I was told by my service rep (kinda whispered it) the K&N air filter for the TL (new part# 332299 can actually be used over and over after cleaning it with a specal cleaner from K&N? AND it will give a small boost in HP and Mpg? Can this be true?? I've not seen this mentioned here by anyone which makes me wonder? I am ordering mine tomorrow - even if these claims are bogus. Also getting the PIAA silicone wipers from such glowing testimonials found on this forum. Keep up the good work guys! Kudo's It's a sharing thang!

 

Yes, it's true. I have the K&N filter and the cleaning kit. I clean the filter about every 10k miles. Besides adding a little bit of power (no more than maybe 2-5 hp), it also helps the gas mileage.

 

The K&N cleaner is equavent to Simple Green or other biodegradeable cleaners. You can save by using non-K&N here. The K&N's must be dried and reoiled before reinstalling. I recommend using K&N's filter oil, since one spraycan lasted years. K&N's may add HP, but do not expect any fuel mileage differences. Current fuel injected cars adjust fuel mixture to compensate for inlet differences. Old carb cars did not, hence a dirty air cleaner would act as a choke and suck more fuel into the engine for a given throttle opening.

 

i just used to rinse mine out with water let it dry and spray it with k&n oil, always worked fine for me

 

No fuel mileage difference? When I had the K&N installed on my '01 CL-S I got an extra 2 mpg in the city and 4 mpg on the hwy. I am getting about the same as that now in my '04 TL.

 

I've had a K&N in my Honda for years. I'm just happy with the slight sound change and cost savings vs replacement filters. If it does anything else that's just a bonus. Will probably get one for my TL also.

 

You guys are forgetting the one thing an air filter is for........taking the dirt out of the air. A high quality cellulose (paper) media filter will do that much better than the synthetic media of the K&N. I'd much rather replace a filter once a year and know I'm getting the max. filtration than have to go through the cleaning hassle and still not get the best available performance.
K&N has a great marketing campaign but I've yet to see independant published test data from them.

 

P.T. Barnum was right.

 

Where've you been? Under a rock? A K&N filter is like many others that use mesh and foam (or whatever material) which can be rinsed clean. Yes, some of them do allow better breathing, but there are some cheap ones that allow small dust particles to go through. Welcome to the 21st century!

 

Not sure the purpose of your vague discourse here?? Some cheap ones sure but we were discussing K&N filters (not cheap ones). And whats with the "living under a rock" comment? Besides if you ARE 96 yrs you should'nt be driving a car, Or do you have a TL wheelchair?

 

Oh, ok. You must be one of those Kool Aid drinkers from the other side that likes to use the "it's all about marketing" excuse.

 

And...before you go posting a bunch of negative links about K&N filters, I've already seen these (which are the sites you're probably referring to):

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest1.htm

https://acurazine.com/forums/show...ght=filter+test

Here's my response to them...

I think most people realize that air filters with better flow will filter less, and vise versa. The big question is, what will the gains and/or losses be from using one type over the other (since you can't use both or a combination of the two)? From reading Bob's data, he never sates (or even implies) that using any of the tested air filters will or could cause severe damage to an engine. However, he does state that the "...K&N doesn't filter nearly as bad as the horror stories say...". Yes, there may be better "flowing" air filters on the market, and there are definitely better "filtering" ones, but K&N does NOT make a bad filter.

After reading some of the forum entries on this subject, I can certainly understand how many of the readers could become a little frightened. But, Bob's test results didn't surprise or scare me at all.

He are the facts:

1.) I used a K&N on my previous Acura for over 35k miles and never had any negative issues as a result. I cleaned it every 10k miles. Also, I did feel a little bit of increased power (which I didn't care about) and much better gas mileage (+4 mpg on the hwy).

2.) My brother has a K&N (his third one) in his 2003 Dodge "doolie" which he uses for cross-country hauling of horses. The truck currently has over 200k miles on it and the only engine-related problems the truck has had were with the turbo...and they had nothing to do with the K&N air filter.

3.) Using a K&N will NOT void a manufacturer's warranty.

Here are my opinions:

1.) All six of the filters that Bob tested did not differ much in either category. Also, he never states what the gas mileage was like with each (probably since that was not part of the test). The better gas mileage is what made me get another K&N.

2.) Many of the people bashing K&N are those that prefer another brand and they wholeheartedly believe that their chosen brand it the best and all other suck...especially the most popular one, K&N.

3.) The high-end air filter manufacturers, especially those with a highly respected name like K&N, would not put a product on the market that would knowingly contribute to engine damage. If this weren't the case, the auto manufacturers would void warranties where those filters were used.

In summary, I believe what Bob states in his results, including the fact that he is not in a position to make claims that certain filters are bad and that you shouldn't use them. That is a personal choice...and I stand by my decision to use the K&N with no worries what so ever.

 

I suspect the discoloration was caused more by sooty particulates and the acid effect of air pollution than dirt particles. But even so the engine will burn off 99% of what get through and the oil will flush the rest through the oil filter. All in all in a perfect world no contaminates would get in. But engines are air pumps that needs LOTs of air, and NO filteration system currently available can be 100%. Frankly, I think the choice of oil plays a bigger role in engine life span than even the worst air filter displayed in these tests. So drive your TL 200,000 miles, by then you'll want a new one anyway!