So I've looked and looked (at least 2 hours) and I can't seem to find anything on whether the K&N air filter changes anything performance wise with the car. I replaced it 2 days after buying my '12 tC, and am just curious if I should expect a little more power, better mpg, or anything. I thought I remember reading somewhere that some cars need their ECU's reprogrammed after a K&N install, but not sure. I'm a borderline expert when it comes to car audio/electronics, but performance mods, I'm a noob. So any insight would be me much appreciated. Thanks guys!

Matty Biggz

 

should just be that you need to undo your negative battery terminal and take it off for 10 or 15 minutes to let the system reset. Then when you screw it back down, it will reset and learn what you have put on over the next hundred miles or so. (don't worry, you won't electrocute yourself. Just don't touch the red (positive terminal) to the negative or let any metal connect the two and you will be fine.

I think an ECU would only need to be flashed for an addition of a Turbo or something big. I had a K & N that dropped into the stock air box and then decided to go to a Cold Air Intake because I didn't really notice anything with just the filter. Search for mods to the stock snorkel and that in conjunction with the K & N might do something for you.

Good Luck

 

Not an expert, but I don't think it'll add anything. A drop in filter is basically a washable filter designed to stop you from buying filters over and over again.

 

Yea with the K&N drop in you're not gonna feel a very significanty improvement in anything. That's why CAI's were invented! And as said above ^ ECU's can adapt to minor changes such as intakes and exhausts, etc. They only need to be tuned or reflashed for minor changes, like turbo, supercharger, etc

 

You will not gain any horsepower or mileage from a drop-in air filter. All you're doing is wasting your money if that's what you hope to gain.

 

Not only are they pretty much a waste of money but you risk gumming up your MAF which will cause you problems. The vast majority of people will see no benefit for using any kind of oil bath filter (that's what a K&N filter is). Best advice would be to find a good quality dry filter and keep it clean.

 

K&N has been one of the top air filter and intake companies for years. No they do not gum up your maf sensor, user error does. If you over oil the filter, then yes it will slowly find it's way to the MAF. K&N do flow better than stock and they pay for themselves in the long run. It's a one time purchase. On the other hand there is a lot of new dry filter tech. out there that "on paper data" shows they flow better. I have not used any of them so I can't comment. I have noticed the market going in that direction, so there must be good reason. Maybe for simplicity, no sticky oil to deal with and a dirty oiled air filter will choke an engine. Not ideal for certain race conditions.
I raced 2-stroke and 4-stroke bikes and quads off-road. Air filters had to be oiled or your engine was toast in a matter of minutes. Paper filters were not an option. I also raced nitro r/c where we used oiled filters for our little 1.5 h.p. 2 cycle engines that turned up to 40k rpms.. Oiled filters where the only option period. I could get 10 gallons or more on a race mill, which is the equivelant of about 300k miles or more on a car engine. I also know from personal experience that K&N oil will prevent small amounts of water from entering the engine as well.

 

Yes, technically you are correct on several points but the difference between theory and actuality is the real world. Oil bath filters typically are service wrong by the operators which cause more problems than they are worth. So yes while they themselves do not cause the problem they lead to causing problems. And since most people don’t know how to service them it’s safe to say that they do cause problems. I’m not knocking K&N for their successful business strategy but keep in mind that largest name recognition doesn’t translate into best product especially for typical applications. FRAM is a very well-known filter maker but how many people brag about using their products.

Off-road applications are where oil-bath filters really shine because of the increased amount of dust and dirt being kicked around and the service intervals used. Normal applications where you can control dust they don’t really do better.

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