Hey guys, I just got my 2003 Max a few weeks ago. I'm thinking about replacing the stock air filter with a K&N one (not an intake, just the filter). Is this a worthwhile thing to do? Does it really make a perf difference? Thanks guys

 

no performance difference, slight sound difference... it's worth it if you want a reusable filter.

 

no.. u might just get a higer mpg....and maybe 1hp gain..
just save up and get an jwt intake or stillen

 

if you do some cheap mods to the intake as well (GAB, OSCAI) you'll have some nice gains with the K&N. See my homepage for some ideas

 

I have used one on the 2k since 600 miles and the previous 99 we leased also had one. NO probs here but there is concern the oil could damage the MAF ?? sensor. Currently the car has about 47k miles on it.

 

waste of money
for $7-8 get a fram and replace it every 7-10k

 

I just installed a new K&N filter and how could it be a waste of money? If you're going to keep your car untill the wheels fall off, spend the upfront money and get yourself the panel filter. You'll save money in the long run.

If you want to start tinkering with the intake of your car, thats your business. I won't.

 

That comment is so stupid that it almost doesn't deserve a reply, but I'm bored. Do the math using your own numbers and then see if you can explain how a K&N is a waste of money. It costs $45 or less to get a K&N panel filter which is reusable and doesn't even need to be cleaned until 50k miles. Besides the fact that it's a superior filter to any POS that Fram makes.

If you want to make the argument that the K&N isn't worth it because of the MAF problems that some people experience, I'll buy that. But cost certainly isn't an issue.

 

With regards to the MAF problem. The only time I have ever heard of someone fouling up their MAF is on another car enthusiast sight. This dill hole was so into tuning his ricer that he would take the plugs out of his honda and regapp them every 6K miles. While he was doing that, he would pour a crap load of carb cleaner in the tank and remove and clean his K&N panel filter. He loaded that K&N so full of oil that it got sucked up into the intake system, fouling up the MAF. Captain Dill Hole was a bad a$$ rice tuner for sure.

 

love mine used for the last 70,000 miles no problems cleaned it once so far
I have 2 and swap (same as my old 95 Altima)
so I can clean it good and let dry for days before putting oil on it

 

I've had a K&N since I bought my car 32k miles ago. I have removed it and re-installed it twice. I am a firm believer that it DOES give you better throttle response, but no extra hp's. But the improved throttle response is noticeable. I didn't notice a difference when I installed it, but definately noticed a difference (twice) when I had to take it out. The last time I blew a MAF.

Bottom line:
I do believe the K&N will give a little better throttle response, but sooner or later, your luck is gonna run out, and your car's gonna start jerking back and forth, coughing and choking, as camry's and civic's pass ya. Go to you fav Nissan dealer and he says... "Got dat K&N air-filter, do-ya? hmmm..."

 

You beat me to the same response. 20K miles on this max and 30K on my previous Y2K. No problems whatsoever.

 

Import Tuner Magazine April 2001 issue, pg. 59, dyno test; result: +4 hp/+6.1 torque.
Since I read the article back then, I dropped one in my 2K Max and reap the benefits as mentioned in the previous posts.
The K&N drop-in is worth it IMO.

 

I am thinking about doing a dyno for the K&N drop in and the nocut GAB w/ K&N. My baseline is kinda old so I am gonna get a new one. I normally do 3 dynos to get a good average but this time I am just gonna rent the dyno for an hour so I should be able to get 6 runs and save $95 ($65 for 3 runs and $100 for an hour). That will give me 2 runs for each. Obviously this is not goning to give me time to reset the ECU between each setup nor the time to put some mileage on it so it may not be completely indicative of the actual results. However from what I understand this will actually show the lowest gains for the last 2 setups so it will be nice to know anyway. This will be done when I have settled into my new job and have built up my savings a bit. This means it will be early/mid january. About that time I shoud have completely broken down my wife into allowing me to get the TS ECU and get another dyno. I know most people dont really care about hte K&N stuff but its really for my own sake. As for the ECU I know there are people that already have it and are close to dynoing it but it never hurts to have more data sample to ensure that the results are repeatable and stable.

 

tried the no-mod GAB with the clothes hanger wire but with dirty old OEM filter (about 10k miles old)... love the sound and the increased throttle response. 4th gear and 2500 rpm sounds sweet when punching the throttle. Up top sounds even sweeter.... gotta love living on the outskirts of town with mostly empty backroads.

will be looking to get a k&n since the filter seems to get pretty dirty real quick with the open top GAB.

anyone know where i can get K&n drop-in for cheap besides ebay?

 

I used to do that to an old Ford I drove around during college

hey, it ran great...

 

I agree with BigD and some of the others. My 01 ran K&N for 12-85K with no trouble. Careful not to over oil, and blotted it with a towel to make sure. Extremely cost effective if you are going to keep your car awhile. Butt dyno said a little more power tho I cant prove it. My cycle forum says they dont filter all that well until they get a couple a hundred miles of dirt. So it does not pay to clean them too often.

 

I had K&N in my 2001 max for about 6-7 k and it killed my MAF. no more K&N for me. I change my OEM filter every oil chage ( MOBIL 1 oil and filter ) and that's it. NO more MAF problems. BTW I got a 2K3 now...

 

I'd say research. Find out if you are going to want to run an aftermarket intake or just leave the stock one/modify the stock one.

Buy the K&N either way, but knowing what route will save you money. One of my friends bought a K&N panel then went to a cone and has a spare K&N now. Another friend bought a K&N cone and now wants a Panel.

 

The one friend should talk to the other friend.

 

I have about 100k miles on my K&N with no problems. Had it in my 99.5 SE-L, 2000 GXE, and now my 02 GLE. The oil may damage the MAF only if you over oil them. All you need to do after you clean it is spray it until it turns red and let it dry, check for white spots and fill them, then install. Great filter for stock, i'd recommend it. Chris

 

Hey Gates, a modified airbox and k and n is the best freemod you can get. Here's proof, and although its not an apples to apples comparison, due to it being a V6 vs V8 motor, but it is a fairly good indication of the effect...

Story time: A while back, a friend with an 02 Z06, had his car dynoed at 2500 miles, with oem air filter, did a best of 339rwhp, on the low side, these things typically put down ~350rwhp. He was a little concerned. Dropped in a K and N panel filter, and dyno indicated 345rwhp, I was there, these back-to-back runs were done in 15 minute intervals....Now same dyno...and a couple weeks back, with 5000 miles on the odometer, he had his car dynoed again, now with an open element -commonly known as the "zip-tie" mod- open airbox, no cover, with K and N panel filter, and the Z06 dynoed 363rwhp. The Z06 airflow comes in from under the front cover, and is rammed up the deflector, so it is obviously superior to the Maxima stock airbox, but I for one am a believer that a free element filter (K and N) with a hacked airbox will yield nice results.

Good luck in your project, and post results...

 

I did the same thing with my 2001 Max SE 20th anniversary and the car is breathing a lot better, plus you get that distinctive growl up top. The cone is probably better, but I don't want to mess with this car too much. Looking for an ECU with traction. Any prospects? [COLOR=Blue][B][I][SIZE=2]

 

How doyou know for sure. Did you dyno before and after or use a Gtec?

 

yeah, tell me about it. The timing was off though.

 

I got mine from Pep Boys.

 

You can get it from Pep Boys for about $45.00.

 

I put the K&N in on my 2000 SE at around 18k and cleaned and oiled once since now have 48k. No problems. Have bought for all previous cars I was keeping. Well worth it to me. BTW- Not sure what you guys are talking about to get a growl, but I used duct tape to close off the resonator box at the bottom and the growl got so loud that eventually I put it back to stock.