K&N unveiled their new Blackhawk Induction air intake systems at SEMA last week. The new series features a black powder coated metal intake tube with a black reusable K&N air filter made with Dryflow synthetic media and a welded K&N engraved plate. Much like existing products, the dry synthetic K&N Blackhawk air intakes feature the million mile warranty and are washable and reusable; they provide added airflow for more power and torque while protecting your engine. We spoke with Bert Heck from K&N Engineering to discuss the benefits of the new dry synthetic system.

“We’ve seen that the trend in the market was looking for a blacked-out type kit so we felt that this was a good fit,” says Heck “This is not a cotton oil filter like our traditional, this is a dry synthetic media that we’ve had made especially for this type of application.”

While they look great, they still provide the results for which K&N is known. “Traditionally we’re seeing anything from 10 to 15hp gains, depending on the application,” said Heck when asked about power gains. K&N puts their money where their mouth is by providing dynographs of each application directly on their website so you can see exactly what kind of increase you would be looking at for your vehicle.

Tom Nelson from Nelson Racing was on hand at the booth to discuss his latest project which was featured in the K&N display. Maxiumus is a 2,000hp 1968 Dodge Charger that features K&N filters, as do all of his projects. “We always use K&N Filters on these cars because they need just massive amounts of air, so we need to filter that air,” says Nelson, before adding, “As a matter of fact, this motor here is actually when we turn the wick up is even capable of as much as 3,000hp and these filters don’t actually rob any horsepower.”

If you’re looking for a more toned down look for the underhood appearance of your project, be sure to check out the K&N Blackhawk systems.