K&N drop in vs stock air filter... what are your thoughts?

no kidding... do you think there was too much surface area on the filter?

 

The Dyno operator said that the filter tops cause disruption of air flow over the air bleeds in the carburetor !!!! . Once I put the metal air cleaner lid back on I picked that 11hp back up on the next dyno pull !!!

 

The K&N filters are designed for race cars. If you read their own literature carefully they show modest gains in performance @ 5000-6000 rpm. None at all at normal engine speeds. That might mean the difference between 1st and 2nd place at the local dirt track. It won't help your Tacoma at all. And there are plenty of tests that show they don't filter the air as well as standard filters. That may, or may not have long term effects on your truck. If you only drive on streets I'd imagine it wouldn't hurt or help. But I'd not use one if I did a lot of off road driving in dusty conditions.

In 1998 I bought a new F-150. When it came time for the 1st filter change it was going to cost me $35 for a stock paper filter vs the $5-$6 I was accustomed to paying. I bought a $50 K&N with the plan to just clean it instead of paying $35 every 6 months for a paper filter. It made zero difference in performance or fuel mileage, but I did save money. But when I sold that truck I didn't go back to one.

 

Stock for me. It's how the truck was designed to run and I have no complaints with it. It's easy to maintain and the truck has enough power for me as it is. The paper filters are not cost prohibitive and just part of vehicle ownership costs.

I've used, and still use, k&n on vehicles where paper filters are not practical. Our dune buggy uses custom carbs and space is tight, so those two carbs have k&n. I had a bike with k&n due to damage to the original air box (a little old Honda 400, wasn't for the hp that's for sure). I've had no air filter related issues with them. Just a pain cleaning and oiling and stuff. I'm too lazy to do extra work if there's no good reason.

 

Lots of opinions re: K&N, on every forum I follow, very little grey area, it's either love or hate. I use K&N on all of my vehicles and I never buy another air or cabin filter for as long as I own the vehicle. Have never suffered the catastrophic engine failure the haters like to point to, based on filtering inefficiency (which I don't necessarily disagree with). But in fairness, I don't drive vehicles "forever", have never owned one that ever reached 100K. I always keep the original OE filter. When cleaning the K&N's, I reinstall the OE filter for a week of so, until the K&N has dried and fully absorbed a light application of filter oil. Have NEVER had a MAF issue.

 

Spend the money on gas.

 

I've been running the TRD filter (k&n) on my 15' since I owned it. Knocked out the bugs and debris a few times but never cleaned it. Took a hunting trip to Colorado this September,was super dusty. Subsequently,got my best gas mileage ever on the retun trip (23mpg). Ended up buying an AFE dry filter on black friday. Swapped filters when the afe came in, and man the k&n was just covered in dirt/dust on the intake side. However,the back was perfectly clean,definitely did it's job. I've also used them since the early 90's with no ill effects.

 

Sometimes I wonder if people go out fixing problems they don’t have so they have something to fix down the road.

Ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Stock for me.

 

Always ran k&n here 0 issues in the past got my truck used had one went to clean it an throttle body was covered in oil. Cleaned it up an run paper now the filter is so easy to change, the k&n filter had a tear in it also is why an didnt fit stock housing properly.

 

Unfortunately, that logic doesn't apply on this or any other automotive forum - LOL - if it did, it would put aftermarket accessory suppliers out of business.

 

This K&N would get extremely dirty quickly without the UNI Filter Sleeve and the Outerwear over it. I doubt that's an issue with the tacoma's airbox. The MAF issue alone would keep me from running an oiled K&N in the tacoma, I never really liked them very much anyway.

 

K&N with zero issues. The filter is easy to clean. Very happy with it.

 

I use the Trd drop in air, similar to the K&N. I’m a freak about the precautions to take with the oiled filters.

The good part is that if you’re very aware of the noises and how your truck behaves, you’ll feel the truck is lighter when driving passively.
Same in the freeway, the truck seems to drive a little smother and have a little better MPG.


I haven’t felt any gains when driving aggressively.

 

well... i already bought the filter and knew i was to be putting a hundred or so miles on my truck yesterday so i said "screw it" put in the k&n.

I change the oil regularly, but the air filter didn't cross my mind until it was suggested at my last oil change. I have not changed the filter during the 30k miles that i have owned it. I'm not sure if it was the original one, i bought it with 22k on the odometer. What i do know is that my stock filter was filthy.

The truck seemed peppier but it probably would have felt peppier with a stock replacement. I'll get some gas tomorrow and see if there was any effect on the mpg's! Time to set a calendar reminder to clean the k&n next year!

 

I’ve been running OEM filters for 40 years with no issues...saved a lot of money.

 

Try and find a OEM paper style 14" dia x 6" tall round filter at a parts store

 

I've been running stock OEM filters for 60 years no issues

 

That's so sweet!!!

I wanted to put dual quads on my 428 powered 69 GrandPrix, but l couldn’t afford the tunnel ram and dual 390s.

Seeing dual carbs on a tunnel ram always brings me back to those days .

Thanks for sharing

 

Been running K&N filters for the same 40+ years, on and off road, with no issues. Don't know if I saved money or not, probably not, but, like they say, if ya gotta worry about what it costs, ya probably can't afford it. I'd like to have half the dough back I've spent over the last 40+ years, on "stuff" I've purchased for my vehicles to improve the looks and performance. Now I just drive'em.