K & N Engine Air Filter

Is K & N air filter any better performance wise than the paper filters or is the benefit that it’s just washable so you buy it once and it’s good for life of truck?

 

I believe that t has better air flow, which “could” give you an extra
Mile per gallon. Engine that can breath is an engine that is happy
But wait till you see all the answers you get on this subject. Lol

 

Better filtration is always better than slightly better flow. Stick with the stock filter.

 

Also for your oil filter there’s a thread here on Tacoma world where the actual Toyota oil filter has more filtration pleats with inside the filter than Mobile One, K&N etc.
So factory is better for sure

 

Stock paper OEM toyota air filter for all intents and purposes doesnt restrict flow or rob any power and filters WAY WAY better than those washable ones (especially from KnN)

 

Had a K&N on my 2001, it was there from previous owner. I liked the way it looked and the way it sounded; that was the extent of what I liked about it. Don't bother messing with it, I think the stock air treats our trucks just fine.

 

I’ve been running paper Purolator from advance, but was just curious is the k & n had better performance and if it would save money over time as they advertise since it’s washable.

You noticed a different sound from the k & n vs a paper filter? I’m talking about the triangular k & n that fits in factory air filter box not a cold air k & n.

 

I think you could probably argue that there's some measurable level of performance or response from your engine using a K & N. I don't think it really ever mattered for my daily driving purposes.

Hard to argue the money savings part, how much do you pay for your paper filters? First we have to look at the price of the K & N system, what is it now like $400? That's a lot of filters. What about their cleaning solutions? Another $20. What if you need to a new filter, which I ended up needing despite cleaning mine out; that's easily another $60 or more. There's also a discussion to be had about improperly re-oiling your filter an fouling up your MAF sensor, well guess what that's going to cost you quite a bit as well! See where I'm going with this though is that the savings doesn't start, if ever, until so much further down the line.

As for the sound, yes I could hear my intake letting in air. It was louder and I actually enjoyed that sound because me and my friends like to get squirrely and rev our engines, and goof off during our offroad adventures. I think that has something to do with there being resonators in the stock air system vs the K & N which is more of just a straight pipe to your intake. Here's a quick quote that explains it better than I could

 

I bought and installed a cold air K&N kit for my rig and didn't notice much improvement, other than the deeper sound. I then bought a scangauge II to get into the weeds with my own data (to go along with all kinds of opinions out there).
I did my own semi-scientific tests comparing clean and properly oiled K&N to new OEM on flat roads, same speed, same temp/rain conditions, long trips over same route (rolling). After all that testing I still DID NOT notice much difference....so like Plain Jane Taco says above, I too changed back to stock filter.

 

My man, you've been on here for 7 years and you're asking this question?

 

They give slightly better air flow at the cost of filtration. Any washable oiled air filter will be crap at keeping contaminants out of your engine so it will lower it's life expectancy due to increase wear. Project Farm did a video on what brand air filter is better, and the K&N performed poorly in filtration which the paper filters excelled at. I would stick with paper filter.

https://youtu.be/sJ3L-E-ufYo

 

OEM panel filter > K&N panel filter

 

If you read their own material, you'll discover small performance gains. When running the engine at 5000-6000 rpm. No measurable performance gains at normal engine speeds. In other words, if you're building a local dirt track race car you MIGHT see 1-2 mph better performance on the top end.

That might make the difference between getting a checkered flag and 2nd place. But on a stock vehicle you won't see any gains in power or fuel mileage.

I bought one a few years ago for a truck that took a $35 paper air filter. The K&N at the time cost me about $50. And this was in the days when $5 was typical for paper filters. I didn't expect, nor did I observe any gains. But being able to reuse the same filter for the 7 years I owned the truck saved me some money.

For normal driving I don't think you'll hurt anything. But I'd not recommend one if you drive in dusty conditions a lot.

 

My man you’re an idiot. But thanks for your input! There’s always a few forum goblins around like you just looking to puff your chest out. It’s a reasonable question I don’t sit on here all day and wack off to threads like you must.

 

Agreed.

 

Sorry to say but it will give you the same performance increase as adding a Fox Racing sticker to the back window. I had one on my Mustang 5.0 for about a week and ditched it on Ebay.

 

Move over.

 

Based on my experience with tuning sports cars… to get any substantial HP gains from more air intake is that the entire system from intake to exhaust needs to be built out; intake, headers, downpipes, exhaust…. Save your $