K&N replacement air filter

[virtuman1980]

I was just wondering how good are these filters compared to the factory ones? How much do they cost in average? Is it worth it? Do they improve gas mileage? I believe they're re-useable...so how do you clean them? Do you need special solution to clean them? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Canuck_2005]

this is just going to cause a flame war so i will give you the lowdown

K&N filters dont filter as good as regular paper filters from the mfg. They have also been linked to o2 sensor failures do to the sticky nature of the oil sticking to the sensor and causing it to through a code. replacing them can be expensive.

Yes you need to re-oil and clean every 50,000km. this requires a filter charger kit that costs about 15 bucks and should be good for the life of a few filters. Over oiling them can be a BIG problem so make sure you dont over do it if you buy a used one

They do allow a little bit more air flow then most of the competition, but any claims to feeling "Power increase" on a stock car will be all in your head.

Personally I use them in both of my cars mainly because of the reusability. I will probably switch over to the now AEM Dry micro filters if i had to make the purchase today

[Evil Techie]

this is just going to cause a flame war so i will give you the lowdown

K&N filters dont filter as good as regular paper filters from the mfg. They have also been linked to o2 sensor failures do to the sticky nature of the oil sticking to the sensor and causing it to through a code. replacing them can be expensive.

Yes you need to re-oil and clean every 50,000km. this requires a filter charger kit that costs about 15 bucks and should be good for the life of a few filters. Over oiling them can be a BIG problem so make sure you dont over do it if you buy a used one

They do allow a little bit more air flow then most of the competition, but any claims to feeling "Power increase" on a stock car will be all in your head.

Personally I use them in both of my cars mainly because of the reusability. I will probably switch over to the now AEM Dry micro filters if i had to make the purchase today

usually it isnt the O2 sensor that gets messed up

it is the MAF sensor (mass air flow)
which can be cleaned easily (but carefully)

basically K&N required oil in its cotton filter elements to absorb the contaminants in the air
whenever you wash and recharge it, you have to spray the oil on it
mostly it is the overspraying of oil that causes the MAF sensor being covered up

OEM paper filters usually do a better job at cleaning the air entering the engine
but sometimes they can be too restrictive when going above 10000km

you do save money with K&N in the long run if you are careful when re-oiling
and it can also help with low idle issues in some cases

but i wouldnt buy an K&N based on the horsepower increase of 3~5hp
unless you are buying a whole short ram air intake kit which adds much more power

[Action Jackson]

For gas milage and lower noise, stick with OEM.

On it's own (unless you own a car with big HP), they won't give that much power.

They do allow more contaminants into the engine bay. That's part of the tradeoff for having increased airflow.

I usually clean and re-oil mine every other oil change so roughly 10,000 km. I inspect it every oil change (5,000km).

[pfbmgd]

Used K&N filters in all my cars to date .I only had to clean my MAF sensor once .

[Pete_Coach]

One of the best automotive sites I have found is
http://www.batauto.com/

This is a topic from one of the forums. It speaks of an individual replacing an exhaust but, the principal explained is sound for intake and exhaust. You cannot bring in more at one end without affecting the other. In essence, the suck and blow part of the suck, squeeze, bang and, blow theory needs to be right for it to work.
http://www.batauto.com/Forums/index.php/topic,3.0.html

[hytong]

http://www.miata.net/garage/KnowYourCar/S4_Back.html

[Woxof38]

I've been looking around for a K & N filter for my Hyundai Elantra. I've been having a heck of a time finding one. It seems on one has any in stock. Is anyone else experiencing this? I'm in Saskatchewan.