is a k&n really worth the money? theyre pretty expensive, are they better than the oem filter? what other filters are good, and which ones should i avoid?

 

I've been a K&N fan for years. Worth the money IMO.

 

I'd definitely recommend the K&N. On my last car (96 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT), replacing the OE paper filter with the K&N increased my gas mileage about 4mpg. With that kind of increase it pays for itself rather fast. I installed one in my Max as soon as I got it, so I can't comment on gains with it. My dad also runs one in his 97 F-150 and commented on increased fuel economy and somewhat peppier. My Max gets just under 30 mpg on the highway (avg 85mph), which seems to be higher than average for these vehicles. Definitely worth it, I think.

-Ryan
1995 GLE auto, 151k

 

Even without the savings from increased gas mileage, the fact that you won't have to buy another filter makes it worth the money. I went with K&N because they are the easiest to find. I would be interested to hear if anyone has any experience with Green or any of the other panel filters out there.

 

how is it possible that it flows more than the oe, but saves on gas? :O

how do you clean these things, do you have to use the k&n cleaner and oil?

 

K&N filters allow better air flow and should last longer. You can go to R&S Strauss and purchase a regular filter for less than $9 after tax and AutoZone for less than $10 after tax and change it more frequently on your car. It should work well.

 

Email, me at romdev2rr@netscape.net

 

You can go to group deals section of these forums and get them for like 40.. I mean come on they are lifetime warrenty, hell everytime I replace mine before it was with a 10 dollar wix filter.

Proph

 

Ehhh... it's alright. You won't notice any great increase in gas mileage unless your old filter was really dirty, but not noticeably more than a new paper filter would give. It's about 45 bucks, but then you have to pay 10 bucks for the recharge kit because you have to recoat the thing with oil every now and then. All that stuff together costs as much as just buying cheap paper filters at intervals. It'll save you the trouble of going to the store to get paper filters sometimes, but in place of that, you'll have to reoil it. And if you overoil it, it can cover the maf sensor giving you a CEL. Chevy specifically requests that you don't use oiled filters in their f bodies at least, because of this potential problem. But I'm ok with mine. I don't really care.