RR601

This is more of an opinion or oberservation for what it is worth. Opinions and suggestions welcomed.
Changed my cabin air filter today. Went back with the oem one. Changed from a TYC brand one I had got from amazon.
The filter looks at first so much better and cheaper. Even has foam on the sides for a tighter fit. And the filter material is much thicker.

So made sense that it traps smaller microns and cleaner is better.
But I remember the merv rating on air filters for your home. Most HVAC people to not recommend the real expensive ones with a high merv rating. It cleans better but the trade off is it restricts air flow. So look for a balance next up from the cheapest.

Also I remember the popular K&N engine air filters people put on some cars. I have never used. But they allow more air flow for more engine performance.
But in my thinking, at the cost of more dirt going to the engine. I would be worried about this going in an engine.
But not as much in my AC system in the car. More air flow the better. And I dont think it needs to be overboard since most cars did not have filters in the cabin for years.
Also I recently did a Toyota air condition kit on a 2003 Tundra that I have. This involves injecting a high foaming cleaner in the inside AC coil box. It sits on the coils for awhile and turns back to a liquid and drains out. To wash out any crude or dirt.
Since this truck did not come with a cabin air filter I expected it to be very dirty after 14 years.. But I was surprised that it came out very clean.
So even no filter with this truck after 14 years was not dirty in the coils.

But of course I still think it is better with a cabin air filter. But dont think you should get the better looking, but more restrictive aftermarket filters. Trust Toyota to know the right combo of how much to filter vs restricting air flow.

Look for an aftermarket that looks the same but not better than the toyota.

Anyway its a boring rain day and thought I would post.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

The cabin filter for the LS is a charcoal coated one (not sure if that really makes any difference) and costs $50 at the dealer. It's about $30-$40 on ebay and about $20 for the non-OEM coated filter.. The non-coated OEM filter is $20-30 on ebay and about $10 for a non-OEM one. I don't think any of these filters will restrict air flow (I've tried them all), so pick your poison!

roadfrog

Yeah...I wouldn't over think this one either.

I buy the absolute cheapest filters I can get, because for what they do, they're "good enough".

This is one I've used before for 1.99 with free shipping lol: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-PC-NANOFLO...tYmSTM&vxp=mtr

Laugh all you like, but it worked great and trapped all the dirt I can imagine.

And I've used this one with charcoal for 7.99 : http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOYOTA-LEXUS-CHARCOAL-CARBON-CABIN-A-C-AIR-FILTER-87139-YZZ08-/301642063429?

I couldn't tell the difference. I just don't believe we need these things for our health and prefer to think of it as a filter for the HVAC to protect it and not us. I walk around all day (or run/exercise) and I don't wear a filter on my face. But maybe Asians know something we don't lol.

Chuckinnj

Rock has a few different Charcoal filters for less than $10....... There is no reason to spend $50 for these EZ to install filters. I "cheaped out" on my Cabin Filter and did NOT notice any difference in MPG over the OEM.

UZ214

i tried 2 different ebay filters, i didnt like them- i could "smell" the difference / then just came back to OEM

jimrd

I have that typical musty smell from the A/C in my '15 LS460. Dealer replaced the cabin filter (as well as performing the anti-mold treatment) but it always had some smell. I went out and bought the Fram "FreshBeesze" filter that has both carbon and baking soda ingredients in the filter. Doesn't totally clean the air but better than the OEM part did. About $25 at any auto parts store.