Greetings fellow Acurians!


Just put a K & N air filter in my 05 RL and I must say, I can feel the difference in power and fuel economy. I filled the tank to the brim coming and going to Spokane, Wa and back and got 28.2 Mpg driving in montainous areas. Cost was about $50, but worht it ! I think the new filter made a 2 or 2.5 mpg difference.

 

Hey Photonbeam!

I made a trip to Spokane last weekend as well for Easter. I was heading the other way (from Seattle)... I have the AEM CAI and it has made a drastic improvement in power and a slight improvement in fuel economy. Definitely a smart thing to replace in the RL is the filter....

 

Yea, those K&N air filters do work. My fuel economy in my TL-S improved by 10%!

 

I am not a big believer in the K&N Filter & mpg improvement. I have no doubt there is some minor benefits but not a significant improvement on mpg.

With the 'Big 3' moaning and groaning about not being able to meet future CAFE requirements, why hasn't one of them implemented K&N into production (or just buy the company)? They would all jump sky-high to get a 10% improvement across the board on their cars for a $40 part (wholesales at $15).

Next thing I'm going to read is that the 'Tornado' actually increases mpg 10-15%.

 

Rumor has it that the K&N filter can cause problems for the mass flow sensor by gumming it up with oil. Is there any truth to this in your experience?

 

The K&N is preity much not as clean for the engine as stock, a drop in K&N might give you a couple of HP, but may sound louder.
The Acura intake systems are generally VERY good, a total CAI might give you 5-7 but will sound louder and you must be careful to not get water in the system, it will destroy the engine.
The NSX group has gone over this extensively.

 

i put my K&N drop-in and i can hear the difference in tone but i dont know about HP improvement or MPG improvement but i havent measured either. i have seen and heard conflicting facts on if the K&N and stock filter is differernt in filtering out dirt. some say its cleaner and others say dirtier. for the oil part, i think its ok as long as you dont over oil it when you clean it.

 

K&N allows the most dust when it comes to filtration capability. I don't think it's worth it at all. I read a comparative study on all these filters available in the market right now and there are other filters that will provide performance without sacrificing filtration capability. I'm just too lazy to dig up on this, I guess those interested can.

 

Couldn't agree more. I have never seen a dyno test that actually shows a HP increase on modern cars with decent intake. What I have seen is more dirt/dust on the intake throat.

Take a look at:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm

Not sure why anybody would want to use one after seeing stuff like that!

Also car manufacurers would be all over the K&N type design in a heartbeat if i showed any kind of real improvement in HP or MPG.

I do believe people when they say it "feels" faster. Aural feedback is a powerful influence. Louder air intake alwaysfeels faster!