K&N Air Filters?

[Robert B]

In my humble opinion, they are worth the expense. Over the life of the filter, you'd save from not buying a paper filter every year. As previously mentioned, you have to be willing to clean the filter every 6-12 months. Performance gains, I haven't measured the before and after, but based upon the design vs the paper filter that came with my Sonata, I'd have to guess it is more efficient in trapping dirt in the air.

[Dan Meyer]

If all it took to produce a ten percent fuel economy increase was a fancy air filter, why are they not installed by the automakers at the factory?

Also, if these things do a poor job of traping dust, I would bet that the use of them voids any warranty on your engine.

-- Dan Meyer

[Donald Stahl]

Dan,
I can see you are a gambling man. Word of advice - don't bet anymore than you can afford to lose !! I called the Honda dealership before I bought one of those filters - no voids. How much did you say you would wager? lol !! Don

[Brian B-P]

Dan, I had the same thought, and I think the answer comes in two parts...

First, as Roger just clarified, his improvement was not from just the filter.

The second part is that even if it helped economy this filter design would not be acceptable for a regular production vehicle, potentially due to effectiveness in handling the finest particles, but certainly due to the maintenance requirement. Most owners will not have the air filter serviced as frequently as is being advised here, and any shop would charge so much to clean and re-oil one that any economic advantage over disposable filters would be wiped out. Auto service shops don't even rebuild starters or alternators to save the owners hundreds of dollars... they're not going to wash filters, and the manufacturers are not going to put them in the position of doing it.

Although I don't use a K&N filter anymore, I do see some applications where it would make sense, for some owners.


And Don, I wouldn't bet on any information from a dealership being right. The test comes when you have an engine failure and try to get the warranty claim paid, which is not determined by the dealership.

[Patrick M.]

First, let me say I know little about this subject although I did have an oil-bath filter on my 1970 VW Bus!

After a quick read over that the Honda Element forum which lead me to Bob The Oil Guy who did some air flow and filtration tests http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm and has several threads in his forum discussing the topic which leads to other tests, my considered opinion is:

Any HP or MPG benefit is probably due to the placebo effect from the "throaty roar" I keep reading about!
More dirt apparently gets into your engine using the K&N.
If Honda engineers aren't slapping them on, why should I?
and
I gave up oil soaking filters 30 years ago and don't care to go back!

Again, since I don't know anything much about these I can't argue with those who would disagree, and there seems to be a lot of that in the other forums!

[Donald Stahl]

Brian,
You are right when you say that the air filter is not the sole reason for better mileage. It has been my experience that with conservative driving around town, There is not a great deal of difference in the mileage. At highway speeds is where the best performance is. As you say, dealerships may well be wrong about what qualifies under warrenty. They were wrong when they told me that synthetic oil is a waste of money and that is where the greatest improvement came. I have not seen any fine particles of dust going through the filter, but then, we live in a mountain area where such things do not contaminate the air. Still, the filter does pick up plenty of larger particles so regular maintenance is a must. Thanks to everyone here for their considered inputs. Don

[Roger H]

Any HP or MPG benefit is probably due to the placebo effect from the "throaty roar" I keep reading about!

You mean the obnoxious howl?

No, no... I'm sure the benefits are from the really "cool" look under the hood.

Roger

[Loren G. Hedahl]

I was under the impression that the dirtier they got the better they filtered.

If so, why bother to clean them?

Better yet, why purchase a new one for $40 when you could likely get an old one that filters better than a new one for less than $5 at a junk yard?

Loren

P.S. Flame suit already on!

[Donna D.]

I was under the impression that the dirtier they got the better they filtered.

If so, why bother to clean them?

Better yet, why purchase a new one for $40 when you could likely get an old one that filters better than a new one for less than $5 at a junk yard?

Loren

P.S. Flame suit already on!

I'm not about to flame you Loren, and neither is anyone else

But you made a good point. Wrecking yards are a great place to get stuff...everything from the filters you mentioned (although trust me, wrecking yards know the value!), to wheels, to hitches, I'm a firm believer in recyling AND saving money.

[Roger H]

Loren, I was going to flame you, but I seem to have misplaced my flamethrower tonight... Those aren't unreasonable questions at all. The problem is that the dirtier the filter gets, the more it restricts airflow. Unrestricted airflow was the reason you buy the thing to begin with and why it has whatever benefits it's alleged to have.

Eventually though, the oil just kind of dries up and it doesn't filter nearly as well as with the tiny amount of oil on the filter medium. I think the filter on my Excursion uses some huge amount of oil like 1.8oz per cleaning.

Roger