Have had the same cabin air filter since I bought the car in 2007. No bad smell at all. Air conditioner seems to blow out heavy. My question is : In looking for a new filter the prices range from $6.00 to apx. $40.00 on ebay, average apx. $20.00. What is the difference in these LS430 cabin air filters that causes this great difference in price? When I changed my engine air filter I bought an $8.00 filter over a year ago and the engine is running just fine. There was also a great difference in the price in that as well. Thanks to all.

 

I've bought this one the last 3 changes.

 

Thanks for the tip. Bought the same carbonized Lexus 430 filter on ebay for $8.45. From your response I was able to do the research.

 

You get what you pay for.

A Clublexus Forum post comparison between OEM and Denso aftermarket:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...r-element.html

The OEM cabin filter is superior in so many ways.

HOWEVER....when purchasing anything anymore from the dealer, verify it is an original OEM factory installed part number and not a superceding part number.

Toyota North America is substituting different quality parts.

 

$50 vs $12?

It's a cabin filter, not a timing belt or something crucial. Even if I replaced it every year it would still be cheaper by a LOT!

 

Here...Have used both and the aftermarket stuff is crap... half the filter surface area, poor sealing (increased noise) and allows fine dust to pass into ductwork.

Feel free to perform your own tests and report your findings.

 

I have the Denso filter in my 430. It produces exactly ZERO noise.
Particle (Dust) size at the micron level, re what passes through a filter, is determined by the type of filter media not the number of pleats.

 

This one works absolutely fine in my car -

 

So you know that I am not winging it from my perspective...

The original style filter properly maintained left zero dust residue in the plastic ductwork.

After experimenting with an aftermarket, observed dust in ducting...

This is likely attributable to lack of OEM style seal. (See images contained in link above)

The other issue is noise... if no filter then noticeably more noise from the vents.

Now, if the aftermarket part does not mind the gaps, then discernable noise passes.

If noise can pass, then dust ingresses.

As for actual cost, in your scenario, it becomes a matter of product life cycle or replacement frequency vs value of labor or time

For some it is less expensive to use a replacement cabin filter that lasts twice as long.

Just so you are aware that the aftermarket is not necessarily an improvement, on the contrary.

 

If you don't want to use the OE you can fit it to the holder in the HVAC box by taping off the edges to prevent leakage past it, takes more effort but let's one avoid the cost of OE if you don't want to spend that on a filter

 

I've never had the OE so can't compare. The aftermarket I used was not torn or damaged when I replaced it. Can't speak of dust as I haven't noticed any.

 

It would be useful to measure and compare pressure drop ( fan) of the various cabin filters.

With less airflow constriction through the filter media, the squirrel cage blower does not have to work as hard to move air..less resistance to airflow, resulting in less noise.

Using a fiberglass (leaf) filter in a residential HVAC system does not really impede airflow, neither is it as effective filtering fine particles as more expensive pleated filters.

One thing immediatly noticed after installation of the high performance pleated home air filter...

Noise emanating from the return ducts during system operation is significantly reduced...

Over twice the effective filter surface area, maybe three times, but requires monthly changes.

It appears the pleat configuration of these performance home filters is similar to that in aftermarket auto cabin filters.

Original OEM cabin filter vs aftermarket pleat count (see link above) suggests performance home filters would achieve increased effective filter surface area by increasing pleat count.

We all know clogged home HVAC filters reduce system efficiency, suggesting same is true for auto.

 

I definitely use aftermarket Denso, it was cheaper than WIX, around $8, when the WIX was $14. OE is $22 discount, like $36 list. There's no need to spend unnecessarily.

Imagine if one day these things have merv ratings and blow out the fan like with hvac lol (our furnace filter went from 1" to like 3.5", that's not good when blower is eol).

 

You're touching upon what I've often come across, well if my house needs a 3 ton condenser, why not get 4 ton, it's only $800 more? When you're already spending $15k to $20k? (airflow and cycling)

I'm no expert but with my 1999 HVAC the seller told me to use $8 filters. By 2016 a HVAC tech told me those are strangling your system, get the cheapest you can find and change them often (like 3 for $4.99 is the cheapest I could find but there is cheaper).

edit We got a new system in 2020, and the filters are 3.5" thick and MERV13. On amazon with a decent discount these are $30 each when you buy 4, over $40 for 1, and over $50 list. Imagine how much load that places on the blower.

p.s. I've never measured noise from the returns but imho what's important foremost is the delta in temperature v. the supplies, wouldn't noise be a function of the blower motor, the speed it happens to be running at (if variable), and its age? I didn't post here but when the techs left in July having installed our new system? The supplies were blowing 43F. Most people I told said oh good that's cold. One guy on a forum said that is totally unacceptable and you need to get those people back out there asap. He was right. Now, on a good day, it's 52F to 54F. It illustrated to me how human beings focus on a number, almost fixate, to determine goodness. That 43F was an alarm that something was wrong, not that it's good because it's really cold.

 

The take away is perhaps the cheap filter does not handle fine particles while the more refined filter media, while better filtering constrains airflow..

Additional pleats, with same filter media, up to a point, increases surface area with less pressure drop.

The original OEM filter (on the LS400) has almost twice the number of pleats vs aftermarket.

Perhaps someone posts side-by-side images of LS430 OEM and aftermarket