compass, even though it's going

to be really tight for five people.

And in the last ditch moment of desperation, I looked up and I realized,

you know, the next row over also says president circle on it.

And so I walked over, there's no cars at all.

I mean, I think there were like two cars and again, almost everything was gone.

So I was super bummed out and I thought to myself, all right, well,

this sucks.

And I looked to my right and there are four Ram 2500 HDs all sitting

together against the building.

And of course in that moment, I made eye contact with the Ram I knew was

going to be mine and I heard.

So I walked over, I said, Mayor, stay here by this car that I think, you

know, we didn't quite lick the door handle or take the keys, but I'm

like, just stand here and make it look like somebody's already grabbed

this car.

I'll be right back.

So I walk over, I see three Rams and one of the Rams is a brand new 1900

miles white Ram 2500 HD crew cab, four by four, six, four Hemi big 12 inch

screen has the bench seat in the front and a bed liner, the LED

bed lights, I'm like, whoa, full running boards.

So I go back to Marin and I go, Hey, I think I found her car.

Let's go.

So I texted my wife a picture and I said the Ram or the compass and

she goes, no brainer, I'm like, sweet.

So for like, I don't remember what it was like 120 bucks a day.

We got a Ram 2500 HD with 1900 miles, so smooth, all the tech that I

needed, you know, adaptive crews, I will say the one thing about

the new Rams I don't like are the mirrors.

I prefer the old mirrors that you could flip up for trailer

towing and things like that.

I thought those were way better and less obnoxious when you

didn't have a trailer.

But I do love that the little convex mirrors are now power.

So that's pretty cool.

And their power, uh, telescoping as well.

So I have this white Ram or driving it all over the Denver area.

And the thing that kept occurring to me is what a nice truck that was.

And I tried to build it on the Ram configurator and I came up

with something around $65,000 roughly based on what I think

the packages it had on it are, but it really rode nice.

And I got almost 15 miles to the gallon in it and it did

everything we wanted it to do.

The wedding was at some property in the back country.

And so there's some dirt roads and stuff.

No problem.

I mean, it wasn't anything you needed for a drive for, but it's

just nice having a big four wheel drive truck driving around I 70

and all the freeways out there.

It's just like commanding view.

Great ride considering it was an empty 2,500.

It was totally acceptable ride wise for a daily driver.

So I just wanted to say like, Hey, you know what hurts.

Thanks for taking care of me.

Thanks for the president circle and thanks for putting an

awesome truck in there that made me feel like the person

I think I am versus squeezing myself into a little economy

car for for the week.

And I know nobody really cares about what I was running.

That's funny.

I don't recall asking for a really, really, really, really,

really, really, really, really, really, really, really,

really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really,

A really boring story, my God.

What you understand, no one cares.

But I think you care because I think I hit

rental car gold.

I hit a jackpot in the president's circle.

It's not often that you get a brand new

full-size truck for a deal.

Anyway, enough about that.

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All right, let's get to it.

Here's a great and informative interview

with K&N's Bert Heck.

All right, welcome to the pod shed.

I've got three strapping young lads

in here with me today

but I think we're only gonna hear from one

and that's gonna be Bert Heck from K&N.

So we're gonna talk about K&N

and everybody else is just staring at you.

Yeah, everybody's just looking at me like,

hey, what's this guy doing here?

So I don't know you well

but we've run into each other before

because you've been at K&N for about 400 years.

428.

And I remember we used to bring vehicles by the riverside

where you guys had the office and the dinos

and if we had something with four wheeler of the year

that you hadn't had on the dyno yet

you wanted to scan it or check it.

Sometimes we would do a little horse trading

and bring a vehicle by so.

Those were the good old days.

Yeah, those were the good old days.

Good to see you, Bert.

And then we've got Christian

who's hiding in the corner who oversees the brand

and then we have James who's taking video of us

that you might end up seeing on social

but before we get started, everyone gets a jingle.

So here it goes.

It's the inside job, baby.

Yes, it is.

It's the inside job now.

It's the inside job, baby.

It's never used to share what you do.

All right, Bert, so you're the inside job today

so you've been at K&N almost 30 years.

And what is your role there?

So I'm the senior director of all automotive development.

So everything that has to do with intakes,

drop in replacement filters, all of that kind of stuff.

Oil filters, oil, we have wipers.

Let's try again, wipers.

We have chemicals, brake clean, a few additives.

So pretty much anything automotive,

it kind of starts with me and my group.

All right, so you guys probably know K&N

as the originator of the reusable air filter.

And during probably the 2000s,

K&N innovated with rotomolded intakes, the FitBic,

and things like that, those were a big deal

because before that was really just the aluminum tubes

and things like that.

And you guys were able to get shapes for horsepower

and also to fit certain engine bays.

And that was kind of a big deal when those came out.

You've always stood on real dyno gains.

That's another thing that K&N is known for

is that what you say is what you got

and you've got it dyno sheets to prove it.

But our listeners may have noticed

you guys have been a little bit quiet lately,

but I'm here to let everybody know

that K&N is alive and well

and continuing to innovate.

In fact, you guys have extra brand new,

shiny product lines we'll talk about.

K&N has a lot going on.

And maybe start us off with the history of K&N.

Who is K&N and how did you become

almost 30 year employee?

Yeah, okay, so K&N started in 69 between K&N norm.

Two motorcycle racers, they were out racing the desert.

The big problem, dirt, air filters and so on.

So during their workings on the motorcycles,

went out there like, okay, hey,

we need to come up with a fix.

So after a lot of research or whatnot,

they actually came up with a oiled cotton gods filter.

And then from there, it just has gone nuts.

Crazy, right?

So when did you hire in?

I started in 97.

Okay.

Yeah, so K&N bought a composite shop

and actually I was there helping just build the shop.

I was talking to the owner of the composite shop

that we bought it was going back and forth.

And he knew I had a lot of drag racing background

from street racing and all that kind of stuff.

And so he's like, hey, I need someone like you

that understands when you look at a valve cover

or whatever part you understand what it is, right?

So I got hired on, I ran the composite shop

for probably about four or five years.

And then when K&N made a change

to go into like mass production of composite parts, right?

I didn't really build 500 of one part, right?

I love the skunk works part.

I love building the valve covers

and scoops and all that crazy stuff.

So then I go, okay,

then I worked myself into intake development.

And then I started from the bottom

and worked my way up to where I'm at right now.

I mean, that's pretty amazing.

I mean, that's actually,

it's kind of like the American career dream

that you could start at the low end at a company

and rise and be with it for so many years.

I mean, I feel like that just doesn't happen

that much anymore.

No, it doesn't.

And not only me, but there is still a handful of people

at K&N that has the same story, right?

So we have a lot of people that work at K&N

that have been there 30 years, 20 years, 10, 15 years.

So we still have a lot of those people

that still have the passion for the company

and are there for the red and orange.

So a lot has changed in filtration in 30 years.

We've seen the oiled cotton gauze filters,

which was really pioneered by K&N.

We've seen competitors come into the space.

We've seen dry filters come into the space.

We've seen OE filters get better

than they have been in the past.

What makes K&N different

and why is your technology still

the preferred technology for today's vehicles?

Because I feel like there's so much coming at us.

It's the longevity and the staying power

that K&N has had over the years is great.

But I feel like sometimes people just go to new things

because they're new, not necessarily because they're better.

Yeah.

I think the short answer to that

is the amount of testing we do, right?

So we're nonstop testing, right?

Technology's changing as we know.

And we're keeping up with the technology

and looking at medias, oils, even dyno-ing.

I mean, we nonstop test our product

to make sure we stay ahead of that curve.

Yeah.

So when we're looking at, I guess, media,

is the K&N filter, media and oil today

different than it was when you started?

Has that evolved?

The oil has, right?

So technology and oil has changed, right?

It's gotten better than what it was 10, 15 years ago.

But the oil is still a tachypher, right?

And so we've looked at the ingredients

to make the oil a better tachypher.

So the way it works is you guys have a higher flowing media,

but by adding the oil to it,

the oil is able to pull the dust,

kind of like a magnet out of the air as it goes by.

And that's sort of the theory behind K&N

and what allows you to make those performance gains

is because you can flow higher

while still capturing the dirt.

Correct.

So the cotton oil filter, right?

So it's got the airflow.

And so you needed to say, okay,

so we've got airflow, we've got the performance,

but what makes it an air filter?

So obviously the media,

we're always looking at new medias

and then like I said, the oil.

Once we get the oil on the media

and it, like I said, acts as a tachypher,

that is what is actually grabbing the dirt

and still being able to perform like we want.

So I know when people think of performance,

performance can mean a lot of different things.

For me, horsepower can be torque,

it can be dyno number.

Sometimes it's filtration efficiency,

sometimes performance is, you know,

throttle response.

It's different things to different people.

I would say that even more important

than the filters in terms of like an intake or something

where you kind of have a little bit of noise,

a little bit more of the gains,

your drop-ins are probably a massive part of your business

because there's a lot of people who are like,

I don't necessarily want to change the OE part

but I do want to have the benefits

from a drop-in filter,

which is something that you can do

with your panel filters or your drop-in filters

because you do see some of those gains.

What are the benefits versus OE

and what makes Canon better for somebody who's thinking,

oh, I've got my $60,000, $70,000 truck

but I'm going to go put a Canon filter in it.

So the good thing, it's cleanable, reusable, right?

So with our filter is you look at it and it's like,

okay, it can go 30,000 miles without even touching it

or it can go 50,000 depending on what area

and how you're driving the vehicle, right?

Then you pull it out, you clean it,

you re-oil it, you put it back in and you go.

So it's a lifetime filter.

So the benefit, like I said,

is it's the last filter you'll ever buy

and it's a filter that is designed to perform.

The airflow, the amount of dirt, the efficiency

and all that.

So there's a lot of it that makes the package, right?

How much of the development goes into

the ceiling gaskets around the edges and stuff?

The reason I ask that is I had a filter

that I was asked to try for the magazine from a competitor

and I said, okay, no problem.

So it was just a panel filter.

So I took out my OE filter and I put this other one in

and it had air leaks even with it installed correctly

inside the air box where I could take my finger

inside the intake tube and it was covered in dirt

because dirt had bypassed the filter

and gotten around the edges.

Yeah.

So in the earlier years, we used to use a gasket, right?

And as we went through in testing

and so Canaan has its own in-house lab, right?

So we have a lab that we can dirt test, efficiency test

and it's basically do all the ISO testing that we need, right?

So what we have learned over the years

instead of using these gaskets, we've looked at bulb seal

where the filter basically has a bulb seal in place there,

right?

So when we come up with a new filter

that filter will go into the lab

and it'll be tested.

It'll be tested for efficiency, how much dirt it'll hold.

And the biggest thing we do look at is how it seals, right?

So we buy the factory air box, we get all the measurements,

we design our filter and then we run it through the lab.

And if at any point that filter has a leak problem,

we stop.

Then our lab technician gets with our product engineers

and say, look it, I just seen this

and the filter like say failed at X amount of grams of dirt

and introduced to it or whatever the situation is, right?

Then they stop, they go back

and they look and see what happens.

So the biggest thing that we found with the OE boxes

is they don't really seal very good, right?

So we had to make a filter that would seal

around the small issues that their box has.

Sure, because there's a lot of mass production.

We know that there's a lot of inconsistency

or the allowances for how the parts fit together

are a lot looser than maybe you want

if you're building a one-off system.

And so you have to build enough tolerance in your product

that soak up their lack of tolerance

in the pieces that they're building.

So I was actually surprised,

I never thought that I would have an air filter fail

by not sealing in the box.

To me, that seemed like one of the easiest first things

that you'd wanna get right on a drop-in filter

and you don't really think about there being

a lot of technology in a drop-in filter.

But really, there's quite a bit that goes

into just a direct replacement.

Yeah, so like the year thing, right?

That's the black part of the filter.

A lot of competitors don't use a year thing like we do.

So you have shrink rate, what does the heat do to it?

What does the cold do to it, right?

So the filter's actually moving within that air box

that isn't perfect from the beginning.

So then when you have a filter that does that,

then obviously you're gonna have the air leaks.

Going back to what you said about technology

and looking, not only media and oil do we look at,

but we look at the year things

and all the other components to that filter.

Cause you have to have something that's temperature stable,

but also vibration stable too,

if you're doing off-roading trucks, things like that.

And then something that still performs

when it's packed with dirt.

And I know with filter technology,

we like to talk about surface area of the media.

And what people don't understand is that two filters

side-by-side could look identical

and have completely different filtration properties.

And a lot of times you'll look at one filter

that has a ton of pleats.

Well, that's extra surface area

that can absorb the dust and things.

And you have one that you can see through.

And so there's a wide gamut of what you get

that presumably is gonna replace a single part,

but you may have something that has deeper pleats in it.

You might have something that has more pleats in it

that's more dense.

You might have something that has different media.

And so there's a lot that goes into just

what looks like a very simple automotive replacement product.

It's not that simple.

No, and like I said, the testing, right?

So we spend a lot of money on testing,

even if it's a filter for, I don't know, a Prius, right?

First is the testing that we do for a Chevy Dermax, right?

It's the same test and they're looked at the same way, right?

And when you go to it as media on holding dirt,

we can go from a 5 eighths pleat to a 7 eighths pleat.

We can use an inch and a half pleat.

And all that is thought about

on the front side during the development.

So the product engineers, when they're looking at it,

they look at the application, right?

And we say, we know what kind of media

we'd want to put in a Dermax.

And we would know what kind of media and depth

and size of the media for like a standard street car.

Well, it's what I was looking at, different filter prices.

And I wanna say just looking at like Wrangler 392, for example,

I think the K&N filter is like 65, 70 bucks,

something like that retail.

And you go to Mopar for the replacement filter.

And even on the discounted Mopar sites,

it's more expensive than your filter

by not an insignificant amount.

You know, it's like $80 to $100 for a drop in filter.

And you're sitting there going, wow, I get a better product

that's gonna last me the lifetime for cheaper than the OE.

That's a hell of a value proposition right there.

And you think about it as like,

so the OE replacement filter, right?

So you ask yourself, did Chrysler price that

because of the vehicle it's going into?

Sure.

Right, we don't look at that way.

We look at basically the makeup of the filter.

So when we go through the costing models or not,

we don't look at that as for 392 or what?

We don't look at that.

We look at the media, everything that's put into it.

Then we look at the number and say, okay,

this is what we're gonna sell for.

So we've seen that in the past where it's like,

okay, I got the 392 or a Z06 Corvette.

Sure.

Right, so it's a $300, $400 filter.

We don't look at that way.

Yeah, you guys have the 392 one

on your website right now, 68.99.

And it's $20 or $30 less than some of the places

have the OE filter, which is pretty crazy.

And real quick, it's the last filter you ever buy.

When you go into the dealer and they're like,

oh, it's, you know, your air filter changes $200

and you're like, what?

Oh yeah, 125 of labor and 80 plus or a hundred bucks

for a filter.

I mean, you're just kind of tossing money.

We all know how easy it is to replace a filter.

The only sad thing is it's one of those parts

that you kind of don't see, you know?

And so you may feel it and you know it's there

and your cost of ownership is gonna be much better

because you can use it.

So let's move on to intakes.

So maybe walk us through the process.

You've selected a vehicle.

What goes from the time that vehicle rolls into the shop?

And you guys have determined, we did the study,

our product planner said this is the vehicle,

they're gonna sell a ton of these

and there's a big user base who wants an intake.

What's that process like for you guys?

Okay, so let's use your 392, right?

So we know when Chrysler came out with 392 is like,

so Kana's like, we gotta do something for it.

So we did all our case studies and looked and said,

yes, without a doubt, we're gonna do it.

Before you go, let me just bring this one thing up.

The 392 is both special and complicated in a couple of ways

and you guys have a very different intake design

than your competitors do on it.

And just for people who are listening, if you don't know,

the hood scoop on a Gladiator Mojave is fake.

The same top part of that hood is used on the 392

but it's hood scoop is real.

And what it does is it goes in through the hood

and kind of circles back to the air box

and it's got these flaps on the back

so that if you were to forward water

and it sucked in water through the hood,

you can dump an enormous amount of water

at the backside of the engine and not get to the filter.

So it's probably as close to a weird

like cold air snorkely thing that you could get it

by being in a hood.

So it's different.

Now you guys have your intake

and I won't give up the secret

but I'll let you talk about it

but it's the design philosophy

and how it works is a lot different

than what else is out there.

So I just wanted to,

so as you're talking people are visualizing

and they go, okay, now I can see what you're talking about.

So we bring the vehicle in like we were talking about.

So what we do is we scan the vehicle

basically from the floor up from fender to fender, right?

So we basically scan the whole complete front of that vehicle

under the hood, top of the hood, everything, right?

We take that data back, then the engineers get it,

throw it on the computer and start with the design.

So we know what kind of design

we're looking for but we kind of just throw it up in the air

and let them kind of put it together

because the engineers we've had, we have at Canaan,

have been there for 10 plus years.

So they know kind of what the-

They understand the homework assignment.

Bingo, right?

So they know what we're looking for.

So they go through and they build it, design it.

Then we review it and look at it and say,

okay, this design is within what Canaan wants

as an intake system.

Once we do the buy off on that,

then what we'll do is we'll 3D print the intake.

So we 3D print it.

Once that's all done,

then what we'll do is we'll put it on the vehicle, right?

So we'll fit check it,

make sure whatever the engineer design, it'll fit,

make sure the bolts screw in the right place.

You know, we like to use all factory hardware possible.

We're not big on having a customer drill

or put holes in the vehicle.

Well, and on top of it,

a lot of the factory stuff now use like rubber pushdown.

Yeah, to isolate it and allow it to move with the engine.

But so you don't want a hard mounted air box.

You want something that moves with the rest of the drivetrain

and it moves with the engine and can do its thing.

And you don't want to make something so rigid

that it wants to pull the, you know, the boot off

or something like that from the intake tube

because it's too rigid, doesn't move with the drivetrain.

Right.

And that's another thing we look at

during the development side is

if you look at most of our intakes at the throttle body,

there's obviously a silk on hose to the throttle body

and the tube, right?

And if you look, most of our intakes use hump hoses.

And if it's not at the throttle body,

it'll be at the filter side.

So when that engine goes through its torque movement,

it's act like an accordion.

Yeah, perfect example, we'll go back to the 392

because we're talking about it.

But if you rev a 392, the entire body goes side to side

like old muscle car

because the Jeep suspension is so soft.

And if you do it with the hood open,

the engine does it more and then the body does it.

So it's like the whole things moving around

like that big old V8, you know, revving up in there.

Yeah.

And so these are all the things that we look at, right?

So during the development stage,

that is in the thought when they design the intake.

And then like I said, once we do a 3D print,

we fit it in the vehicle and look at it and say,

okay, you know, the bolt, you know, bolts in here,

fits here, you know, hood, we look at it

and look at it, they don't hit it 100% each time.

So we go back and modify as we go.

Once we are completely happy

with the way it fits in the vehicle,

then that's when we really start doing our testing, right?

We start doing airflow testing.

Then we'll take the vehicle and do road testing.

So we'll collect the data factory from the vehicle.

So we download all the data off the computer when it's stock,

go put the intake on, go on the road,

collect all the data from the intake.

Then we look at all the data,

make sure that what we're doing

isn't messing with airflow numbers, fuel trams,

you know, just, so on that point,

there's a lot of modern vehicles now

that you can put an intake on

and the car because of emissions and things like that

will go, oh, there's too much airflow

and it'll actually back out.

So you may do the first few runs

and you get big power gains

and then you do run two or three and they're gone

because the car itself has adjusted down.

And so there's like some tricks you have to do

to fool the computer or things you have to do

with airflow, like how hard is that

in a modern vehicle for some of these vehicles

that the computer is trying to keep everything

within this really tight box

and you're trying to say no,

we're trying to give the enthusiast

something a little bit more.

So one thing that we've done is

we worked with several companies,

actually we worked with GMO and whatnot

and we came up with a machine

that can test mass air flow sensors, right?

So we'll take the mass air, put it on the flow bench

and we'll read what the mass air shows

in a factory air box.

And then what we'll do is we'll take our device,

put it on there and do the same test.

And then we'll look at the math readings

and we'll give it a little bit of variance

so because the car will adapt to it, right?

So we know that if you go like 10% more

than what the factory is,

the things that throw check-ins like

and it's gonna be a mess.

It's not like the 2000s were intake headers

and exhaust and maybe a chip

and you had 25% more power.

We're calling for every little bit of percentage

to get more now because all these manufacturers

are so constrained and they also look at warranty

and things like that and they don't want you too far outside

because they are so tightly engineered now

and there's not as much on the table

for you as there used to be.

Yeah, and emissions, right?

So we won't go down that road,

but you get the emissions issue.

But the biggest thing that,

especially in the late model vehicles,

is the air flow and how the mass air works

with that intake system, right?

Because we've seen it,

the guys will run a car in a dyno

and let's say it makes 40 horsepower, 50 horsepower

and I'll look at them, I'm like, really?

Yeah.

What are we missing here, right?

And then next thing you know, they make another run

or they do a road, go on a road trip and whatnot

and then the things throwing check engine lights

are going lip mode.

So the most important or one of the most important things

is obviously making sure that mass air

is completely happy, right?

And here again, it goes all about the air flow.

So it's air flow, mass air,

get it on the dyno, see what it does

and then obviously look at what the vehicle was seeing

when we drive it.

So we'll take a vehicle out

and we'll run it like 30, 40 miles,

collect all the data, we'll go on the freeway,

we'll do, you know, stop and go,

we'll try to do real world testing

and then when the intake is put on,

we copy that same test.

And like I said, then we overlay all the data

and say, okay, we're good here, we're good here,

we're bad here, how do we adjust?

And I look at, we've been doing this for forever, right?

And there's many times where the engineers

are coming back and saying,

hey, I have to reprint this

because the air flow was too high,

let's just say, right?

Whoever thought that you'd have

too much air for a vehicle.

Totally, and I mean, it's K&N engineering.

I mean, you guys are an engineering firm first, right?

Like, yeah, you make all these great products

and you're known for your filters

and things like that,

but the building's filled with engineers.

So you have a building filled with problem solvers

who are working toward a common goal

of delivering some gains in one way or the other

to the enthusiast.

Yeah, at the end of the day, right?

So what I've told our group knows

that it's fit form function, right?

When someone spins good money on the intake system, right?

They wanna make sure it fits, right?

And then second, they wanna make sure that it performs, right?

Is it gonna give me the 15, 20 horsepower,

whatever we're talking about?

And the function is the thing

gonna have drivability issues, right?

That's the last thing that we want

is to build an intake and have people calling us saying,

hey, I got check engine light issues

or the car's going limp and whatnot.

So we really, really stress when it comes to the end of the day,

it's gotta be fit form and function.

Okay, so you go through all of this data for the 392.

It's got the special hydroguide system.

It's this cold air sort of through the hood from the factory,

but then you guys do something really different

with the air box that nobody else do.

Everybody kind of has this closed deal.

You guys sort of have a open element to draw in more air.

Yes, so that's one of the traditional intakes

that we did, right?

It's not an extension.

So yeah, what we did is obviously,

we built a custom intake tube, right?

It's like goes down to, I don't know what it was,

like two and a half and then the opening of it's like

six inches, right?

So we've got a big six inch conical filter

and the filter is a massive filter on it, right?

It's huge.

And part of that was obviously the airflow and all that,

but the dirt retention, right?

So we know it's gonna be exposed.

We know it's gonna be in a Jeep

and the Jeep should be on the dirt.

So it's like, get the biggest filter we can

and so it holds as much dirt as it can.

But going back to what you said is the design

is we wanted with the heat extracting and all that,

we wanted to make sure that we incorporated the heat shield

that it uses that factory inlet

so either to get air in or get air out, right?

Yeah, so the hood still feeds

the side of your custom air box.

Yep, and it's the same kind of technology

like what we do on say the Dermaxes

where they have the front mounted inlet

and it's got this big twisty deal

and it goes the same exact thing.

We try to use where the manufacturer has like

inlets and whatnot because look, they did.

They already did the millions of dollars of research.

Why beat them?

So if we can improve on certain areas,

that's where we're gonna improve on it, right?

But if we try to, what we do try to do

is try to use some of the stuff

that they've already engineered, right?

And that's where we went with the 392.

Yeah, you don't have to rebuild the entire mousetrap,

but if you can catch more mice with the same one,

that's pretty good.

That's a little bit better, right?

Yeah. Make it cooler, you know?

So that's how we look at all the applications,

whether it's a 392 or like I said,

a Ford truck, a Honda or whatever we did for an intake.

Yeah, that's awesome.

With the intakes, one of the biggest things

that we've tried to our consumer now

is like you're gonna get the most horsepower

on a factory tune, right?

Yeah. So when you buy an intake from us,

you do not have to go and get a tuner or any other stuff.

When we say you're basically optimizing

for what your vehicle came with from the factory.

Yes, right, with no issues, right?

So that's the biggest thing that we really,

you know, kind of pound our chest is,

we've done the testing, we've done our homework,

this is what you're gonna see when you buy it

and you will not have these issues.

Now, let's go extreme.

We do have sometimes where there's a vehicle

that just will not accept an intake, right?

And if that is what happens

and we work with the customer and go back and forth,

there's a lot of times where that customer

will call customer service,

they try to do what they can do,

but a lot of times I'll get the calls

and I'll talk to the customer and say,

all right, what's going on?

And kind of hear what they're saying

and kind of just get the real world

of what's happening, right?

And look at it, and if it doesn't work,

we have a no-house or warranty.

I mean, we will give you your money back,

not question it and say,

hey, hopefully on your next vehicle

or whatever. You'll think of us.

Yeah, yeah. So that's another thing that as K&N,

the company is like,

we want to make sure that we take care of that consumer.

And if by any chance there is a problem,

we'll make it right.

So having been at the magazines for over 20 years

and doing a ton of installs and product testing,

a couple of things I could tell you is,

I was always impressed by the K&N fit.

Many installs, especially when you got into

the more rotomolded newer style

where it looks like an air box

versus just an open filter element.

Most of that stuff you can install in 25, 30 minutes

if you have your tools laid out right to go.

It's really easy.

The products that you guys make are very user-friendly

for DIY and self-install.

And they've always had a gain for me.

I've always felt like, oh wow, okay,

this made a difference on the vehicle that I put on.

Right. So we just introduced

what we call our Next Gen Intix.

I was gonna ask you about that

because I saw that and they look pretty cool.

Yeah, so we believe that the best-looking intake

and the best-performing intake on the market, right?

And going back to what you were saying is,

what we have done is we've engineered out

all the hassle of the hardware, the nuts and bolts.

So yeah, you're gonna have a few nuts and bolts

here and there, but it's not like

what you would have seen, say, five, 10 years ago.

These intakes basically drop in and within 30 minutes

you pull the stock, you're probably harder

to pull the stock intake out than it is

to put one of our Next Gen intakes in, right?

So we're really happy with that product line.

We've gotten a lot of positive reviews

and people are getting, it's just a bitchin' lookin' intake.

And you're looking at, with those,

I'm guessing is it more engineered?

Because going through the marketing materials

you have your classic, which, for example,

just keep going back to the Jeep,

which you say is five to 10% over stock

and on the Jeep it's pretty much exactly 5% on 392.

It's just short of 27 horsepower on that.

So that's in line with the classic.

On the Next Gen, you talk about being able to get

10 to 15% hybrid air box with a large factory inlet,

oversize tube with integrated airflow channels,

Next Gen oversize quick lock,

high flow oil cotton filter.

So maybe walk us through,

what are you doing different on the Next Gen?

By the way, I like the racing stripe on the filter.

You have the conical filter and it's that normal,

like the reddish pink oil,

but then the top has the orange stripe on one of the pleats.

And I think it looks super cool.

Yeah, so that write-up that you just read,

that's Christian's fault.

Good job.

He did all that, right?

So going to the intake, like I said,

with technology, right?

So like I told you about the scanning

and going onto the computer or whatnot.

So yeah, there's a lot more engineering

on the front side where an engineer

is basically, you know, is designing a,

like a masterpiece, right?

Yeah.

One of the goals that we want to do with this Next Gen

is we wanted it to look as if it was gonna come

from the manufacturer that way, right?

So it's got a little bit of the OEM look,

but it's still an aftermarket part

that obviously performs and, you know.

Is that because consumers these days,

there's a lot more technology in the cars

and you get a lot of the engineering types

who are like, I like the performance,

I like the filter media,

but I don't want something under there

that's gonna draw a lot of attention

when you open the hood.

I want it to work and I want it to be the best,

but I don't need the boy racer parts of it.

That's where it kind of the OEM look, right?

That's why when you look at the tube and airbox,

it's got the texture to it,

because it kind of matches what's going on

underneath the hood.

And when we're building intake safe,

it's for, you know, a Chevy truck or whatnot.

We'll look at how the under hood looks

and we try to make sure that that intake

kind of goes with the flow of how the engine looks, right?

So each one is designed completely different.

Each one is designed per the applications going on.

So it's not any universal parts, right?

So when you buy a next gen for your Chevy truck,

now obviously it'll fit all the GM trucks, right?

But it's not gonna fit a Toyota.

Yeah, it'll be a different filter, part number.

Completely different because the design of the intake,

here goes, goes back to the size of the tube,

mass air placement.

It's more of a bespoke kind of approach to it

because rather than saying, okay,

here's all the parts we have on the shelf.

And if we make a custom tube and box,

we can put the rest of these things together

and make an intake and it's a great commodity.

The next gen is like, no,

we're gonna design the whole system specific

to that application.

Yes, and no universal, right?

So each kit is made for that application.

What do you think the enthusiast is looking for these days?

The customer's a little bit different, I would argue.

We talked about a little bit with the next gen,

but going back to the idea that performance

is a lot of different things.

It could be a better sound,

it could be more horsepower and torque,

it could be more fuel economy,

it could be more filtration efficiency.

Do you think it's platform specific

as to how you design these things

or do you think that in general,

the user is moving to one particular kind of want

in an intake or-

I think a little bit of both, right?

I think platform, right?

It's like the truck guy, he wants a certain look, right?

And then the, like the tuner market,

they're gonna want a certain look.

So definitely it's driven by platform.

So what is, speaking of platforms,

the biggest up and coming applications

that you guys are working on?

What are the things that you're seeing?

This is on the way, stay tuned,

we know you want it, we're hard at work at it.

So this is something that's out of Canaan's wheelhouse, right?

So we are just getting ready to introduce

another line of next gen intakes, but with a dry filter.

Okay.

Right?

Awesome.

So they're gonna be gas, it's gonna be Chevy Ford Dodge,

and I believe Toyota truck.

So we're gonna introduce, basically it's like the next gen,

the first release, but dry filter.

And then the first of next year, here's another one

that's out of our wheelhouse, is we're gonna do

a next gen diesel application, dry.

Oh, interesting.

Yeah.

So obviously we're, you know, Canaan is oiled gauze,

you know, we know the whole story there,

but we felt there are, there are customers out there.

That you're losing because there's of choice.

Correct, right?

So it's like we kind of, we didn't turn our back to it, right?

We didn't ignore it, we knew it was there,

but after having conversations with consumers,

and I mean, you'll go into the different cars

and coffees and stuff like that,

we're like, okay, there is a want for it, so.

I would agree with that.

I think that in certain segments,

the oiled filter, absolutely zero issues, no problem,

but I think that there are some people that are gun shy,

and I think they see Canaan as a filtration expert,

and I think you guys could put in whatever,

and they would go to it.

I think there's some people that for whatever reasons,

I mean, there's been plenty of internet posts,

rumors, this, that, over the years of,

oh, you know, Canaan does it, so no, it doesn't,

there's, here's all the data to back it up,

and you guys have done a good job

of kind of counter messaging when somebody pops up,

it's like whack-a-mole,

but it has poisoned a certain amount

of your potential consumer base,

and so when you're moving into dry filter,

I know it, you know, from a marketing standpoint,

you probably go, well, it's counter to our message

of what we have, but I don't think so,

because I think your message is filtration,

so I think it's just another alternative

under your banner, I would run a dry Canaan filter,

no questions asked, tomorrow,

like no issue with that whatsoever,

I think that would be cool.

Yeah, because if you know the history of Canaan

and going back earlier, we've tested it, right?

So we're not gonna release.

On dirt bikes, by the way,

so people go, oh, these things,

let all this dirt into your engine.

I'm like, you realize the company was founded

in racing in the desert, right?

You know, that's your roots.

Yeah, and the big segment now is side-by-sides, right?

So we've got those covered also.

So yeah, we felt the dry was something

that we needed to jump into.

There are the consumers that, like I said,

are afraid of oil just because of the myth from before,

and a lot of guys want the ease of a dry filter, right?

You pull it off, you hose it off, let it dry, throw it in.

Gotcha.

So now we got them covered, right?

So you want a wet filter with a premium air filter,

maximum air flow and all that, you got it.

You want a dry filter for ease of cleaning

and just to make you feel better, we got you.

Will they be comparable in flow and filtration?

Is there a trade-off between the two?

There is a little difference in flow.

Filtration, depending on the application,

filtration is almost identical to the oil.

And that's one of the things

that took us a little bit to release this, right?

We wanted to make sure that our oil filter,

we know what the filtration is on that, right?

So we need to make sure that we get the dry

pretty much spot on to what the oil is.

So we can tell the consumer, like,

look, you are buying the best filter

whether it's wet or dry, right?

And for me, as an off-roader,

I'm not afraid of the oil filter at all.

But if I'm doing a four or 500-mile trip

with a lot of people,

I'm not worried about the filter not filtering.

What I'm worried about is the dust packing up

which it could do on any filter with a dry filter.

I could take it out of the air box,

bang it out and throw it back in,

whereas I have to do a little maintenance,

which would be harder in the field on an oil filter.

So, you know, for that type of application

and for people who are doing that,

I think having that choice to say, okay,

here's a great intake.

Which way do you want to go is not a bad thing at all.

No, and like I said,

it took us a little bit to jump into that arena, right?

But I really think once we get in there,

Christian does some good write-ups on it, what not,

I'm gonna give them all the time.

I know some magazine guys who, yeah.

Some magazine guys, right?

And we give them all the data that is needed

to tell the consumer, like, hey, look it,

you can still feel safe with a dry filter.

Yeah, I think for me,

just coming from the marketing and media side is,

it's not even the data,

you provide the data, cool, thumbs up.

It's really the story behind it.

Who is this one right for

make it really easy for the customer to go,

oh, that's me, I'm gonna go with this one.

And that way you don't have any fence sitters like,

I just don't know, right?

If you can put a clear case for use case for each one

and it's not whether or not you get the K&N,

it's which one you get based on how you use your vehicle.

That's the way to go.

And that's very hard, right?

So we've done oil forever, right?

And for us to jump into the dry,

I mean, it's a tough jump,

but from the testing that we've done,

we have no doubts that the dry oil is,

you pick what you want

and you're gonna get the best product.

Can we go back to panel filters or replacements for a second?

Because I don't think people realize

you guys have the long life disposable,

the extended life disposable,

and of course the high flow lifetime oil,

which you've talked about.

Maybe walk us through that product line a little bit

because I think there's plenty of people out there

who maybe they can't afford a high flow

or maybe they just don't wanna deal with it

and they'll just drop in a replacement

or they want a quality replacement.

So yeah, so that are two of the main reasons we did this, right?

So cost, a lot of people,

some people just can't afford a $70, $80 filter,

but they want the performance, right?

So now we came up with the advantage line

that it's an affordable filter,

but it still has the K&N technology, right?

And it's disposable, right?

So you can throw it away,

but you can still buy them pretty inexpensive

and still get the guarantee that what K&N brings.

Including on the long life,

you guys say 50% more mileage than a traditional OE air filter.

And then you've got the extended life,

so it's double the mileage of a traditional air filter.

So the benefit is you're also getting a longer service life.

So it may not be the lifetime filter,

but you're getting pretty close to those numbers

before you would have to service a lifetime,

before you have to replace

one of your extended life disposables.

Yeah, cause one of the toughest thing about that was,

is finding a media that would be able to hold

to what we just noted, right?

And so here again, the testing,

going through the lab and going back and forth.

So once we finally landed on a media

that was gonna work for us,

then that's when we came out with the disposal site.

So I don't know, it's been less than 10 years probably,

but you guys made a big push into cabin air filters.

And cabin air filters are exploding.

They used to be only been luxury cars.

And now a lot of mainstream vehicles

have the cabin filters and you guys have jumped headfirst

into a reusable cabin filter.

And I've used them on my vehicles since they came out.

I absolutely love them.

And I've pulled out the stock filter

and you're like, ooh, you know,

and I've pulled out the K&N filter,

the same amount of that stuff,

but be able to wash it, reuse it,

throw it back in the car.

I think they're great.

Maybe talk about the cabin filters a little bit.

So yeah, so when the cabin filter thing came out,

a lot of people didn't even know they had them, right?

So once we got in and started looking at them,

the one of the big things here on the cabin filters is,

so it obviously goes within the air box

of the air conditioning system of the vehicle, right?

So the biggest thing, the key thing was not,

was restriction, right?

We didn't wanna restrict the airflow of the AC unit, right?

But we still needed to have a media

that was gonna be able to collect that dust and pollen

that you see on these cabin filters.

So the fitment of them, it's a lot difficult.

We can't just go out and buy an air box, right?

So we literally had to get vehicles.

We had to get, you know, get in there, scan them.

We had to tear the dashes apart.

I mean, it was a lot of work there, right?

Now, I'm talking the early years

before any of this data was out there.

So we dug into it.

We went headfirst here again.

I said it testing, right?

We had to find a media that wasn't restrictive,

but we had to get a media that would collect the dust

and hold it.

I've been a fan.

You guys, I believe you guys make disposable ones as well,

but I use the washable ones.

So yeah, we do have disposables

and we are actually looking at improving on that line

because here again, there are some people

that don't wanna clean up.

Well, maybe it's a lease car.

You're not gonna have it long enough

to pay the price for it.

You just wanna replace it, but you want something good.

I know that you guys have some of the claims on those filters

are like blocks up to 99.6% of influenza A viruses.

And I've seen what it blocks

because from an off-roading standpoint,

all the bugs and things that come into your car,

I'm like, well, all of this stuff stayed

out of my pasture compartment.

That's pretty nice.

And the nice thing about it too

is you don't get that big puff of dust

when you get back on the road and turn your AC up on high

and get all that dust in your face.

Especially like in your Jeep, right?

You go out on the trail, you get on a road, you turn the AC

and you're like, oh my God, right?

So does it stop 100% of that?

No, but does it stop a good 70, 80%?

Yes.

Yeah, it's good.

And then you guys also have it where it controls odor

and they're great and they're super easy to install.

Like for example, on the Jeep is instead of one panel

that's a paper media that you're bending

and trying to get it in there,

you just have to side by side, you put one in,

slide it over and put the next one in,

close the door, you're off to the race.

And that's an easy one, but we do have applications

where customer basically has to squeeze it together,

put it in the air box and then let it go and spring out, right?

And here again, that was in our design, right?

But we were able to design a filter

that you could squeeze, get in, let go and it works

and still seals.

Now, you guys have been doing oil filters for a long time.

People probably don't think of K&N necessarily

for oil filters.

So maybe let's move on to oil filters for a moment.

Sure.

So we've been doing oil filters,

I would say probably since the early, mid 90s, right?

Our cans are, I'm trying to remember off the top of my head.

I think the thing that makes them special

is you guys have the wrench nut on the backside

because it's so much easier,

especially if somebody cranks it on there

to get it off, cause you can put a wrench right,

you don't need an oil filter wrench,

you can use a regular open-ended or box-end wrench

and be able to get it off, that's a big deal.

So the nut and out where I was going is a can.

The can is a heavy case can.

So if it's on an off-road vehicle

and it gets hit by rocks and whatnot,

it's not gonna affect it.

But the biggest thing is the nut.

The message we keep telling people it's a wrench off filter.

We get a lot of people with that wrench or mind...

Yeah no, no, no.

Right?

Hand tide.

Yeah, hand tide in the oil filter, you're good.

And then when you go to get it off

you get a one-inch socket, get on there,

put it comes off and you know,

the ease of insulation is there.

You don't have to get an oil wrench

or any other stuff.

And the filters, they're a top line filter, right?

The media we put in, it's a synthetic media.

And it's compatible with synthetic

or traditional more oils as well.

Yeah, and even diesel, right?

So the oils that we put in diesel

is on how bad diesels are on oil.

The filter performs above what it should.

And now you guys are moving

into some industrial applications too.

You've got air conditioning filters

and things like that as well.

I mean, you guys have really expanded the product line

from, oh, I had a, you know,

conical intake on my, you know,

I think the first one I installed

was my 94 Ford Ranger four liter, right?

Like, that's how far back I go.

And then I had all sorts of canine stuff over the years,

but to think of like that to your product line now,

it's pretty incredible,

all the different things that canine does.

Yeah, so it kind of went back to what you said earlier.

It was like, you know,

where did canine go the last few years, right?

We didn't go away,

but we were investing in the core business on new products,

the HVAC, the commercial filters on it.

That's where we were looking at

because we know that's the next,

that's the next thing, right?

Is making sure that we have home filters

and industrial filters.

It's a natural progression.

I mean, let's be honest, there was a time about,

oh, let's say three or four months ago

where it looked like there's gonna be an EV mandate

and internal combustion agents were gonna go away

and that's a big part of your business.

So how do you diversify

while taking the technology that you're known for

in this area and applying to others?

So that totally get that.

But I'm sure that now that the EV mandate's gone away

and manufacturers like, ooh, let's bring back ice,

everybody probably taking a deep breath

and went, okay, all right, we're gonna be all right.

And it caught our attention, right?

So when that was going on,

I mean, we were paying attention, right?

And we had to start making some decisions, right?

So with that, it's like,

okay, we need to get into the home air conditioning

and the commercial and all that stuff

because we didn't know where the automotive industry

was heading, right?

So it was scary, especially for us gear heads, right?

It's like, man, so you tell me when I buy my next truck,

it's gonna be electric?

Yeah.

It's like, I'm keeping my truck forever.

Forever, yeah, yeah.

So-

And that doesn't help when you have a lifetime filter.

You're not gonna see that guy again.

Right, so it caught our attention

and we dug in and we said, okay,

what do we need to do for the next new product

that will take Kane into the next level?

Yeah, I was just looking at on the website,

all the different stuff that you guys have.

It's crazy.

I mean, you've got the pre-charger filters,

which I used to use on my Ranger all the time

for when I go to the desert.

I'd throw the sock over it and you've got,

I mean, I could go down and list fuel pumps,

custom, and think about the old round air filters

for hot rods and things like that.

Like you guys still have that kind of stuff.

And believe it or not, fuel filters.

I was just looking at the numbers

are 14 inch and are 16 inch filters.

We still sell quite a few.

Yeah, I'm like, who's gonna buy these, right?

Areas feel injected now, right?

But the hot rodders out there,

we make a 14 inch filter with what we call the extreme top

with the filter on the lid.

The filter on the lid instead of the aluminum

or metal top, yeah.

We're still building those things

and we still have a lot of, or it's like.

It's so cool.

It's crazy, right?

It's like, man, who uses a carburetor anymore?

Hot rodders.

Yeah, I know, I get it, but it's like.

Hey, I've got a 1941 Ford Flat Fender in the garage

with a Buick Audifier V6 in it.

I'm one of those guys.

Yeah, I get, well, so am I.

I mean, my race cars all have carburetors on, right?

So I'm still that old guy.

It's like, everybody's like, put fuel injection on.

It's like, nah, I know how to tune a carburetor.

Fuel injection, that's for the young guy, right?

Stubstacks, planems, carburetor adapters,

inline fuel and oil filters for gas engines.

You've got, you even got a line of carbon fiber pieces

to make it look modern.

I mean, vent breathers for diffs and transmissions

and things like that.

I mean.

And then chemicals.

The chemicals, of course you've got the cleaners

for getting all the old oil and dirt out

and then you've got the new oil

and the aerosol oil's nice

because you don't over oil.

I remember when people first got

into servicing their filters,

they would just put gobs of oils that was just dripping up

and all you need to do is just,

I used to put a little bit of a few drops on the ridge

and let it soak through, flip it over to the other side,

boom, done.

Yeah, so you'd want the wick, right?

Yep.

Kind of goes back to the problem

where the oil versus the drying.

Where people don't want to do that.

They just want to clean it and run, right?

But the guys that know how to oil filters,

they know that you don't just get in there

and smash it, right?

You just got to be real selective

of how much oil you put on them.

So tell me something about K&N that nobody knows about.

Ooh, that's a good one.

Let me think about that for a second.

I'm just trying to see where that can go, right?

That's a hard question

because we're pretty open about what we do.

I mean, obviously every intake that you do

has the dyno chart that you can download

right on the website, right under the application.

You explain the whole process to people of how you test,

which is pretty interesting

if anybody wants to go to the K&N website,

which is knfilters.com.

There's just a ton of resource on there

that is really great.

I know you guys recently moved manufacturing to Texas.

That was a pretty big deal.

Yeah, so we took our, our facility was in Riverside

and we moved to Texas.

And really the bottom line is that move was logistics, right?

So we basically put us right in the country.

Your central country.

So it can go to both sides in two days, right?

So we wanna make sure that we can get the product

out to people without them having to wait

to five, seven, 10 days.

So our main manufacturing is in Texas.

So in Riverside,

that's where all of our product development is.

So that's where the dinos is, the-

So you guys are still there, HQ is still there,

but the logistics manufacturing shipping

is what moved to Texas.

Yes, yeah.

So Riverside has roughly 40 people in there.

And then like I said, then in Dallas,

we've got, I think our number is like close to 500 or so.

Yeah.

And you're close to carb too,

because you still gotta get EO numbers

and things like that and go through that process,

which is a whole lot of fun for every manufacturer.

We don't need to talk about that right now.

Yeah, they're actually,

which is funny, carb is like a rock throw

from where we are.

Yeah, so I mean, if you're gonna be doing it,

you might as well try and be in the neighborhood

and have a good relationship with it.

And we do have a good relationship.

Fine folks at that alphabet agency.

Yes, yeah, we love them.

Car people all love tremendously.

Love you, love you carb.

Okay, so what would you like the people listening

to the podcast to know about Canaan?

Is there anything we didn't cover?

Is there anything about the brand that you feel like

somebody's on the fence,

they're thinking about a filter,

they're thinking about intake.

What's the one thing you'd want them to know

to push them over to the edge and get your product?

So the big thing is research, right?

If you have any doubts,

we have a ton of data on our website, right?

So if you're nervous about oil filter and mass airs,

we have a big write up about the testing we did

with oil and mass airs.

If you have questions about dry filters,

look at everything that we build,

we have an answer on our website that you can go in

and you can, you know, research it.

Do yourself that, at least that, you know,

get in there and see what we do

and see what we're saying.

Because I guarantee our customers are,

the people that are competing with us

don't have nearly as much data as what we have.

You know, dyno testing, right?

I mean, if you talk about in a year,

we will dyno probably over 250 vehicles a year, right?

Tell me who can do that.

Yeah.

You know, some of the dyno's that we use,

we even had those manufacturers come to us

and test product on their dyno

because they know we're running a dyno's.

Air filter, the filtration side of it.

I mean, our lab, we test, test, test,

and all that data is on our website.

So if you had any questions, go and look

because it's right there.

Okay, so we've talked a lot about the 392G.

Yes.

Why?

Why that vehicle?

Why?

Yeah.

I guess you can say it saved my life

since I tried to pancake one on the highway.

So I, here's my deal.

I got a 392, the second I drove it,

I was like, man, this thing is stupid, awesome.

It doesn't have auto start stop.

It doesn't have a second battery.

It doesn't have a hybrid.

It doesn't have a turbo.

It's just a big, stupid V8.

Now, if you look at it, it's an older V8.

Yeah, it's an older V8 that they built millions of

in RAM heavy duties, in SRTs, and all sorts of stuff.

So it's proven.

And it's, again, it's like you pull up next

to a kid in a Civic or a Mustang

and you smoke them in a dumb Jeep

and then you push the little quiet exhaust button,

like the happy neighbor button.

And people like look around like, what made that noise?

And you're like, you know?

So you're missing something else.

I got you covered.

We should make that happen.

I got you covered.

So my 23392 is being replaced with a 25

and that is now sitting at AV right now

and I'll pick it up and I think four weeks or so.

And then I'll bring it home

and we'll start making it cool.

I'm looking at the 35 extra pound feet of torque

from that intake and it's making me go, hmm.

So to tell you, I think we got some coolness

in the trunk of our car.

Oh, really?

Yeah.

All right, well, I like that.

Well, all right, so now you guys are listening

and you're getting jealous

but you don't have to be jealous

because when we're talking about the K&N crew,

nobody ever says lower than the suckage.

No, they say increase the suckage

because they're high flow

and K&N has graciously offered listeners

for the next 30 days from when this episode aired,

listeners of the Truck Show podcast,

you can get 15% off from the K&N filter website,

intake, air filters, oil filters, cabin filters.

So use lower case Truck Show pod

and that's on the website, which is knfilters.com

and we will put that on the website as well.

So if you wanna pass that on to a friend,

buy as many intakes and filters

and I just heard the crowd,

the people listening, they just responded.

They're very happy with that discount.

Like you said, just don't buy one, buy two, buy three.

That's right.

Think about it, Christmas is coming up.

Oh, yeah, that's right.

All days are here, so time to share the love.

That's right, get your Christmas shopping in early.

Also, I noticed that on some of your intakes,

when you buy the intake,

you also get the cabin filters included,

which is, that's like a no branch.

So if that application comes with cabin filters,

you get it as part of the deal.

So go on our website, we're always running sales like that.

And that's obviously one of the Christians,

one of his jobs is to make sure that gets done correctly.

I mean, you just see, you're like,

man, I should probably get a cabin filter.

I'll just do the intake.

Oh, I get it for free.

Boom, I'm just getting done, right?

So really appreciate you guys coming out

to the pod shed and the fact that, again,

15% off on knfilters.com for the next 30 days,

intake, air, oil, cabin filters.

So that's lower case Truck Show pod.

Make sure you guys take advantage of that

and thanks for coming out.

This is awesome.

Thanks for having us.

This is cool.

And here again, I'm gonna put this out

if you want to come to-

You're drunk?

The-

The track.

Yeah, well, that went long, but at any point,

the development center is in Riverside,

back in the old days,

if you want to come out, you're more than welcome.

I'd love to, I haven't,

I've probably, it's been no joke 10 or more years

since I've been out to the Riverside facility.

It's been a long time.

Things have changed and it's all been for the better.

Yeah, I would love to check it out.

All right, well, I'll see you guys in Riverside.

Thanks, sir.

Thank you, Bert Heck, and thank you, K&N, for joining us

and thank you for the awesome discount code

for the Truck Show podcast listeners.

So for you guys are looking for an intake

or filters, oil filters, air filters, cabin filters,

don't forget to use the code Truck Show pod,

all lower case on the K&N website, knfilters.com

and get yourself or some friends

some new filtration products.

All right, before we go,

let's see what's going on in the inbox.

You email, yeah, I email, do it, we email,

that's right, everybody email, type it up,

you email, proofread, I email, send it,

we email, click it, everybody email.

Ha!

All right, got this one from Dan Church

and he says, what's going on, Mr. Holman?

First, so glad you and Marin are healing up

and getting back to normal.

Thank you.

We're making some good progress.

She'll be doing PT hopefully soon,

her skin graft's almost healed up on her foot

and I've been doing lots of shoulder PT in the pool

so we're both feeling pretty good

and working our way back.

Love seeing the posts of her walking across the stage

and hearing the magical of my voice

has spontaneously returned to episode.

Is that amazing?

I mean, think of where I was just a couple months ago

and listen to my voice now.

This is all new content

and I couldn't be happier to be able to bring it back

to you guys and not struggle through.

So anyway, says continued prayer for you both.

Thank you.

We're not out of the woods yet

in terms of what we need for recovery and things like that

so appreciate all your prayers.

Please don't stop.

We definitely heard them

and thank you for all the listeners.

You guys have been like family to us

and we greatly appreciate it.

Second, I just finished the Mike Rice episode

and new rig deliberation, great choice.

I went Bronco Raptor and absolutely love it.

My buddy has a 392 and we hit some deep Sierra Nevada snow

over the winter and then the Rubicon several weeks ago.

I did post some content you may recall, who knows?

Yes, I do remember that.

Over the runs we've done,

he's inked me out of some sketchy spots

and I've done the same for him.

We both agree the machines are both amazing

and we are all very fortunate to have these choices

and are splitting hairs across these rigs

with so much of it as you always say

quote unquote use case specific

and just flat out personal preference.

I've always been a Ford guy

so know if I ran your shoes

I'd probably go back to a Raptor variant

but if I'm you, it's 100% go 392.

That thing is a beast.

I was listening to the episode

telling myself he's going 392.

We already know this

but loved the honest look into all the options out there

and Rice trying to get you to consider

some big dude three quarter tons.

That said, I'm curious if the 392 makes his way

into the gladiator, would you have gone that way

and had a bed?

Take care of my friend

and hope to see you on the trail someday, Dan Church.

Yeah, Dan, the 392 was never destined

for the gladiator ever.

I think I've explained it on here before

it was a program called J9.

It was done under Kineskis when he was at Jeep

and then priorities had changed by the time

he left and Morrison came back

and it would just never got the development dollars

even though it's the same basic platform.

And as we've talked in the more recent episodes

with Bob at the helm

and Kineskis fighting hard for the return of Hemi.

Stalantis is righting a lot of wrongs.

Of course, the big beautiful bill

and the EV mandate and some of the things

are changing the landscape and regulations.

All of those things are getting to a point

where yes, a V8's coming to the gladiator

probably the 392 because the development's

basically done on that.

If there were a 392 gladiator,

I would have been all over that.

To me, it's the best of all the worlds

and the one thing the gladiator lacks

is a lot of powertrain options.

And so while the V6 is great for most people,

I think that platform can give a little bit more

and it needs more power to do that

and the 392 is great, but I'll tell you,

if it came out tomorrow

with a Ram 5.7 Hemi, I wouldn't be mad.

I think a truck Hemi would be awesome in the gladiator.

So that's kind of where I land on that.

I think the gladiator is a great vehicle.

I think that having a mid-sized solid axle pickup truck

is super rad.

I'm glad we have that out there.

And we'll see what the future brings,

but I'm definitely excited for it.

All right, let's check in with the five-star hotline.

Oh, come on and be part of the show.

Call the five-star hotline.

657-205-6105.

It's the five-star hotline.

Five-star hotline.

What's up, woman?

Hey, it's Rich, and you're a period holster.

Hey, I'm not sure if anybody or how many people know or not,

but just because I deal with the big fleet of vehicles

and we've had a lot of issues during the last few years

with heavy rain, is everybody aware

that if you have a leak in your truck, for example,

your sunroof is leaking?

I know a lot of the superduties, especially the 2011

through 2016, one of the trucks, my big black truck

that I drive, has issues with the sunroof leaking.

Everybody on here know that by simply placing charcoal

in your truck, a bag of charcoal, I don't do a full bag,

but I usually stuff, I'll put three or four things of charcoal

into a black sock, and I'll put it under the seat.

Charcoal absorbs the moisture.

And my mom's Jetta had a huge leak

where it comes in up with that particular year of Jetta

in the 2013, where the water was just pouring in.

I put a bag of charcoal in the trunk,

along with a bag of charcoal in the back seat, so on.

And the charcoal absorbed all the moisture,

got rid of everything.

And the smell.

So just a handy tip, if you don't know

how to get rid of that stench from your car,

just put some charcoal in there.

I guarantee you it'll work.

I wouldn't put it directly onto nice carpet

because it'll stain it.

But put it into a black sock or put it into a bag,

something like a potato sack or something.

Put it in your car, and in a matter of a few days,

it'll absorb the smell and the moisture.

So anyway, you're doing awesome, brother.

It's so nice to have you back.

It's nice to hear your voice again.

Man, God is good, and we're so, so freaking blessed

to have you and your daughter still with us.

Hope you have an awesome day.

Keep monitoring those crazy, funky parameters.

And love you, dude.

Talk to you later.

Bouncer, monitor key engine parameters.

Thanks, Rich.

Always great to hear from you,

and thanks for the tip for the Truck Show Podcast listeners.

We appreciate it greatly.

All right, well, that's gonna do it

for this episode of the Truck Show Podcast.

If you miss us between shows,

be sure to follow us on social at Truck Show Podcast

or at Sean B. Holman.

Or be part of the show, five star hotline,

657-205, 61 to five.

The Truck Show, the Truck Show, the Truck Show, whoa, whoa.

And don't forget to give us your feedback,

Truck Show Podcast at gmail.com.

I might read your letter or your thoughts on the air.

And be sure to join the Facebook group,

The Podshed Insiders, because, well, why not?

Send me events if you have them, know your notes.

And I'd like to thank our great sponsors,

Amazon Oil, obviously one of the best out there.

If you love your vehicles like we do,

they offer the best in synthetics.

You can get oil change kits,

car care products, and you can buy online, amsoil.com.

And for the fantastic line of Kershaw knives,

get yours today, kershaw.kaiusa.com

and use the code 2TSP2025

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And of course, if you love adventure and gear,

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And you also get a discount there as well.

And please, if you wanna know what the discount codes are

or what the current offers are,

go to the website, truckshowpodcast.com

and you can go under the featured products tab.

You can also listen to the episodes there as well.

All right, thank you everybody for listening.

Thank you so much for the crew from K&N

for coming in studio.

And that'll wrap it up.

Let's do it again real soon.

The Truck Show Podcast

is a production of Truck Famous LLC.

This podcast was created by Sean Holman and Jay Tillis,

hosted by Sean Holman.

And uses production elements by DJ Omar Khan and Jay Tillis.

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please open your Apple Podcast or Spotify app

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And if you're a fan, there's no better way

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Some vehicles may have been harmed

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For those seeking a monitor, only the brand new GPX1 stock

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It's quick to start and magnetic mount

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master monitor key engine parameters

right from your dash.

S3, E43 - Bert Heck, K&N

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About this episode

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