Calling out to all motorheads

That info helps a lot. If I don't end up putting an aftermarket intake on, I'll likely go with a K&N drop-in filter for the sake of saving money on replacements in the future.

Thanks everyone!
 
Klasse Act said:
I've had my K&N typhoon on for over 25k w/o an issue, 2 proper cleanings and oilings too, like the above statement, don't over oil or just get a dryflow. My kit came with the one you oil and you clean it real good when its dirty, let dry and/or use a hair dryer, real good and then quick swipes with the filter oil and your all set, it doesn't need a lot to be properly oiled. Then let it dry for a good while (preferrably overnight) and re-install. I generally clean mine coming out of winter and again going into winter. I also had this on my previous car, 2010 Honda Fit sport w/o a problem. Because its an "open filter" with the typhoon it needs more cleanings than a drop-in. My fiance has a K&N drop-in and we went 35k w/o a cleaning and it wasn't too bad, cleaned it on St. Patrick's Day so we'd remember down the road when it was cleaned last.

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BlkHemiLTD said:
Yeah thats usually most peoples gripe with them is the oil thing getting on the MAF but honestly even if it did happen its not a big deal to clean you can get a spray cleaner like CRC or other brands to get it clean again just DONT touch the MAF wire in the sensor.

Short ram vs cold air really is preference because as previously stated you wont really feel much of a difference performance wise and the cold air can subject your filter to water, not all do however.

The short ram style usually is mounted in a stock location and shielded from underhood heat but will obviously not be getting as cool of an air charge, BUT... the less turns the air has to make is also a benefit.

In the end on a mostly stock car, small displacement, without forced induction its purpose is seriously more to save you money on filter replacements and you may get a performance increase but it wont be anything special.
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This. and this. both excellent answers.

Also remember this little known tip - if you put the sticker in an obvious location it's an instant 50 whp improvement1!!
















j/k. please don't put the sticker on. :) :props:
 
ComradeGrumbles said:
My question is, what do you know about K&N performance air filters? (Or other brands) Are the claims of 1-5% HP increase true? How about the claims of better MPGs? They sound too good to be true.

At some point in the future I'm going to have one of my mechanic friends help me with a cold air intake, but that's a while out. For now I'm thinking about just dropping by autozone for a better air filter.

Thanks!
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Based on my research, as I was looking into doing these things on my VW, is that for 1-5% you won't feel much improvement, if at all. A similar analogy would be comparing depth and gloss with 2 different carnauba waxes. Some see a difference and some do not.

Just a K&N filter alone won't dramatically affect performance on most cars. For me I expected no more than 1-2 mpg as I weighed the pros and cons.

Second, you need to be careful with the amount of oil you put on the filter. If there is too little oil, you get minimal filtration ability which could introduce contaminates into the engine that a paper filter would filter out easily. Too much oil and you get oil particulates in the intake pipes and potential sensor problems.

Third, the total cost of ownership of a K&N-type filter is lower compared to OEM filters. That said, we are not talking about a lot of money over the life of the vehicle or the filter.

With my VW I get 3-years maintenance covered 100%. So a K&N filter now seems imprudent relative to the gains I expect to see. The biggest bang for the buck sequence I have seen is an ECU upgrade, then a cold air intake. Personally, I wouldn't get a K&N filter until the ECU upgrade. And if you plan on getting a cold air intake, then don't get the K&N filter as an intermediary step.
 
AEM dry flow filter. Oiled air filters are 90s tech.

And did you get an insurance quote for the Mazdaspeed? My insurance only went up $90 a year from my Hyundai Elantra to my 2011 Mazdaspeed.
 
A complete cold air intake kit is best, but just swapping out the filter will be better than the stock one in terms of flow. However, remember the K&N are oiled and you will need to completely clean and re-oil it at some point.

I prefer the dry filters because oil and intake sensors don't mix if they come in contact...what will happen..?..your engine "light" will come on and you will end up spending money having the computer reset. This happened a lot on my old Mazda. I would get an engine light warning randomly after I put the K&N on.

K and N makes a nice filter but you have to know there can be consequences as well.
 
There's always a "chance" of a CEL but if installed properly, it shouldn't come from the intake. Like I said I've had em' on my current Honda, last Honda and even had one on my R56 Mini, that was very elaborate as it used the faux hood scoop to make a true "ram air" intake, definately noticed a difference with that one but like stated before, gains with intake work on forced induction cars are more noticeable!

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silverfox said:
I prefer the dry filters because oil and intake sensors don't mix if they come in contact...what will happen..?..your engine "light" will come on and you will end up spending money having the computer reset.
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Sort of.... I also prefer the dry filters and AEM is making some really good ones. IF the light comes on because the oil on the MAF you dont need to spend any money to reset it, just about any auto store will read your codes and delete them if you want, but you dont really need to delete it. The CEL comes on because the erroneous sensor reading told it to....clean the sensor and the next time the computer runs that particular sensor check it should go out by itself after getting a normal reading. A lot of MAF sensors will actually get the wire red hot on startup to clean them as well burning off most anything that is on it anyway so you would have to REALLY oil that thing up at least in my experience.
 
This can't be stated enough, when cleaning and re-oiling your K&N filters, LESS IS MORE!

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Becciasm said:
This. and this. both excellent answers.

Also remember this little known tip - if you put the sticker in an obvious location it's an instant 50 whp improvement1!!



j/k. please don't put the sticker on. :) :props:
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Right! It would seem to me that simply buying stickers is the most cost effective way of increasing performance. Does that performance improvement stack up with more stickers? I'm thinking a 400 whp improvement with 8 stickers. =D
 
First of all what are your plans for/with the car? Is it going to be a daily driver for a few years until you get a newer car of is it going to be a car you keep longer all while modding?

If its a dailt driver then just get the drop in filter. Make sure you use high quality fluids at all your changes. An exhaust system will add more of a power increase then the filter. Most of the time coupled with a new tune from either a handheld tuner or a chip the performance can deff be felt.
 
Also, one other thing:

For the sake of keeping my engine stock-ish for the time being, I decided to just go with a drop-in K&N to save money in the long run even though I won't see any performance gain.

My question is, has anyone here heard the chatter online that K&N filters don't filter out contaminates as well as paper filters? I'm gunning for value in the long-run, but it's not worth risking getting my engine gunked up with junk.

Any opinions on that out there?

Thanks again!
 
Be careful with ANY modifications if you have warranty. A few years ago during the economy crisis (well that is still going on) the big car companies put out a warning that any modification could void warranty. For example, exhaust,chips,lift kits on and on can void warranty. Just check with your dealer on what you can do. If you experience sensor failure and they find an oiled filter they can contribute the sensor failure to over oiling and no warranty.

This is from a Canadian point of veiw, it may be different in the US. Just get clearance from your dealer to be on the safe side.

On a side note, most block heater cords now have thermostat in them that will not allow heating of the engine until -15 deg C is reached. Now cut that sensor off and plug in your car and you will find yourself in the shop real quick. This is how sensitive these new cars are. I, myself leave my vehicles stock until the warranty is done. Then it's off to the races with whatever I want to do.
 
ComradeGrumbles said:
Also, one other thing:

For the sake of keeping my engine stock-ish for the time being, I decided to just go with a drop-in K&N to save money in the long run even though I won't see any performance gain.

My question is, has anyone here heard the chatter online that K&N filters don't filter out contaminates as well as paper filters? I'm gunning for value in the long-run, but it's not worth risking getting my engine gunked up with junk.

Any opinions on that out there?
Thanks again!
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That is true they don't filter out contaminants as well as a
regular air filter, they are ment for "performance" so more air is flowing through but so is all the junk, the oil in the filter tends to gunk up the maf sensor also
 
Kevin Cullen said:
Be careful with ANY modifications if you have warranty. A few years ago during the economy crisis (well that is still going on) the big car companies put out a warning that any modification could void warranty. For example, exhaust,chips,lift kits on and on can void warranty. Just check with your dealer on what you can do. If you experience sensor failure and they find an oiled filter they can contribute the sensor failure to over oiling and no warranty.

This is from a Canadian point of veiw, it may be different in the US. Just get clearance from your dealer to be on the safe side.

On a side note, most block heater cords now have thermostat in them that will not allow heating of the engine until -15 deg C is reached. Now cut that sensor off and plug in your car and you will find yourself in the shop real quick. This is how sensitive these new cars are. I, myself leave my vehicles stock until the warranty is done. Then it's off to the races with whatever I want to do.
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In the US we have the Magnuson Act which makes dealers have to show a correlation between a modification and the faulty product. So if you add an exhaust and your ac compressor they can't void your warranty, now they can threaten it all they want but it has no bearing. However with many major car companies if a major malfunction occurs like an engine seizes, the dealer has to send corporate a copy of the ECM (Electronic Control Module, controls timing, fuel, etc....) and if it shows any modification or if it shows it has been flashed, you can consider your warranty gone.
 
The drop-in K&N is a good mod for improving air flow over stock but isn't going to give you gain, well except in the pocket book, so that's cool. Like I posted before, I think, my fiance put about 34k on her K&N drop-in before I cleaned and re-oiled it and it really wasn't that bad, so you could go the 50k they (K&N) say but it really depends on your driving environment, so check it from time to time. Remember, even when its dirty the oiled, cotton gauze filter media is doing its thing and is made to work when it gets dirty.

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I have installed K&N filters on my last two trucks and have never had an issue. The filters were installed in both shortly after buying them new. I put 220,000 miles on the 2000 Chevrolet Silverado and it was running perfectly when I sold it. I have 180,000 miles on my 2006 GMC Sierra and have no issues with it. I have no doubt that some people have had problems, I just wanted to point out my experience. With that said, I have not and will not put anything other that the OEM filter in my BMW. It is just too temperamental.
 
af90 said:
Basic mods such as intakes, cat-back don't require tunes, but will be enhanced by them. Headers and more advanced mods do require them because the fuel/air tables need to be adjusted. Tunes allow the car's performance to be tailored to what specific mods are installed and improve performance and efficiency.

Removing your muffler can improve the sound on some cars but can also make other cars sound horrible as they need the baffling or it can sound very raspy.
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This exactly! :iagree:
 
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