K&N vs stock air filter?

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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dlb
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K&N vs stock air filter?

Post by dlb »

has anyone tried the K&N air filters for the stock carb? since i'm keeping the stock carb on the project terc i was considering trying a K&N filter for it...until i learned they were $60! the stock ones are only $5 here so i went with one of those for now. K&N always claims to increase HP by a nominal amount, which sounds dubious but a lot of people use them so who knows, and i like the idea of reusable filters.
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Re: K&N vs stock air filter?

Post by shogun »

they are a good upgrade and best of all they are reusable, just trim the top part of the filter canister to leave the filter more exposed for better results
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dlb
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Re: K&N vs stock air filter?

Post by dlb »

i'm not clear on what part you're talking about trimming. do you mean the inside portion of the air filter housing lid? since the filter is circular, i thought the air circulated AROUND it but from what you say it sounds like the air enter from ABOVE. spell it out for me, shogun.
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Petros
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Re: K&N vs stock air filter?

Post by Petros »

I am also dubious of their claims of increased power. I think it is a false economy to use such a costly filter. If you ignore the fact you have to rigorously clean them an apply their expensive sticky spray to the filter, that means it would take you buying 12 standard airfilters to break even. That is 144,000 miles worth of filters before they pay off.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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splatterdog
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Re: K&N vs stock air filter?

Post by splatterdog »

Only because of my weber kits. I would be most worried about the quality of the filtration. Think about it. To let more air in with roughly the same surface area, more dirt will be let thru too.

If you have a newer car with a mass air flow sensor, a washable is a huge no-no.

Unless you're going from plugged paper to a washable, expect as much HP as a chrome exhaust tip adds.

They have great marketing though....
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dlb
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Re: K&N vs stock air filter?

Post by dlb »

splatterdog wrote:Unless you're going from plugged paper to a washable, expect as much HP as a chrome exhaust tip adds.
ha!
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Petros
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Re: K&N vs stock air filter?

Post by Petros »

you mean to imply that chrome exhaust tip does not help at all?!?!?!
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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ARCHINSTL
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Re: K&N vs stock air filter?

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Petros wrote:you mean to imply that chrome exhaust tip does not help at all?!?!?!
Petros - what splatterdog meant to say, but forgot, was that the triple-chromeplated exhaust tips add the real horsepower.
I always loved that "triple-chromeplated" qualifier that J.C. Whitney always added to descriptions in the old days.

As an aside - my son-in-law, so truly dear to me but absolutely clueless about anything mechanical, added a K&N to his '07 BMW 3-something for $60 or so...and claims to feel the "added power." Of course, that was over a year ago and he has yet to clean it and use the oil, despite my warning him...
Hmm - wonder if using a K&N voids any kind of engine warranty on any kind of car?
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Petros
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Re: K&N vs stock air filter?

Post by Petros »

Tom, maybe you should get him a triple chromeplated exhaust tip, tell him it helps extract the exhaust and improves performance. Tell him to try it and see how much it improves his performance, imply he will be pleased with it if he was impressed with K&N.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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