K&N air filter, worth the investment?

I was wondering if I use a K&N air filter for my 95 Accord EX coupé, would I have better performance or fuel consumption? Is it really worth?

you may gain like 3 bhp if that and a little better fuel econemy i am looking at getting a "ingine" over K&N

I think the main reason for getting a K&N filter would be to protect your engine from nasty stuff going in. They keep more rubbish out, and you don't have to replace them every service.

I do think they are better to a certain extent for airflow, as I fitted one to a previous Lexus that I owned and when it was first installed it nearly stalled on tickover as the ECU needed to learn to cope with the extra air. But don't expect to feel a massive difference unless you haven't changed your air filter for a while!

***uming this is a panel filter, you won't gain any BHP or any sort of power from just a filter on that engine and car, nor will you notice much difference on fuel economy.

Also the K&N are less effetcive as a filter than your standard paper one, they let a bit more air inw hich is why you feel improvement in throttle response. The whole reusable thing IMO is a bit of a faff, you need to clean them with their special cleaners or something like petrol, much easier just changing a standard filter every year or sevice schedule.

^ Agreed! There's nothing wrong with the stock air filter. If you want engine bling and more noise, a short ram or cold air filter is a quick an easy mod. I run a cold air intake. It does change throttle response and the increase in intake noise, for me, makes driving a little more fun. I have two K&N filters. I rotate them. Clean one and leave it stored in a cupboard until I swap it out for the dirty one...

Subtronics said:

I think the main reason for getting a K&N filter would be to protect your engine from nasty stuff going in. They keep more rubbish out, and you don't have to replace them every service.

I do think they are better to a certain extent for airflow, as I fitted one to a previous Lexus that I owned and when it was first installed it nearly stalled on tickover as the ECU needed to learn to cope with the extra air. But don't expect to feel a massive difference unless you haven't changed your air filter for a while!

Click to expand...

exec said:

***uming this is a panel filter, you won't gain any BHP or any sort of power from just a filter on that engine and car, nor will you notice much difference on fuel economy.

Also the K&N are less effetcive as a filter than your standard paper one, they let a bit more air inw hich is why you feel improvement in throttle response. The whole reusable thing IMO is a bit of a faff, you need to clean them with their special cleaners or something like petrol, much easier just changing a standard filter every year or sevice schedule.

Click to expand...

By panel filter you mean AC filter?
Two opinions very distinct from each other... Now I'm confused...

Stock air box paper filter (the concertina paper thing) is referred to as panel filter, as opposed to an open element or pod filter, which might be what you typically think of when you hear "K&N".

The stock panel filter is fine. K&N sell washable/reusable panel filters for most cars too. If you wish to have an open element (pod) filter then you will need to do a little more work in order to fit the thing. In my opinion, unless you want to remove the stock air box and resonator and faff with getting metal tubing to fit, just stick with the stock box.

If you just want the noise, take your bumper off and remove the resonator from the air intake path (it's a big black, plastic box behind the bumper on the passenger side). That will give you more roar without costing you a penny.

I did this a couple of years back. Have a read through these as they may be of some help/inspiration:

http://typeaccord.co.uk/forum/topic/10956-diy-short-ram-air-intake-the-heath-robinson-method/

http://typeaccord.co.uk/forum/topic/12190-diy-cold-air-intake-for-7th-gen-petrol/

My idea was to use a K&N made on the original shape, as I was not planning any further moddings. I was looking for something to cope with the sh**ty brazilian petrol without having to rely on modding. Strange thing is that the generic filter has 2 columns, while the K&N has only one and is centered.