K&N drop in filter worth it?

[D-Love]

My filter is about ready to be replaced.
Go Nissan or K&N?

Not looking for a significant mod (yet)

[rrumaner]

I haven't noticed any increase/decrease with my K&N Filter and I have had it for over 15K miles. Get the one that is the most cost effective.

[TitanVol]

I had a '96 Maxima that I replaced the stock filter with the drop in K&N. I could tell a big difference. The telling part was that my wife asked what I did to the car because it ran much better. And it was the last one I had to buy for the car.

As far as my Titan, I am going to replace with the K&N on the next oil change. I would recommend it.

[goosemst]

Never had any power increase with K&N and you wont see one unless the computer is modified. The stock filter is cheap and unless you are in real dusty conditions you wont replace one that often.

[GETSOMZ28]

I have never seen any gains (track or dyno) on a K&N filter over a cheap paper Fram on 400+hp LS1s. I would stick with paper if it is just a drop in. Plus, you dont have to worry about the MAF getting jacked up by the K&N oil.

[stick]

Originally Posted by goosemst

Never had any power increase with K&N and you wont see one unless the computer is modified. The stock filter is cheap and unless you are in real dusty conditions you wont replace one that often.

i have noticed a slight diff with my kn. how do you go about moding the computer? is that a dealership issue or what? how much does it cost?

thanks

[HavockWK]

I noticed that the power band under partial throttle is a little smoother. It seems that the power comes a little easier than with the Nissan paper. Under full throttle, I don't notice any difference. As for the gas mileage... Well let's say that hasn't improved. I have considered buying a new paper filter to see what happens to my mileage.

[goosemst]

dont know about a Titan. On my old mercury cougar any mod I did I could get a computer chip custom burn to take advantage of the mod. Dont know if there is anything for a Titan yet. YOur best bet is to stick with the stock filter for now

[D-Love]

Thanks for all the replies....!

I used a K&N drop in filter w/ my 04 4Runner & thought it made my gas mi worse.

Prob better to use stock until I go for an FIPK type set up....?

[RockyMtnTitan]

I've been doing some flow testing, comparing the KN, Fram Air Hog and stock Nissan filters. In all tests, the Air Hog, surprisingly, won out. It flowed with the least pressure drop. It is cotton gauze, like the KN, but is deeper allowing for less drop, and hopefully better filtration than the KN. It also fits in the airbox better than the KN. The differences between all 3 filters are not huge, but they are there, just the same.

I'm waiting for my Volant still, and then will complete my testing and post results.

You'll notice a bigger difference with these performance filters if you do the airbox mod. BTW, all my tests were done with the airbox mod and a modded exhaust, so results may be slightly different on a stock truck. Also, I only measured pressure drop across the filter, not the entire intake.

Stay tuned....

Edit: I've decided not to do oil analysis after running each of these 3 air filters to determine which provides best filtration, as previously mentioned. Reason is, JetTech has done oil analysis after running the Volant and has received excellent lab results. This was while running Mob1 0W-40 oil with a 5,000 mi interval.....not bad, and def good enough for me. I'll also be running the Volant and I'm using Mob1 5W-30, so should have similar results.

[Judster]

The filter will last the life of the truck. $50.00 or so one time vs $12.00 each time you replace the filter.
I did not notice any change in fuel economy or performance. It just makes sense from a cost stand point.

Sidenote; I have had several paper filters (fram, wix, whatever) come apart and screw up my MAF in both my Acura and Trooper after 10 - 15k.

Just my 2 cents worth...

[fellowx]

I had the drop in on a 03 Frontier v6 cc xe, there wasn't any noticeable power gains, sound, or gas mileage increase. That's why this time around, I went with the Volant CAI that I bought from gearman.

But the benefit of never having to buy another filter would probably be worthed it, if you're going to replace the filter anyways.

[Titan Ken]

Judster mentioned $12.00 air filter. My local "discount" department store automotive department has Purolater filter for $17.99. Walmart has Fram for about $16.00. Where do I find $12.00 air filters? Haven't checked the dealer's price yet.

[Quad T]

I have foam filters in all my vehicles!

If there is a performance gain, I suspect it is very small, for me though it is less about the performance gain and more about having a cost effective clean filter.

My '95 Nissan XE-V6 has 130,000 miles on it. I have bought ONE filter in all that time.

A hot bucket of water and a generous supply of Dawn dish detergent makes cleaning a snap. After that I let it sit out in the sun until completely dry and then spray it down witht he filter oil. All in all simple and a huge cost savings if you own your vehicles for a long time like I do.

[1st Titan]

This is my K&N out of my Lightning