[Prozac]

As I'm planning on keeping the T5 for a long time.... is it worth buying a K&N air filter?

Do they do anything for performance / efficiency?

 

[nwilko]

performance.. no
eary death of MAF.. yes

best think with the K&N is the bumper sticker, save your money dont bother..
standard air box is large enough and designed for the engine, change in line with service interval and your sorted.

 

[t4acvswb]

Dont know about MAF death but a waste of money a good clean standard element is more than enough unless you run a top fuel dragster then they dont use anything T:

 

[Prozac]

Cheers...sharn't bother then!T:

 

[prawnypaul]

I use a K&N air filter if your unsure as to if they will kill your MAF then google K&N and go to there frequently asked questions may put your mind at rest did mine best way of keeping service costs down in future T:

 

[Easyrider]

I know K&N filters used to kill the early Subaru Impreza maf's because the maf would get a very light film of oil from the filter on it- the later ones wasnt as fragile. I havnt heard of T5 mafs being that fragile??

 

[Mikey Desp Daniels]

Running a K&N for the last 3 years & 40,000+ Miles Cleaned & Oiled CORRECTLY when serviced.

MAF Killer LOL:

Load of Cobblers :ILU:

 

[TonyM]

I heard that the Pipercross was the better filter. Not talking from experience though.

 

[festa]

I use a k and n in my 174 and have not had a problem with the maf had it in now for the last 3years 80k miles

 

[Prozac]

A real Marmite topic then ..... the people who's used them and are seriously happy .... and the people that won't/haven't because of the rumours/hearsay .....

K&N's FAQ's are quite interesting. I guess IF they DON'T cause MAF's to fail, it'd be IMPOSSIBLE to prove/disprove (prove God doesn't exist .... ) ..... if they DO cause them to fail, they'd have to be smudging the results .... which would be a dodgy path to tread.

 

[Oscarli]

going back a few years now the k&n filters were too heavily oiled and did indeed kill a maf with oil contamination. Obviously the problem became evident and then you saw all oil based filters being less saturated in oil. You can normally judge this by the plastic bag you will take the filter from upon purchase, if there is still oil swimming around in the bag then dont go near a car with a maf fitted. Nowadays most of the decent branded oil based filters are a lot cleaner so fine for most applications.
As said though, mafs fail on a regular basis anyway so you would be hard pushed to claim a filter has killed it.
Green cotton and itg seem to be the favourite filters at the moment for the vag car tuning brigade. itg are probably one of the only brands that can back up any power increase claims with induction kits/filters with any cinfidence, I have seen evidence first hand too (and NO I am not affiliiated with itg in any way ; ))
Most German manufactured turbo applications will have a standard air box and filter that will surpass any need that it is fitted too, regular stage 1 type tuning and the standard filter/air box will still be well within spec and cause no restriction to air flow.

 

[wiganlatic]

I felt slight improvement in running with mine fitted. As previously stated, see the K&N website for details of the "MAF killing". The video shows everything you need to know about it.

 

[adamvwt5]

In my experience they do more harm than good, especially the uncertainty of if to oil, when to oil, how much oil etc. Think they were great in the days of mk 2 escort twin 40s and are great on 2 strokes etc, but nowadays i think you are best to run with the stock vw filter assembly and gain power elsewhere. Only my opinion.

 

[wiganlatic]

Thats fair enough. Each to their own as they say.



http://www.knfilters.com/MAF/massair.htm

We are aware of the “urban myth” (K&N News Story) created by a few dealerships that a vehicle's MAF sensor can be contaminated by K&N filter oil. No evidence has ever been provided to support this “myth” and three years of diagnostic testing by K&N has shown that not only is this allegation not real, it is not even possible. In our opinion, it is an excuse for a dealership and/or the vehicle manufacturer to avoid a legitimate warranty repair. In the last 4 years, we have sold over 10,000,000 lifetime air filters and received only a few hundred calls from consumers who are having dealership or service provider challenges. We believe that Dealership's or service provider's real incentive may be to discourage the use of reusable products so they can sell disposable products over and over. In order to provide consumers with added comfort that they will not be placed in a bad position by an improper warranty denial, we offer our Consumer Protection Pledge.

 

[So-Kal]

MAF killer? Never heard of that, but the above seems to answer it.

Power increase?

Not that you'd notice.

Panel filter in a regular airbox - I guess it'll eventually mean a saving compared with a brand new paper filter each year.

 

[prawnypaul]

Well then Mr Prozac has anything you have read influenced you either way ?

 

[Prozac]

Well then Mr Prozac has anything you have read influenced you either way ?

Oh yeah, it's all become perfectly clear

I like the idea of K&N's ....
Are all air filters born equal ? is THIS as good as a VW or K&N?

 

[prawnypaul]

This filter only has 1 year warrenty makes me think should be changed as per service schedule not last a lifetime as K&N

 

[sir guy]

I bought a k&n for my 174, fitted and used it for a week and changed back to a new vw standard paper filter.
I honestly think it made my van run poor, waste of £40, any body want to buy a nearly new k&n filter.

 

[Prozac]

I bought a k&n for my 174, fitted and used it for a week and changed back to a new vw standard paper filter.
I honestly think it made my van run poor, waste of £40, any body want to buy a nearly new k&n filter.

You're selling it well !