Ditching my K&N for Napa Gold air fliter

Well I always read that you shouldn't have any problems with the oiled K&N air filters if you follow the cleaning and oiling directions and didn't over-oil it. Never had one though until I bought my 2007 Tacoma early last year and it was already in it from the stealer - so I decided to give it a shot.

I followed the directions on their website to the T; cleaning it and oiling it to their specs and liked it pretty well. The good thing was that I didn't ever have to buy new filters obviously, and cleaning and oiling wasn't that big of a pain. Seemed to get good airflow and no problems to speak of.

Yesterday I decided to do my first tune-up on the truck and changed my plugs and pulled the throttle body and cleaned it as well as the MAF.

The throttle body was pretty dirty. The butterfly valve was a bit sticky and the hinges had some gunk in there. Also the cylinder was gunked up pretty good. Sprayed and scrubbed it all out, but before I replaced it I put my fingers up the intake and swiped the walls and there was just as much oil residue in there. I don't now why I thought there wouldn't be as it's immediately past the TB, but it was a significant enough amount that I went straight to NAPA once everything was put back together and tossed the K&N and got my NAPA Gold filter back.

I'd rather replace the filter on schedule than have all that oil getting sucked in there.

On the plus side, the new plugs and cleaned TB/MAF solved a few small problems. I had a pretty rough idle considering it's only a '07 and it idled fairly high. I didn't like the shudder when I was just sitting there with it running, and now it's like new.

It didn't help that the old plugs' gap was WAY off - around .070 for all of 'em. That's some maintenance I highly recommend.

Has anyone else noticed the oily fouling in the intake with their K&N? I just don't think the benefits outweigh the cost on that one. I don't ever mess with the MAF sensor too closely as it's delicate, but I sprayed it pretty good because I'm sure there was plenty of residue on it as well.

 

Switching to a NAPA gold was a good move, but....most of the oil you felt past the TB was from the PVC system, not from the filter. The oil from the filter has the most effect on the MAF. Unless you are a total klutz you can remove the MAF and clean it. From the threads I've read I expected the Toyota MAF to be thinner than a light bulb filiment . It's not that delicate. Just don't drop it or do anything stupid with it. Use the spray to clean it, and replace it. Mine had a thin film on it.

 

What about a washable dry filter? and how well do they really work ? I've got a 2012 taco that i was thinking about doing this to, plus changing the exhaust.

 

^ I would stick with a good old paper filter.

 

There is nothing wrong with the OEM filters.

 

+1

OEM filters are $15 from Titus-Will or Toyota of Dallas.

$15 every 30k.

Washable filters will cost $50+, and will pass far more dirt than the OEM filter.

So it takes you 100k just to break even on the new filter... and it's shortening the life of your engine.

 

go to 7:30ish for the thread relevant part of the video, or watch the whole video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAIxeQUSg-Q&feature=plcp

 

I'm staying with paper.

 

My Baja came from the factory with a trd filter are those just as bad? I think it's oiled also.

Steve

 

I have used the K&N in the past and have never seen that much oil escape into the throttle body. I am wondering if the previous owner just wasn't into maintenance as you noted that the gap was at .070 and shouldn't be past .043...this gets me to thinking that the maintenance on your vehicle was a very low priority for the previous owner.

I am not saying I am against the stock paper filter, just as everyone says here it will work just fine. I just can't cast aspersions against K&N when the entire story isn't present.

 

Hmm a lot of good points made here but I think I'm gonna stick with paper. Can't go wrong.

 

Everyone that asks the stupid air filter questions needs to be referenced this video.

These guys make it easy to understand pods and oiled filter are crap.

If you want a nice sound you are better off drilling a hole in your muffler.

 

I use K&N oiled filters, despite a thread like this where a few people come in here telling everyone how stupid they are for using them popping up at least once a month. I think it's fairly obvious that the entire concept of the K&N is that it filters LESS than the OEM for the simple fact that it's supposed to be increased airflow. They try to compensate with the filter oil. My intake isn't dirty, because I check it. Any filter is useless if it has a lazy end-user.

 

Most pleated filters from the factory or from Napa do a very good job at trapping dirt. The more loaded the filter becomes the more efficient it is trapping smaller particles but at that point it does restrict air flow. A cheap pleated filter will have less filter media per square inch and will not do as good a job. I prefer Napa Gold oil and air filters or Wix brand products, they are quality filters.

When you have a filter that requires an oil coating to help improve its filtering characteristics the amount of oil used becomes a challenge, too little and it won't filter properly and too much oil and it stops up prematurely and becomes super restrictive. In the HVAC industry metal washable filters are used that require a product called "Filter Coat" to enhance their ability but the same issues arise with them.

The key to all maintenance is doing it on time taking into consideration your current driving habits and the weather conditions. If we are having an extremely dry, dusty time of year, you should consider changing your filters more often. The miles are just a "reference point" to gauge from, but not written in stone.

 

Metal washable filters are most often intended to be a pre-filter for outside air only.

 

Yes they are used for that purpose along with exhaust hood grease filters and at one time were sold as the first "washable filter". And if the owner does not use Filter Coat, they are much like a fiberglass air filter, they will stop a loaf of bread but not much more.

 

It might be obvious, but that doesn't stop the fanbois and those attempting to justify spending $55-$300 on an air filter from parroting the company line about better filtration and flow.

Better flow? Sure. Needed? The stock intake can flow more than any normally-aspirated 4.0 needs.

 

Stock filter dirty flows 4 times more then what the engine needs.

 

I've run a K&N in my truck for 7 years (I bought it before I knew it makes no difference) and they do get a build up of a fine layer grime in the intake. Whether or not that has had a negative impact on my MAF sensor, I dont know because I've never popped a code for it and I clean the MAF.

Not in reference to your statement Bradley: If I were to do it again, I'd definitely skip the 50 dollar worthless filter, while it looks cool, it has no impact on performance or MPG and it does put random BS in your intake all be it very fine.

 

K&N made their name building filters for desert racing back in the late 60's and early 70's. This whole "better flow" thing morphed out of that. None of us ran them because they filtered better, or even as well, or because they boosted performance. We ran them because they could be caked with dirt and the engine could still get enough air to make good power. That was a big deal in races where a clogged paper filter could force a pit stop.

All of that is lost to history and to marketing BS. This filter design was never meant for the filtration needs of engines expected to last 200K or more.

As for the performance gains, look at K&N's own website. Yes the home page talks about all these great gains, as do all the ads. Take a look at their performance calculator. For the stock filter replacement their claim for gains is ZERO. The fact is, that filter could actually drop performance. They don't ever talk about measured differences, just "gains". Then look at the full K&N replacement intake for the 4.0. They claim 10hp at 5,000 rpm! Even if you accept that as true, Who the hell shifts or drives around at 5,000rpm? What effect has the filter had at 3,000?? Is it negative? Could very well be.

Having sat through many many dyno runs, I can tell you that this 10hp at 5K is pure vapor. You can see that much difference with just a change in barometric pressure or ambient temperature. It's often the case that modifications that favor high RPM hurt low RPM.

Of course the greatest slight of hand is convincing people that somehow the factory screwed you out of enough capacity to realize all the power from your engine. Why would they do that?? Does anybody really think that their filter was deliberately undersized by say 20%? That would be the easiest and cheapest power they could grab! The push has been on for 30 years to build more power from smaller lighter engines. It doesn't make any sense that any engineer would strangle the intake capacity. Of course that is not the case.

The only tangible gain from running a K&N is the ability to wash and reuse the filter, if that is a great desire. It could make sense for a rig destined for use in third world countries or some other unusual circumstance.