I had a bike without filters for 5 years. I rebuilt it on a regular basis though. It was definitely faster without filters (and with stacks). I had a bunch of time slips for it with 11.0x at 126.x and topped out at 156 (that was in '90 - not bad for all stock parts with some massaging.) The sad thing is, stock bikes these days are a LOT quicker and faster without the 1200cc air cooled engine I had.

I've read a bunch of stuff on K&N in the last couple of weeks. I've never liked the oil part of the equation sitting in front of a hot-wire MAF. K&N says it isn't an issue, but then they also say a K&N in front of a secondary paper filter will clog the secondary filter from oil migration. I don't know how they can have both results. So, I avoid them on MAF equipped engines.

 

may i ask where's the secondary paper is located at? does that needs to be replaced at certain time interval too?

 

you don't think the manufacturer would make the air filter freer flowing, like an inch bigger, if it made any difference at all?

 

Exactly. On a previous thread, I mentioned the fact that if the engineers felt they needed more capacity, all they had to do is up the sq/in. There's plenty of room in there and it not like they're having to re-engineer the heads or anything like that.

Don't get me started on the short ram intakes...

 

It doesn't exist in an automotive application. They're common in mining equipment. The discussion was about why an oiled filter would clog the secondary filter in a mining application after less than a day when a paper primary and secondary would last about a month.

 

oops......my bad

 

if its a louder intake noise with a more free flowing air filter, do you think Lexus would do it? Definitley not.

Lexus=Quiet

 

The only advantage is, it is a lifetime filter. It compliments the JoeZ intake and a future cat-back exhaust. I paid less then $40 for mine.

Koz

 

Just curious, any of you ever try the Tom's filter or some other aftermarket filter and notice any difference?

On a side note, where I live is extremely high altitude, above 7,000 feet and K&N makes a killing on filters here. I have seen a few vehicles choke going up hills, so every little bit helps here.

 

When you install the K&N filter would it be beneficial to reset the ecu? With an air intake you have? hmmm...

 

I had it in my IS, but didn't notice any difference from stock...so I bought the K&N Typhoon intake, and love it!

 

If there is a noticable difference it would be at the top end of usable rpm. How often does the average driver visit these lofty rpms? If it was reasonable would Lexus simply not install a similar filter for additional inexpensive increase in hp. There are no free lunches. Save your $$$$ for maintenance.

 

kickin8 - It's not even worth 40 bucks. I think KOZ had the best point in that the ONLY good that will come out of the K&N drop in filter is that you can put it in the dishwasher and reuse it. Caymandive can send you dyno's with stock and with the K&N. there was not even 1hp of difference. haha the most interesting point of his dynos that day were that with the secondary screen filter thing in there. I forget the name of it, but many of us have removed it. He actually would lose 1hp when he had that removed.

When it comes to performance and times, i am now a true true believer in Density Altitude. That is what makes most cars faster. For the price that people charge for exhaust for the IS and intakes, i swear that stock is the same. Can you feel 12hp on a 306hp car? Not sure. Now 30 is a different story.

Who knows though. Gernby has a 13.0X 1/4 mile. Weather was about 80% of it, the other 20% was weight. the fact that he had no front seat, seriously knowing gernby prolly no floor mats, different gearing due to tire size, 10k miles of it being broke in, not sure how light his wheels are but i am sure lighter then the heavy stock ones. i know no spare, and his low fuel light was on.

After 8 months of owning my car, I have realized that the wheels are the mod that i enjoy the most. At least the looks of them, I still have them trammeling, which has not been fixed even with a new tire. I guess i also like the tips of my exhaust.

Save your money. I wish I would have.

 

al503, the less restrictive something is the louder it is. it was this way on my turbocharged eclipse and every race car in the world. when you put mufflers on a drag car it smothers the high performance engine and less sound can be heard. that's why open headers are louder than mufflers. K&N is a very good company, and i would recommend them if you are going to use an aftermarket filter. that said, you should not be able to feel a noticeable power increase. i used a drop in k&n on my eclipse before i put a full injen intake on. the drop in was okay, but the sound was no comparison to the loud turbo spooling i could hear with the injen.

 

the goal of lexus is not to be a high performance company. if that were the goal our cars would be much louder and less comfy. turbocharged race cars don't use air intakes and many honda guys use individual throttle body setups. these setups produce maximum horsepower but the sacrifice is in noise level and dirt getting in the engine which is not a problem for them. if it were me i would leave the stock intake on because you aren't going to feel a power increase with a drop in and the factory intake is sufficient for mild engines like the 250 and 350. i agree with the guy above who said it's not worth the money.