K & N filter

[bluebirdvision]

I was thinking about buying a K&N air filter. My Dad has one on his Avalanche and it (along with the high flow exhaust) increased the horsepower and the fuel economy by quite a large margin. Would it be worth the $50 or so dollars to add it to my car? I'm not really looking to increase the horsepower because I drive like a little old man, just the fuel economy. I'm only getting about 23mpg combined highway/city.

 

I'm wondering if just the filter (without the cold air intake) is worth adding to the car!

 

Thanks

BBVISION

[Schurkey]

I was thinking about buying a K&N air filter. My Dad has one on his Avalanche and it (along with the high flow exhaust) increased the horsepower and the fuel economy by quite a large margin. Would it be worth the $50 or so dollars to add it to my car? I'm not really looking to increase the horsepower because I drive like a little old man, just the fuel economy. I'm only getting about 23mpg combined highway/city.

 

I'm wondering if just the filter (without the cold air intake) is worth adding to the car!

 

Thanks

BBVISION

I wouldn't bother. Paper is fine.

[White93z34]

I ran a drop in K/N for awhile. never noticed any difference. last I read a good paper filter filters every bit as good and lets less dirt in then a k/n.

 

if you gotta run a cone filter then so be it a k/n will be fine

[jman093]

I've never noticed a difference either with just a drop-in filter. Definitely not worth $50 IMO. If you could find a new one off ebay or something like 15 or 20 bucks, it might be worth a try. And no air filter will ever increase fuel economy. The exhaust on your dad's truck might have helped it, but not the filter.

[urbex]

Yeah a CAI or exhaust will be where you will see a difference, not the filter. I wouldn't waste the money. Sure you can clean and reuse KN filters, but in all honesty how often do you really need to replace it?

[bluebirdvision]

OK. Thanks I won't bother spending the money, I don't know if I'm going to keep the car long enough to bother putting an exhaust on it.

[xtremerevolution]

Yeah a CAI or exhaust will be where you will see a difference, not the filter. I wouldn't waste the money. Sure you can clean and reuse KN filters, but in all honesty how often do you really need to replace it?

 

Over the course of 150k miles? Quite a few times.

 

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[Jssuper]

I especially liked them in my Jeeps because I could clean it at the end of a off-road trip. Makes a difference when you are at a Jeep Jamboree following 30 Jeeps on a dusty trail. For my Buick... nah. Now if you decide to go with a true CAI (Make no mistake, just having a cone filter on a tube sitting exposed under the hood is NOT a true cold air intake). Replacing the box and ducting with a better, free flowing design is what is helping his mileage.

[skitchin]

Yeah, gotta agree - true CAI or stay stock. The box filter design actually takes in more cool air vs a Warm Air Intake(cone in the engine bay), which in theory should produce more power(pretty minimal at that). However, they say a WAI can actually help with fuel economy by basically making the motor lean out a bit(lean is bad for your motor). Here's what wikipedia has to say

 

All warm air intakes operate on the principle of decreasing the amount of oxygen available for combustion with fuel. Warm air from inside the engine bay is used opposed to air taken from the generally more restrictive stock intake. Warmer air is less dense, and thus contains less oxygen to burn fuel in. The car's ECU compensates by opening the throttle wider to admit more air. This, in turn, decreases the resistance the engine must overcome to suck air in. The net effect is for the engine to intake the same amount of oxygen (and thus burn the same amount of fuel, producing the same power) but with less friction losses, allowing for a gain in fuel economy, at the expense of top-end power.

 

Opposite principle of a cold air intake (CAI) which significantly differs by collecting air from a colder source outside of the engine.

[urbex]

Over the course of 150k miles? Quite a few times.

 

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Replace an air filter? Aren't you supposed to change them every 50k miles or so? That'd be 3 times. And what does a paper one cost, like $10? So $30 or $50 for a KN?

 

Now if you live/drive in an extremely dusty or dirty area that may be different.

[Jssuper]

I replace mine every 10K or so.. basically every 3rd oil change.

[Schurkey]

I replace mine every 10K or so.. basically every 3rd oil change.

My air filters look like new at 10K. 'Course, I change oil at 6K.

[white4d96]

When I ran a paper filter it was BLACK when I checked it at each change. There's a lot of farm fields by me and I wonder if that contributed to the nastiness. Now I have a reusable cone and I clean it at each oil change.

[ScoobyDoo82]

When I ran a paper filter it was BLACK when I checked it at each change. There's a lot of farm fields by me and I wonder if that contributed to the nastiness. Now I have a reusable cone and I clean it at each oil change.

 

Yeah your environment most likely did because Ive put 27,000 miles on my Cav since I bought it and it still has the same air filter in it, and its barely even dirty.

[white4d96]

Doesn't help we're considered one of the worst air-quality cities in America either lol. We either get the smog from Chicago or the smog from Milwaukee, sometimes both!

[urbex]

On my HHR I changed it at 50k and it looked new. If I hadn't had already bought a filter I would have just put it back in. The Lumina's filter has about 30k on it and still looks about new.

[Jssuper]

Agreed, I think climate has a lot to do with it. Utah is, by and large, a dry climate, thus... dust. Now be aware I am stickler for maintenance... So I might be changing a little early possibly but I just like a white filter dammit....

[Schurkey]

When I ran a paper filter it was BLACK when I checked it at each change. There's a lot of farm fields by me and I wonder if that contributed to the nastiness. Now I have a reusable cone and I clean it at each oil change.

Little-known fact about oiled-gauze (K&N style) air filters:

 

UNTIL THEY'VE GOT 1/8" of CRUD STUCK TO THEM, THEY SHOULD NOT BE CLEANED.

 

Oiled-gauze filters don't filter their best until they've got some oiled dirt embedded in them. The oiled dirt actually becomes part of the filter; helping to remove dirt from the air. Show me a pretty, fresh oiled-gauze filter, and I'll show you a filter that's letting dirt into the engine.

 

Clean 'em too often, and they become damaged--the microscopic cotton fibers begin to break down.

 

For MOST people, cleaning a gauze filter is the WORST thing they can do to it.

 

http://www.knfilters.com/faq.htm#4

 

If you have not experienced a decrease in mileage or engine performance, chances are your filter is fine and does not yet need cleaning. To be more specific, the filter does not require cleaning if you can still see the wire screen on the entire air filter regardless of how dirty it may appear. When the screen is no longer visible some place on the filter, it is time to clean it. When used in normal paved road, street or highway conditions, our replacement air filters that fit in the factory air box should require cleaning every 50,000 miles and our large conical filters on an intake system should require cleaning every 100,000 miles. When used in dusty or off-road environments, our filters will require cleaning more often. We recommend that you visually inspect your filter once every 25,000 miles to determine if the screen is still visible.

 

Cleaning every oil change...Woof.

[sl3196]

I run them in every vehicle I own. $50 for a lifetime filter sounds like a good deal to me. (of course 2 of them are cone filters but the Tahoe is just a stock drop in)