K & N air intake, are they worth it? (1 Viewer)

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Austin, TX.
I have a 2004 Land Cruiser with 140k on it. It is in great shape and running fine, was thinking about putting a K&N air filter intake kit on it, is it worth the $300? They boast improvement in throttle response, power and engine sound.

Should I put one on or spend the $300 on something else?
 
I don' think so IMO. Compared to all of the other things you could spend the money on.
 
I have heard from mechanics, motor heads, engine builders, etc. that the K&N (and similar) filter systems - on their own - are guaranteed to:
1. Make more noise
2. Make the engine seem more powerful, responsive, etc... because of that noise
3. Make the engine look prettier
4. Confuse the computer and make at least one light on the dashboard come on
5. Cost more than you'll EVER recoup' in fuel savings... EVER

But, they can add HP if:
1. You also add a free-flowing exhaust
and
2. You also change the computer program/chip (fuel) to take advantage of the additional air and exhaust flow
 
I have heard from mechanics, motor heads, engine builders, etc. that the K&N (and similar) filter systems - on their own - are guaranteed to:
1. Make more noise
2. Make the engine seem more powerful, responsive, etc... because of that noise
3. Make the engine look prettier
4. Confuse the computer and make at least one light on the dashboard come on
5. Cost more than you'll EVER recoup' in fuel savings... EVER

But, they can add HP if:
1. You also add a free-flowing exhaust
and
2. You also change the computer program/chip (fuel) to take advantage of the additional air and exhaust flow

I absolutely agree with all of the above. I wouldn't waste the money for a power issue. It is nice to be able to clean and reuse the filter if you live somewhere very dusty but that is the only advantage to a stock vehicle.
 
I have one because I broke my intake pipe while removing it to clean my throttle body. Cost for the intake pipe from Toyota was roughly the same as the K&N. I looked all over for a used intake and would have ended up waiting longer for it than for the K&N. Also, I have no plans for a snorkel in the near future.
1. It is louder under 3/4-full throttle, but no drone or anything terrible.
2. Have not noticed any appreciable performance improvement

I added a pre-filter wrap to improve the life expectancy of the filter.
 
not worth it. i buy toyota filters. some mechanics say that the oil used on the element can gum up the throttle body and intake manifold. and they flow better because there is less filtration.
 
Not worth it for this rig. In my heavily modded Audi, sure was. We were able to measure more air passing the MAF then with paper filters.

*Also, i didn't reoil the filter as it was screw up the MAF, I'd clean with soap and water to clean, but no reoiling

I'd use the $$ towards exhaust upgrade
 
You are not going to see much improvement in terms of power. I have tried them on 4runner and other car. Changed back to factory setup for cleaner filtration especially for off road use. Just mu 2 cents.
 
Thanks to all for saving me $300, gonna stick with the factory setup. I drive a lot on ranches down in south Texas and care more about having a quality filtering system.
 
Is it worth it? No!
 
Not worth it for this rig. In my heavily modded Audi, sure was. We were able to measure more air passing the MAF then with paper filters.

*Also, i didn't reoil the filter as it was screw up the MAF, I'd clean with soap and water to clean, but no reoiling

I'd use the $$ towards exhaust upgrade

I completely agree with this. I had a heavily modded 2004 Cobra that benefitted greatly from a "high flow" cone filter. I don't see it being effective for the cost on these rigs.
 
Nope
 

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