Oil filter K&N or OEM Volkswagen

They're on the high end, though not the absolute best, in terms of the length of filter material/number of pleats. The construction quality is good - all metal and rubber, no cardboard. The cans are tough as hell.

I've been running K&N oil filters on my racecar for the better part of 4 years now - same engine, no rebuilds but I perform very regular maintenance. I regularly change the oil at the beginning of every season and proceed to thrash the crap out of my 1.8l 16v for about 1300 miles (most at or around the redline). I haven't had any ill effects due to low filtration, high pressure, low pressure, drain back, etc - all this on an engine that is six seasons old!!

I put one in the Passat a few months ago just for the sake of a better engineered product. It was a cold night for my turbocharged engine, so any greater power I felt I'm sure was imagined. Don't count on it. Just do it for a better quality filter that lasts longer.

I've used them for the past couple of years on my 'tique. No problems at all. I like them.

Personally, I don't think K&N's filtration is bad enough to where it affects the engine. I've got two vehicles in my family that have been running them since day one with over 200,000 miles.

yeah the oem ones arent (THAT) expensive and they work great.

Pros - They have a real oil filter, the case is sturdier, they can handle more power and bigger displacements, they last forever without machining, the stock heads were pretty solid. Cons - They are harder to work on since there is more to assemble and disassemble, parts are slightly more expensive (not much though), they are harder to find, the different year engines had many variations so you have to know which one you've got.

I'm still running my K&N oil filter, though I've got a Mahle that I ordered along with the ABA pump.

I've tried this filter and it produced lots more startup rattle from the lifters. Something to watch out for when trying it out.

I've used the larger oil filter for a couple changes and have gone back to the smaller stock filter for one reason. The drain-back valve on the diesel filter didn't work nearly as well as the valve on the smaller stock filter. I'd get a little valve rattle at startup with it which was noisy and embarassing to put it mildly. It did this consistently while the larger filter was used over 3 oil change intervals. Back to the stock filter now and all is silent.