Performance air filters! Yes or not worth it?

Just wondering what TW members think of K&N, TRD or other performance air filter? Is it worth the money? if so what recommendations are out there?

 

OEM paper filter flows PLENTY more than any NA'd setup can suck through it and will filter better than stuff like KnN and is way cheaper

 

General consensus is no to a oiled filter or a CAI since the oem intake sucks up air thru the wheel well. Your better off with a paper filter due to better filtration and in my own personal experience I had a MAF get coated with oil from a K&N and ran poorly till I cleaned it.

 

OEM Toyota filters all the way.

 

My truck came with a K&N CAI when I bought it. I do love that I can just clean and oil the filter whenever it gets dirty but not really sure I would have spent $300 to get one.

 

Paper is best. Oiled filters are too little reward (if there even is one) for the risk involved, and dry washable filters let too much dirt through. At least my AFE one did. OEM paper filters work great and aren't that expensive to replace.

 

I personally run K&N drop-in filters in my Outbacks. I’ve never had a reason to doubt their effectiveness, and I feel like they make a difference. However, I’ve read some concerning things about them and their ability to filter properly recently. As a result, I decided to take a closer look while cleaning my K&N on Sunday.

The first image is of the part of the air box ahead of the filter. The second is the air box section after the filter. The car has 70k miles, and the K&N has been in for all but 10k of those. I’m personally not concerned about the little bit of dust post-filter that is shown here. I don’t think it’s enough to cause damage. The camera flash really makes it more apparent than the dust looks under normal light.

I don’t have a K&N in my taco, and I don’t think I will buy one. I may go with an AFE dry filter because I like reusability.

 

If you do go with the AFE pro dry filter, keep an eye behind it for awhile because mine let a good amount of fine dirt through.

 

I used to have a k&n on my teenage years Japanese sports car and did love the fact I can just clean it however I Value my taco a lot more then that thing. It seems like air filters are a very polarizing conversation and that there isn’t much difference between OEM or after market. If there’s no real performance difference then I may just stick with the trusted oem paper filters.

 

I have a K&N drop in which has now paid for itself due to being washable and not replaceable. That was worth it to me. And no, there is no performance/economy gains.

 

when it comes to these engines and them being N/A, you really don't get anything "performance" wise out of a different air filter...despite what the packaging claims. If you start adding boost, tuning and all that fun stuff then there might be something to be gained with aftermarket filters and intakes, but for the majority of those on here it's more about proper air filtration than anything else. Definitely don't want to be letting more dirt through your filter in the hopes that you might be getting a few more HP that you won't even be able to feel. That's why I'll always advocate for the OEM paper filters

 

I don’t understand how so many people do all kinds of upgrades and spend all kind of extra money thinking they’re doing their truck a favor, when most of the trucks that won’t die after hundreds of thousands of miles are all stock more or less. Almost seems like the engineers knew a thing or two.

 

There is nothing wrong with drop in oiled filters. The problem arises from those who have no idea how to wash and re-oil them, using way too much oil That's where the MAF problems come in.

 

From what i've seen, you want to avoid oiled filters all-together. Even brand-new ones that arent over oiled will gum up the MAF sensor over time. My buddy had drivability issues a few thousand miles after installing his Volant intake, and that ended up being the problem

 

I have the AEM dry filter that is washable. It's about half as thick as the OEM paper filter and does not do as good a job filtering. My MAF sensor is usually significantly dirtier with this filter than it was with the OEM paper. Of course, the benefit is that I don't have to buy new filters anymore. So I save money there.

Want to buy it from me and I'll switch back to OEM paper?

 

That's exactly why I ditched my Pro Dry filter. Same issue, too much fine dirt gets through it which is bad news if you offroad a lot especially in dusty conditions.

 

Did i mention that it's also a PITA to clean thoroughly? Then it takes a while to dry....so yeah...stick with paper.

Sorry to be a "do as I say, not as I do" kind of guy here, but learn from my mistake.

 

It sounds cool like a pissed off vacuum cleaner

 

Mine definitely does. 4 cyl makes it even worse haha