Who has the best deal on a drop in K&N filter for the WRX?

Thanks,
TurboSteve

well i will tell u aint getting them at pep boys or advanced auto. best price i saw was around 40 bucks at website. read archives b4 really deciding whether it is necessary.

Yeh, I have read that peak HP drops 7HP (Vishnu Performance Dyno result) with the dropin K&N vs. the stock paper filter. But, throttle response and lowend torque may come in sooner. Also, with older Impreza's they have had problems with the K&N filter oil getting into the MAF sensor. And, the MAF sensor is over $400 for the part. I have had one, and I can say that I did not notice any difference at all. But, I had the one for a Nissan Maxima in my car, which was the part people were using before the 2002 WRX specific model came out in April 2002.

DaytonTP is right. The oil is too much of a risk. Stick with a stock paper filter and change it. I'm currently in a huge warranty claim battle w/K&N on my S-10. The oil (no by nomeans overoiled, im not a moron) shot off the filter element and clogged my throttle bodies and IAC valve not to mention injectors and spark plugs. I have used K&N for 5 years and 4 oil changes, and this was to much of a risk. Im $500 out and K&N isnt budging. They arent doing crap to help the situation either.

There is no way I'm putting a rechargeable filter on my WRX. K&N's product is too much risk.

For 5 bucks every 7 thousand miles, Ill stay with paper, and save a headache.

The OEM stock subaru filter is pre-oiled from the factory!

NOMAD

Looked like a paper to me

What kind of oil is it, from a tree. In that case I would say it is PAPER. As dense as the OEM filter is, if it has oil in it, air will not go through it. The turbo would suck the paper apart at full boost.

IMHO, the OEM filter is paper and does not have oil in it. It has no shine or light reflection in it when you hold it up to look through it. Also, just called my Subaru Parts man at the dealer and he said that the filter is paper, and nothing on the filter box or in the parts inventory computer says anything about oiled filters. He said it may have oil on it, but nothing that he can see.

If they oiled the Subaru filters, they must be Cotton. If they were a oiled paper filter, right, the turbo would suck the living poop outta them.

My money is on straight paper. I'll look when I get home.

It's 100% paper

white lined paper, legal size?

8.5" by 14"

:lol:

I hear the lined paper gives you an extra 2 hp per 10 lines. :lol:

I'd better stock up on college ruled then...

Let me restate this and clear up a few things for you nonbelievers. The stock OEM subaru PAPER air filter IS indeed pre-oiled from the factory. When you buy your replacement from a dealer, it comes in a plastic bag to keep it from drying out. It is not the same oil that would be used to oil a cotton filter and it may not feel greasy to the touch like other oils would. It is indeed oiled with a proper spec oil that will stay suspended between the paper fibers still allowing it to filter properly and NOT be sucked into the turbo.

Does that mean that you will be able to see the oil or feel the film on your fingers from the filter that is presently in your car(the one that has been exposed from the plastic bag to the enviroment and has been doing it's job for however many miles) ?

Maybe not.

I have owned K&N filters, worked in parts departments and been involved with motorsports for quite some time. Paper filters are not always sent out dry!

I will ask, why MUST an oiled filter only be cotton and wait for the explanation. I have read the K&N ads propaganda, you need to dig deeper than that. Why are the people posting so certain that a paper filter could NEVER be oiled. Maybe it is because they rely on second hand information from their parts counter person who obviously didn't go and actually put his hands on one, opening the box and inspecting it.

Read my original post again,

The OEM stock subaru filter is pre-oiled from the factory!

NOMAD

I have now elaborated, gently, without offending, I hope. Waiting for responses!

:cool:
NOMAD

I'd like to know what kinda oil they are using then. Not doubting you at all Nomad. I know K&Ns use animal fat which may attribute the the non combustible nature and the more sticky qualitys I experienced on my Chevy. I guess Im just curiuos on how any oil does not break down the paper. I do notice the stock OEM filter seems to collect dirt in a different way other papers do.

Oil won't break down paper (if paper is saturated with oil, it might lose strength, but that's different). The Subaru filters are pre-coated with some low-volatility liquid (which may not be an oil) according to the Impreza shop manual.

It doesn't make any sense to do a mod unless it increase power. Since the K&N filter is not a proven way to increase hp, why do it? Stick with the stock paper filter.

This mod I have not done. The folks at subaruwrxparts.com sell the K&N and says "increase power and gas mileage" So there ye have it...........some say yeah some say Nay. I will save my 45.00 bucks until further notice.

Originally posted by Gargantua
This mod I have not done. The folks at subaruwrxparts.com sell the K&N and says "increase power and gas mileage" So there ye have it...........some say yeah some say Nay. I will save my 45.00 bucks until further notice.
So, a vendor who is selling the K&N filter says that it increases power. This isn't backed up by tests or any sort of objective evidence.

People who have tested the K&N filter and have no financial interest in selling it, say that it decreases or has no positive impact on power.

Who do I believe???

BTW, does anyone want to buy a K&N filter at a very reasonable price?;)

The Drop in K&N filter results in a peak drop in 7BHP. It MAY have more throttle response, better torque down low, better gas mileage and it makes the turbo spool sound louder. But, VishnuPerformance was specing out their Stage Zero performance pack, and decided to keep the stock paper filter. They discovered that putting a dropin K&N with no other mods resulted in a 7BHP drop at peak BHP.

I seriously doubt that you will feel 7 hp. I put a K & N in my car because first off, they are reuseable. I buy it once and forget about it. Second, unless they are extrreamly dirty, they don't need cleaning. I do it maybe about, twice a year. Third, how much to stock filters cost? $8-10? I don't know. I do know that, for the price of around 4 of them, $41.00, I have a filter that will last the life of the car. So, if you think that you will make more power with a stock filter then all you have to do is let your K & N filter get dirty and it will have just as much of a restriction as the stock piece. ;)

google.com provides a wealth of information if you know what to SEARCH for:

Try searching for "K&N filter hp test"

http://coolynx.virtualave.net/z3/upgrades/performance/kn-filter/kn-filter.htm

There are quite a few websites that indicate the reverse [increased HP when dropping in a K&N filter].

Do not get me wrong, I am not against K&N filters. I have used one in my 2000 Civic EX coupe and then on my 2002 WRX sedan. I sold the one in my WRX because it was the Nissan model that many WRX owners were using before K&N actually came out with a specific WRX filter in April 2002. Which is 13 months after the WRX was on the street in the USA. I bought my WRX in November 2001.

The only reason I keep mentioning the 7BHP, is they did a series of DYNO pulls, a few with the stock filter. Then change the filter and did a few more. At one time, the DYNO chart was being thosed around on this site. The main question was why the popular Vishnu StageZero kit did not have a K&N in it. The reasons were because the DYNO pulls did not show positive gain. And, the whole thing with creating a performance package is all positive performance mods. So, the filter is left out.

Ain't putting a K&N on my cars ever again. For 7 pseudo HP, right, I'll stick w/paper. I know its 35-$45 but, then you have to buy the cleaning kit ($10) and then you have to spend time cleaning and drying it every year. Plus with the risk factor or over oiling it(due to extry porus nature of cotton), or damaging a sensor or plugs. Then dealing with the crappy reps from K&N when you have a warranty claim? No, no thanks. I've been there and done that.

Keep it real, if you are looking for HP, 3/16th mod, hacking intakes, $35 MBC or K&N, its all a farse (too much risk, to little gain). You have to pay bigger$ for HP.

I used to have a K&N too. Not anymore.

I kept getting a consistent CELs with the K&N. Removed it and haven't had a CEL since. Oh, it was a fresh filter too. POS, wasted 45 bucks on it too.

For sale, 1 month old K&N...

Originally posted by thesmokingman
I used to have a K&N too. Not anymore.

I kept getting a consistent CELs with the K&N. Removed it and haven't had a CEL since. Oh, it was a fresh filter too. POS, wasted 45 bucks on it too.

For sale, 1 month old K&N...

I was angry that I just experienced the exact opposite event. I have been running a K&N filter as it came out of the box for 27,000 miles. So I decided to change to stock, rather than wash and reoil it.

The WRX must have a quick-acting ying-yang program in it.

I just took off the the top of the air filter box and inspected everything in there including the sensor and the interior surfaces. I replaced the K&N filter (it was only slightly dirty in the
center) all the plastic surfaces were like-new clean.

So I put in the new subaru air filter (with "slow-evaporating viscous polymeric liquid," as it says on Manual page PM-19). I made sure all the lines I moved and the intake hose, and the seating is OK. Then I start the car and let it run to operating temperature until the fan cycles on.

Then I take the car out for some mixed energetic and slow driving (about 70 miles). Towards the end I get the P0420, which I didn't have with the K&N for at least 6000 miles.

Up to this point, I thought that some things I had done to my car had finally solved the P0420 probem. Now I am glad I didn't post those changes here.

For background, the constants for the two filters are a TXS stage 2 UTEC + TXS TMIC running non-oxygenated 93 octane Exxon, grounding mod, 5w -30 Mobil synthetic in crankcase, the driving route and off boost and high boost scenarios were similar. The CEL occurred at very low boost.

I sure hope I get all that extra HP from the stock filter after going through all this.

:lol:

""""I kept getting a consistent CELs with the K&N. Removed it and haven't had a CEL since. Oh, it was a fresh filter too. POS, wasted 45 bucks on it too.

For sale, 1 month old K&N...""""


Wow, if you started a warranty claim w/K&N today, you may get something in writing by April 1st. I started my claim November 13th and I just recieved O/N mail a claim form.