K & N Air Filter...

[thetruck]

Yes ANOTHER post...

Only had my car about a month but many things need to be done (ICE, sports grille, etc) including a service.

My mechanic said get me the parts and ill do it for £60.

My car is a 2001 so i dont think any more lexus service stamps are gonna get me significant money when i sell it, so i wont bother paying £400+.

My question is, is anyone using a K&N panel filter instead of OEM.

If so would you recommend getting it and where's the best place to source one?

Does it really add HP and make the car feel more responsive or is it just a marketing ploy?

Thanks all!

[DJ Wozza]

I have a K&N Panel filter on my IS200, not noticed much difference, but can't do any harm, plus it lasts

much longer than OE when cleaned & re-oiled properly.

I got mine from www.fasterfilters.co.uk

[edeath]

I'm using one. The main benefit it gives is a slightly nicer sounding induction i think - it may increase responsiveness a bit (i have had it in over a year so can't really remember), but horsepower will be next to nothing. Some say they have seen better mpg with one too. Best place to get it is eBay, i'd recommend one as you save on buying filters even if it doesn't do much performance/mpg wise.

[coolrides]

i have k&n panel. original looked very restrictive so binned it

[kam05]

A few members have the K&N air filter (including me). Personally, I think mpg slightly improves (1-2 mpg), but my main reason for going for the K&N filter was once its fitted you don't need to replace it (its a lifetime filter), just needs a wash/clean.

Best place to buy a K&N filter is from eBay, mine cost me £35- I think its worth the money.

[thetruck]

A few members have the K&N air filter (including me). Personally, I think mpg slightly improves (1-2 mpg), but my main reason for going for the K&N filter was once its fitted you don't need to replace it (its a lifetime filter), just needs a wash/clean.

Best place to buy a K&N filter is from ebay, mine cost me £35- I think its worth the money.

I found 1 for £35 i mite have to go for it. I read that you have an OEM Chrome Tip, would you mind telling me where you manage to get hold of one?

Thanks for all input. (from everybody)

[kam05]

A few members have the K&N air filter (including me). Personally, I think mpg slightly improves (1-2 mpg), but my main reason for going for the K&N filter was once its fitted you don't need to replace it (its a lifetime filter), just needs a wash/clean.

Best place to buy a K&N filter is from ebay, mine cost me £35- I think its worth the money.

I found 1 for £35 i mite have to go for it. I read that you have an OEM Chrome Tip, would you mind telling me where you manage to get hold of one?

Thanks for all input. (from everybody)

Re: OEM Chrome tip- I bought it from Lexus Leeds, I bought the last one, as the part is now discontinued, you cannot get hold of a new one. My advise is to keep an eye on LOC or eBay, they do sometimes come up for sale.

[Lexus2D]

Iv got 1 & when i reset the ECU found petrol was better :winky:

Cheers Wozza was down 2 u as i didnt know till u put it up how 2 do it

So i did find a difference as id had it on over a year b4 i did the ECU

[Andy-R]

I have a K&N and it does make a slight difference a slightly better MPG smoother acceleration and better sound no diff on HP but just feels quicker because it's smoother, for £35-£40 well worth the money IMHO especially if your keeping the car for a while and service it twice a year it pays for it's self in 18-24 months.

[WylieCoyote]

I have one, maybe get an extra 1mpg on motorway but then by being a bit more careful with the throttle will do that even better. Doesn't do anything else. You'll never make the outlay cost back so not worth it.

[Chris.S]

I fitted one to mine but its hardly noticable, i got mine off eBay for about £35

[Gord]

I have one, maybe get an extra 1mpg on motorway but then by being a bit more careful with the throttle will do that even better. Doesn't do anything else. You'll never make the outlay cost back so not worth it.

Rubbish mate, what do you do with your lexus air filter ? and whats the cost of lexus filter ? you can wash and use the K&N filter time and time again, so saving you money :D

[Paradroid]

original looked very restrictive so binned it

That's exactly what I thought, it's like a very solid cotton wool, I'd not seen one like that before.

@andy-r - Does the K&N panel filter affect the engine note - what's the difference? When I've tried panel filters in other cars it's not really changed the noise.

[Steviewevie]

Iv got 1 & when i reset the ECU found petrol was better :winky:

Cheers Wozza was down 2 u as i didnt know till u put it up how 2 do it

So i did find a difference as id had it on over a year b4 i did the ECU

Really ? What does resetting the ECU do in this case ? Does the ECU then "learn" that the amount of air coming through the filter is different and adjust the mixture or something ? I'm intrigued.

Does the K&N filter just slot in place of the OEM filter ? Or is there more to it ?

[Y2Kanjar]

I got one, it's nothing major but nice to have,

fasterfilters

[kam05]

Iv got 1 & when i reset the ECU found petrol was better :winky:

Cheers Wozza was down 2 u as i didnt know till u put it up how 2 do it

So i did find a difference as id had it on over a year b4 i did the ECU

Really ? What does resetting the ECU do in this case ? Does the ECU then "learn" that the amount of air coming through the filter is different and adjust the mixture or something ? I'm intrigued.

Does the K&N filter just slot in place of the OEM filter ? Or is there more to it ?

When you reset the ECU, the car/ECU 'learns' your driving style and it is normally recommended that you should reset the ECU if you have made a performance upgrade (not sure if a K&N air filter counts as a performance upgrade though).

Yep, the K&N air filter slots into the original housing (remove the strip on top of the airbox that has the 'L' printed on it- it is held down by a couple of clips), remove OEM air filter and install K&N air filter, takes 2 mins to change the air filter on a IS200.

[edeath]

Yeah i would say putting the filter in counts as needing the ECU reset. Or looking at it from another angle - if you don't reset the ECU you won't see any difference whether there'll be one or not.

[Steviewevie]

I hate this forum, it keeps making me want to buy more stuff !

Just kidding, I love learning all these sort of things really, even if does end up costing me money !

[Lexus2D]

Iv got 1 & when i reset the ECU found petrol was better :winky:

Cheers Wozza was down 2 u as i didnt know till u put it up how 2 do it

So i did find a difference as id had it on over a year b4 i did the ECU

Really ? What does resetting the ECU do in this case ? Does the ECU then "learn" that the amount of air coming through the filter is different and adjust the mixture or something ? I'm intrigued.

Does the K&N filter just slot in place of the OEM filter ? Or is there more to it ?

Yes 2 both ;)

[Andy-R]

original looked very restrictive so binned it

That's exactly what I thought, it's like a very solid cotton wool, I'd not seen one like that before.

@andy-r - Does the K&N panel filter affect the engine note - what's the difference? When I've tried panel filters in other cars it's not really changed the noise.

Just makes the engine sound a bit more growly, nothing major just sounds a bit throatier it won't blow your ears out or anything some people may not even notice. As I said earlier tho if your keeping your car for a few years and service every 6 months then the filter pays for itself after about 18-24months and if you change to a newer 1st gen IS then the filter can go with you.

[thetruck]

how do u go about resetting the ecu then?!

[Steviewevie]

how do u go about resetting the ecu then?!

I presume that the information here is correct

[imperial1952]

I have one, maybe get an extra 1mpg on motorway but then by being a bit more careful with the throttle will do that even better. Doesn't do anything else. You'll never make the outlay cost back so not worth it.

Rubbish mate, what do you do with your lexus air filter ? and whats the cost of lexus filter ? you can wash and use the K&N filter time and time again, so saving you money :D

I totally agree with "GORD's" reply to "WYLIE COYOTE" as i have had a K&N filter on my IS 200se for the previous few months.

One thing you also have to factor in on top of the cost of the K&N filter (code 33-2845 @ £30.99 + £7.50 p+p) is the cost of the Recharger Kit (code 99-5050) @ £12.99 delivered. This kit will enable you to clean and re-oil the filter approx Six times. In the long run, cost and environmentally wise it's a "No Brainer" decision.

PS:- If you buy another Lexus you can fit it to the new one at no extra cost.

PPS:- It's a good idea to keep the old throw-away filter for future use as it takes a day or two for the cleaned filter to dry before you can re-oil it. You don't want to run you're car without a filter on the two day's that you are waiting for the K&N one to dry out do you!

[84Stoney]

I have one, maybe get an extra 1mpg on motorway but then by being a bit more careful with the throttle will do that even better. Doesn't do anything else. You'll never make the outlay cost back so not worth it.

I respectfully disagree. Though I have not used one on an IS.

I hate this forum, it keeps making me want to buy more stuff !

Just kidding, I love learning all these sort of things really, even if does end up costing me money !

When I signed up to this, my car was finished. Now it's just one thing after another!

[Steviewevie]

One thing you also have to factor in on top of the cost of the K&N filter (code 33-2845 @ £30.99 + £7.50 p+p) is the cost of the Recharger Kit (code 99-5050) @ £12.99 delivered. This kit will enable you to clean and re-oil the filter approx Six times. In the long run, cost and environmentally wise it's a "No Brainer" decision.

How often to people here clean their K&N filters ?

I had a look on K&N's website, and here they talk about cleaning it every 50,000 miles, depending on driving conditions (which sounds like quite a long interval to me, I would have thought 20,000 or so might be more sensible ?)