I've been debating back and forth for quite a while now. Well the time is now here to change the air filter. So, for yall who have the K&N drop in filter, to buy or not to buy. Any of you had any issues with the air sensor?
__________________ Black 2007 D/C Limited 4x4, seems to have ALL the options, Flowmaster Dual Delta 40's, K&N drop in filter, Rhino Liner', 3" frt 1" rear Daystar leveling kit, BFG Radial All Terrain TA's 305x65x18, Moto Metal M0951's in Chrome 18x9. Fully DeBadged , Stebel horn, C/W grill, TRD Swaybar, Wet O's, Craven Speed Stubby Antenna, 10,000 lb winch, H11 bulbs, Production date 8/07
"CBTMA Member" all that is remaining is:
Black Mod Headlights 1997 Chevy Tahoe Sport 4x4 2008 Sequoia Ltd. Slate Metallic (purchased on 3/28/09)
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The MARINES don't have that problem." President Ronald Reagan 1985
X2........I have had K&N drop ins in my last 4 trucks (over 300,000 miles combined) including the one I just put in my 08 DC last month, without ever having an issue with them.
And, for the record, I have no affiliation or interest in K&N. I have the TRD intake on mine. I just think this was an interesting read.
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. 2007 TUNDRA 5.7L SR5 TRD 4x2 Double Cab, Salsa Red Pearl
TRD CAI, Corsa Sport Side Exit Dual Tip Exhaust, Stebel 300Hz Air Horn, OEM Tundra Mud Mats, Black powder-coated side-step bars, Ventshades, Line-X, TRD Sway Bar, Blacked headlights surround, White LED guage and dash lights, Viper 771VXR Remote Start / Alarm, Carriage Works black billet grille with logo remount (awaiting install).
Good idea. After 10,000 miles or so, I've seen no increase in mileage or anything. So, waste of money IMO.
How can it be a waste of money? The K&N has a million mile warranty. It will outlast your truck. You have to replace the paper filters every 15k or so @ $15 or so a piece. The K&N costs $50 so where is that logic?
I dont work for K&N either and have no interest in them, but I found your comment a bit "silly" !
__________________ Black 2007 D/C Limited 4x4, seems to have ALL the options, Flowmaster Dual Delta 40's, K&N drop in filter, Rhino Liner', 3" frt 1" rear Daystar leveling kit, BFG Radial All Terrain TA's 305x65x18, Moto Metal M0951's in Chrome 18x9. Fully DeBadged , Stebel horn, C/W grill, TRD Swaybar, Wet O's, Craven Speed Stubby Antenna, 10,000 lb winch, H11 bulbs, Production date 8/07
"CBTMA Member" all that is remaining is:
Black Mod Headlights 1997 Chevy Tahoe Sport 4x4 2008 Sequoia Ltd. Slate Metallic (purchased on 3/28/09)
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The MARINES don't have that problem." President Ronald Reagan 1985
How can it be a waste of money? The K&N has a million mile warranty. It will outlast your truck. You have to replace the paper filters every 15k or so @ $15 or so a piece. The K&N costs $50 so where is that logic? I dont work for K&N either and have no interest in them, but I found your comment a bit "silly" !
+1...I've used them for years on all kinds of vehicles (mostly with V8's)...I have always gotten more lively accelleration and they last forever with proper maintaince...B.
Had one on my last truck (a 1998 F150) and experienced no benefit that I could cite. It was just as good as the stock filter, but no better. I'm certainly not going to invest in one again for my Tundra. It's been my experience with pleated paper filters that brushing off the surface dust and blowing them off will suffice to clean them. If one does not damage it and you can see plenty of light through it when held up to the light, I just put it back and re-use it.
But...if you have a little discretionary money to spend, and want that extra warm and cozy feeling that you're doing your engine a world of good by installing one; go ahead. Certainly won't hurt and you'll help keep K&N at full employment.
I've been debating back and forth for quite a while now. Well the time is now here to change the air filter. So, for yall who have the K&N drop in filter, to buy or not to buy. Any of you had any issues with the air sensor? Thanks.
I run one on my autocross car, but that's just because the air intake on the side sucks in a lot of Hoosier tire rubber that rubs off the tire at about $20/minute and clogs up the filter. It doesn't help performance or anything else.
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~Michael
2008 Toyota Tundra 5.7 2WD - Toy Hauler / 2006 Toyota Sienna Limited - Kid Hauler / 1993 Toyota MR2 - Autocross Car
Mods: Tekonsha P3; Tow Mirrors; TRD Wheels; TPMS Pipe Bomb
(Arlen) SPICER wrote, “Now that I am not doing the tests and my objectivity is not necessary, let me explain my motivation. The reason I started this crusade was that I was seeing people spend a lot of money on aftermarket filters based on the word of a salesperson or based on the misleading, incomplete or outright deceiving information printed on boxes and in sales literature. Gentlemen and Ladies, Marketing and the lure of profit is VERY POWERFUL! It is amazing how many people believe that better airflow = more power! Unless you have modifications out the wazoo, a more porous filter will just dirty your oil! Some will say " I have used aftermarket brand X for XXX # years with no problems.
The PROBLEM is you spent a chunk of ching on a product that not only DID NOT increase your horsepower, but also let in a lot of dirt while doing it! Now how much is a lot? ANY MORE THAN NECESSARY is TOO MUCH!
Others are persuaded by the claims of aftermarket manufacturers that their filters filter dirt "better than any other filter on the market." Sounds very enticing. To small timers like you and me, spending $1500 to test a filter sounds like a lot. But if you were a filter manufacturer and you believed your filter could filter dirt better than any other media on the market, wouldn't you want to prove it? Guess what. Test your filter vs. the OE paper. It will cost you $3000 and for that price you will have the data that you can use in your advertisements. Your investment will be returned a thousand fold! EASIER than shooting fish in a barrel! So why don't these manufacturers do this? Hmmm? Probably not because they would feel guilty about taking more market share.
Now I am not saying that ALL aftermarket filters are useless. A paper filter does not do well if directly wetted or muddy. It may collapse. This is why many off-road filters are foam. It is a compromise between filtering efficiency and protection from a collapsed filter. Now how many of our trucks collapse their filters from mud and water? However, if a filter is using "better airflow" as their marketing tool, remember this....Does it flow better? At very high airflow volumes, probably. BUT, Our trucks CAN'T flow that much air unless super-modified, so what is the point? The stock filter will flow MORE THAN ENOUGH AIR to give you ALL THE HORSEPOWER the engine has to give. And this remains true until the filter is dirty enough to trip the air filter life indicator. At that point performance will decline somewhat. Replace the filter and get on with it.
Hopefully the results of this test will do 2 things. Shed some light on the misleading marketing claims of some aftermarket manufacturers and/or give us new insight on products already on the market that are superior to our OE filter. I stand for truth and will eat my words publicly if my statements prove wrong. I appreciate all of the help and support that you members have offered in this project. It would simply be impossible without your help. A huge thanks to Ken at Testand for his willingness to take on this project. I would be spinning my wheels from here to eternity without his help… SPICER”
Our thanks to Arlen and Ken for making the test happen and providing the valuable test results for the benefit of all.
Sept 2004
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I care not who defended our freedom in the past, who defends it tommorrow is who means the world today.
The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so
- Mark Twain
K&N Air Filter-to buy or not to buy
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