When a company has been in a market for close to 50 years, you expect that company to know a thing or two. K&N Engineering is constantly proving that they aren’t just resting on their laurels, but continuing to innovate and redsign products for the marketplace.

With the market for air intakes a very crowded place, K&N stands out by not only offering multiple lines of products to appeal to everyone, but also by offering a well-engineered solution for those who care more about performance than looks.

“All of our late model intakes, and really all of our intakes in general, are designed to be bolted-in in and go,” says David Hill, K&N’s Sales Manager. “The end user needs no special tools. The installation requires no special modifications to the car, and no reprogramming of the computer is required. [K&N intakes] work well with other modifications, but they aren’t required for the intake.”

To that end, a significant amount of R&D went into the company’s 2018 Mustang intake system, which features a closed-off heat-shield and significant gains at the wheels.”Our new 2018 Mustang GT system provided gains of 18 horsepower and 12 lb-ft at the wheels over stock,” Hill says. “It uses a roto-molded shield instead of an aluminum one, allowing for a better fit and better barrier to engine heat. The tube is rotomolded as well so that we can maintain the most beneficial airflow.”

K&N’s rotomolding technology allows the design team to easily depart from straight lines and perfect circles in order to create the ideal path for the air coming into the engine. “By being molded, we can really control the path of the air as it goes into the engine with the least restriction,” says Hill. “Most of the time, the molded kit will provide the most performance, where the metal kits offer a more stunning look that some people prefer.”

Whether you prefer all-out performance or a little bling under your hood, check out K&N’s website for a full listing of their available applications.

In addition to the rotomolded kits, K&N offers their lineup of aluminum tube and heat shield intakes. This model, from their Black Hawk series, is aimed at those who like the “blacked out” look while still providing performance increases.