Reviews of K&N air filter

I put a K&N air filter in my 2010. My first cleaning was a few weeks ago before I went to Disneyland; I've had the filter installed about 9 months or so. It's performed well enough.

They are expensive. Expensive to buy, expensive to maintain. For the $75 or so that this filter costs, you can buy a half dozen top quality conventional filters and change them frequently. Price the K&N filter cleaning and recharge kit. For a filter to work, you must clean and re-oil it, not just stick it in and forget it. Following the instructions in the $15 recharge kit, it takes a half hour to do this, adding unnecessary time and expense to your maintenance. It amuses us in the shop where I work when these come in the door. People pay a lot of money for them, but when we try to sell them a cleaning and re-oil service for a visibly clogged filter they usually decline the service, because it is "a lifetime filter". There is no noticeable increase in power, fuel economy, or anything else that could possibly justify the installation. You will notice absolutely no difference afterward, other than you have less money. Go down to your local race track or drag strip and look around; I have *never* seen a $30,000 racing engine with an oil type air filter on it. Incorrect installation or maintenance *can* cause damage to your MAF sensor. GM even had a service bulletin out a few years ago advisiing their dealerships that failed transmissions due to over oiled aftermarket air filters were to be denied under warranty. MAF is a critical input for calculating transmission shifts; apparently contaminated MAF sensors were resulting in slipping during shifts causing failures on new cars that had warranty coverage remainiing. Why risk problems when there is no gain to be had?

Many years ago I bought a K&N air filter for my Honda. I thought it made a SLIGHT improvement in performance but also made a significant difference in engine noise.

Neuspeed wires Bosh plugs K&n

Engine Info: -K&N air filter.

they let too much dirt pass through i wouldn't use them, especially on a turbocharged vehicle. the turbo will just suck all the oil out of them.

K&N gauze construction always worry me. Lots of pinholes for dirt to pass through. People clean them too often, so it doesn't filter well (they are designed to perform dirty).

regular paper filters I would change around 9-10,000 miles. My K&N I clean every 3,000

The K&N out of the box messed up the MAF on my old 2.5l Jetta, but 2.5l's are notorious for having a delicate MAF with an aftermarket intake.

Out of an independent test the K&N filter earned 2nd in the least amount of particulates, with the stock filter material containing 498 particulates vs. 501 for the K&N.