K&N drop-ins - How many miles?
 

Hi guys and gals,

Quick question for those of you using K&N drop-in filters. How many miles have you logged with them? My car is new and I'm not sure if I should put them in since they are known to allow more dirt/dust to reach the engine.

I previously owned a Mustang with a super charger and used an oiled cone filter for 70'000 miles without any obvious issues. I always kept the filter clean and oiled properly, and changed the synthetic oil every 3k. The only thing I noticed is my oil would turn dark fairly quickly and don't know if it had anything to do with dirt/dust entering the engine.

This is all just speculation on my part. Thanks...

I've run K&N on several cars with no issues. I have had them on the Z for over 15k miles with no issues so far. I check them regularly and maintain them. I think folks that have issues with them either over oil or don't clean frequent enough.

I've only had the drop-ins on my Z for a couple of thousand miles, but on my Mustang, I cleaned and oiled the filter every 5,000 miles or so. Granted, that was overkill on my part, but it made me feel better. I always make sure that the filter is completely dry after cleaning and not to over-oil the media. I believe K&N makes the claim that you can go up to 50,000 miles between cleanings for a box-type (stock) filter, like those found on the Z.

I did the same with mine and had a spare so I didn't have to wait for the filter to dry. In between cleanings I would take it off and tap it on the garage floor to remove the dirt, sand, etc. I found the K&N filters at thezstore for $41 each. At the local auto parts they want $59 each.

Good thinking on having a spare. Never really thought of that, but it's a perfect solution. Those conical filters take forever to dry! Hopefully, the panel filters do so a little more quickly.

For the "Z" I'll just use clean OEM filters during cleaning. :-)

I knew there was a reason I kept the OEM filters. I can't throw anything away!

BTW, glad you got the HPS tubes installed.

:-)

I still have all my stock Mustang parts to get rid of. LOL

I used to clean mine about every 25k miles. I'd wash them as recommended and then put them in my mailbox for a few hours to dry (kind of like a small oven) on a sunny day, re-oil, reinstall and go.

Have had them on many cars with no issues (still have dual K&Ns on my 240Z) but not on any of our others now.