k&n air filter

Hey been running oil type filters for years.No problems here.Again Don't use hand soap to wash your clothes.Avery thing has its use.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/172018781101?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Don't know if there's any correlation, but when I bought my truck, it had a K&N filter. A few weeks later I got the check engine light. MAF was dirty as fuck. I switched back to paper filters and threw away the K&N. That's all I'll say.

 

^That just means the previous owner overoiled the K&N. But yeah it's better not to have to dick around with oiling a filter. Both AFE and AEM offer higher-flow dry filters that do not need oiling - just vacuum it out once a year or so. I ran an AFE Pro Dry S filter P/N 31-10114 for 5 years with no issues, before switching to an AFE CAI for the sound.

https://www.etrailer.com/Air-Filter/AFE/AFE31-10114.html

 

Opinion, please: is it OK to put in a cheapy engine air filter (~$12) purchased from eBay? According to the listing, the "Brand" is "Aftermarket Products". And it has this number on the site (have no idea what that means):
TOYOTA Engine Air Filter OE# 17801-31090 /

$28 17801-0P010 Genuine Toyota Air Filter Tacoma 2005-2008 4.0L V6 Genuine Toyota OEM New

17801-0P010

 

That link says it filters 99.2%. So what does a regular paper filter do? Better or worse?

"Semi-dusty roads". Does that mean dirt on a paved road or a dirt road? Since I often drive in the desert I wonder about that.

 

My Tacoma came with K&N filter installed. Have driven it two years plus without issue. Clean it every 5000 miles. Zero issues.

**I only drive in the big city though...Not so dusty here.

 

Good decision. Now go replace your cabin air filter to make you feel better. And then breathe easy.

 

I'd recommend not using the drop in K&N filters if you do any off-roading. I had one on my last truck and I went through 2 MAF sensors and was having to clean my MAF constantly as it would get dirty and throw a check engine light. I finally switched it back out to an OEM filter and never had an issue with the MAF. The K&N's "work" so well because they allow more air through, but more air = more particles getting through. I know a lot of people run them but personally I'd be afraid that over time you would not be doing your engine any favors.

 

For something that'll last you 10's of thousands of miles, throw down for an OEM. It's worth it.

 

I had a K&N system on my 05 for 60k miles and no problems. Thing ran great.

 

You will need to separate out the marketing-speak. Of course "99.2%" is meaningless without describing the particle size (is it 10 microns, 5 microns, 2.5 microns...?).

The other thing is, a dirty filter is just as effective as a clean one, if not more so. The filtering efficiency, however, will drop when the filter is clogged. I suspect that's the reason behind the "semi-dusty" description. For prolonged desert driving, they want you to use one of their more expensive racing intake systems with more surface area, so the filter doesn't clog as fast .

 

I find that for the price of the K&N with the cleaner and recharge kit, you could buy about 4 OEM filters. That much OEM filters will last you over 100K. There isn't really any noticeable performance gain. The only benefit that I can see is the "convenience" of cleaning and reusing the same filter, as well as getting a nice K&N sticker.

Edit: I also wanted to add that the pleats in the OEM filter are deeper and have more surface area.

 

2005 Tacoma - ~180000 miles, with a K&N since around mile 30;
1995 Montero - had a K&N filter for ~80000 miles;
Never had any problems with either (well, except for the Montero, that thing was pretty much a POS);
Cleaned my MAF and throttle body for the 1st time on the Tacoma at around 175000. Neither was dirty, I guess I know how to not over oil the filter.
Side note, the 1st time I changed the spark plugs was at the same mileage (175000 or so) and none of the plugs looked that bad....I know I know I waited WAY to long to get them done.

 

My MAF issues had nothing to do with the oil on the filter, I never even put oil on it (other than what came on it out of the box). But my issues with it started almost right away because of all the off-roading I do on weekends, the K&N just lets too much through and isn't ideal for dusty trails.

 

Dear sir,

I work at K&N Engineering and have been receiving a lot of questions regarding our product's integrity, reliability, and effectiveness from information posted in the Ford-Diesel.com forums. It seems these forums contain a lot of opinions and not a lot of scientific testing or factual data. I would like to provide some information to you and your readers regarding the K&N product line.

K&N filters are tested by an outside, independent laboratory, Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Tx. They have been proven to stop at least 99% of particles on a SAE dust test. This test uses a range of particles from the 0 - 5 micron range up to 20 microns. For comparison sake, a paper filter stops 99% on the same test and the OEM minimum standard is 96%. Foam is generally the worst media with a typical efficiency rating of 80 - 85%. To get higher ratings, the foam must be more dense and consequently more restrictive. The "tack" characteristic of a K&N allows for increased filtration without loss of airflow.

The testing procedure used is SAE J-726 using ISO Test Dust. This test is the standard of the air filter industry. The test procedure consists of flowing air through the filter at a constant rate (airflow rate is determined by the application) while feeding test dust into the air stream at a rate of 1 gram per cubic meter of air. As the filter loads with dust the pressure drop across the filter is increased to maintain the prescribed airflow rate. The test is continued until the pressure drop increases 10" H2O above the initial restriction of the clean element (in this case .78" to 10.78" H2O). At this point the test is terminated. The dirty filter element is then weighed. This weight is compared to the clean element weight to determine the total Dust Capacity. The amount of dust retained by the filter is divided by the total amount of dust fed during the test to determine the Cumulative Efficiency.

* The K&N filter achieved the following results:
Dust Capacity 305 Grams
K&N Cumulative Efficiency 99.05 %
*Links to the filtration tests are on the K&N web site at:

http://www.knfilters.com/images/factstab1.gif

http://www.knfilters.com/images/factstab2.gif

So, what this proves is that you really cannot arrive at any intelligent conclusions by holding the filter to the light. That inspection is useless, pin holes are normal. In fact, those pin holes are what makes a K&N filter efficient. Within those holes, there are actually hundreds of microscopic fibers spanning them. When treated with oil, these fibers capture and hold the very fine particles. On the same hand, the fibers allow the filter to flow more air than paper or foam. Additionally, we have to understand that oiled fibers are translucent and are not easily visible to the naked eye. Spray some WD 40 on a sheet of white paper and you will see the effect. The K&N filter is four-ply cotton gauze unlike some competitors synthetic material filters. The synthetic material filters do not have the very small fibers that natural cotton does. Also, the oil in a K&N is completely absorbed into the media and there is no risk of contaminating electronic sensors as there is with Foam filters that can have oil pulled from the soaked media.

K&N got started over 30 years ago making filters for motorcycles and off road racers. The filters did so well that these customers wanted similar filters for their cars and trucks. K&N started making filters for these applications and here we are today making filters for just about any application on the market. If our filters did not work, we would not be in business growing every year.

K&N makes filters for Chrysler/Mopar, Ford Motorsports, Edelbrock, Rotax Engines, and Harley Davidson. K&N filters come as original equipment on the 2000 Ford Mustang Cobra-R. K&N even made filters for the Apache helicopters used in Desert Storm because of maintenance problems with the original paper design. If K&N filters work in these conditions they will work for you.



Thanks,

Rick Blum
Technical Support Supervisor, K&N Engineering

 

I've never had my hands on one, but seems like I read that the filter for the TRD cold air is also an oiled filter but people go out of their way to get one. That said there could be more than one variant of the trd system. I've got a drop in k&n and have had them on almost everything I've owned without issue, ever. I think most problems people have stem from over oiling and the fact that the intake tube pulls from the fender, which albeit is covered enough to get the job done, isn't dust proof. I plan on a reroute to the cowling for my intake tube. Seems to have a good success rate and by that I mean no one has reported cons to it as far as I've seen i.e. Water or increase in filter debris or clogging. You would also think that the "secondary filter" would stop anything else that makes it beyond the filter element itself. Just my opinion. Just keep researching it and make the decision that you feel is best

 

I had a k&n filter in my Tacoma for 5 years. Last year I removed it and went back to oem filter, no difference in anything. I just didn't feel like cleaning and oiling the k&n filter for no added benefit. I figure $20 every year for a new air filter is so much easier than messing around with oil and spraying the k&n down and possibly messing it up like over oiling.

 

Ur throttle body thanks you too

 

As in u wanna make a scooped trd sport hood functional?
Pretty sure i heard that its a negative pressure zone, but i may be wrong.
U could always snorkel