K&N Air Filter for 2009 Honda CR-V

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So I was thinking about maybe getting a K&N Air Filter for my CR-V. I have been buying OEM Honda Engine Air Filters since I bought the car and changing them out about every 15,000 miles (which may be overkill, but I do drive on country dirt roads often so I just swapped it out yearly). My new job is only 12 miles from my house now and I only have to work 3 days a week so I won't be driving as much now, so I will be able to get longer service life out of the filter.

I can get it on Amazon for $41.77 (http://www.amazon.com/33-2377-High-Performance-Replacement-Filter/dp/B000SATBLQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347842187&sr=8-1&keywords=K%26N++33-2377)Which is about double what I would pay for the Honda one.

But my question is: How does a K&N Filter compare to the OEM Honda one? Does it filter better? Any other pros, besides longer lasting?
 
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I would stick with the OEM filters you've been using, or another quality paper filter, especially since you say you say you frequently drive on dirt roads.

While I myself am a K&N filter user and have had nothing but good UOAs while using them, if I were to do it all over again, I'd probably just stick with quality paper filters.
 
The reason people are saying to stick with the OEM "paper" filters is because they do filter a little better than K&N's. Any claims by K&N about mileage or power gain are so insignificant you will never notice them.
 
You want to extend air filter(OEM or aftermart paper filter) life ? Use discarded pantyhose as pre-filter on the intake on front of the air box.

I used pre-filter(pantyhose) on my cars and clean or replace once a year, the air filter itself looks clean after 25-30k miles.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
You want to extend air filter(OEM or aftermart paper filter) life ? Use discarded pantyhose as pre-filter on the intake on front of the air box.

I used pre-filter(pantyhose) on my cars and clean or replace once a year, the air filter itself looks clean after 25-30k miles.


That sounds like a good idea, I'm actually going to try it.
 
If your driving in dusty areas, keep with OE replacements.
And I agree with others too that your changing the filter way too often!

I do have a K&N filter for several vehicles but, I have OE also for them. I don't live in a dusy area and we get our share of rain.
 
I've lost count of how many UOA results I have read which have a high Silicon reading that turns out to have been caused by a K&N filter. If they worked the car manufacturers would install them as standard or offer them as an option and they don't.
If you want to spend money on your engine, try something that will improve the engines life expectancy, like a sump pre heater, not reduce it.
 
Seems funny but there is no such negative opinion towards K&N filters that I have heard of in the UK.

I have used them for years and shall be putting them in as many of my current fleet as have an available fitment after the New Year.

Surely it is only to be expected that they will not be as efficient at trapping dirt when new as they are designed to be cleaned every 50k (in motorway use only) or as needed if used in other environments.

But then in the UK they are purely considered to be a minor performance improvement. And are regularly fitted to Imprezas along with a more free flowin. Exhaust prior to a rolling road remap, when the better breathing and exiting of air is exploited there are well proven improvements in power.

In most vehicles such as a fuel injected vehicle or newer turbo diesel they may get slightly improved performance or economy but unless a remap of some sort is carried out the only advantage would be the extended life span.

People who say they mess up MAF sensors have normally either fitted it poorly and it is not sealed properly or they have over oiled it.

This forum does amaze with its hatred towards something that has been on sale in the UK for well over twenty years.

I always thought K&N was a UK company, perhaps that is significant.
 
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BIGJL:
This forum does amaze with its hatred towards something that has been on sale in the UK for well over twenty years.
I always thought K&N was a UK company, perhaps that is significant.


It's not hatred, but just informed opinion based on reading factual test results and UOA Silicon contamination figures in particular.
Fitting a K & N filter only offers minimal performance improvement results, but often results in more long term engine wear.
 
skyship: Correction... there is hatred from a lot of people who don't really understand much about what they hate (not including you in that group) and exhibit an almost Pavlovian response. I call it the the "Niagara Falls" response after the old Abbott & Costello routine. RP oil, Fram oil filters are just a few other products are currently in that category and they seem to elicit the most bizarre amplification of a few kernels of truth, or total fabrications (as with the recent Fram video discussion). If you've read any of my posts, you know I'm not a fan of any oiled cotton gauze filter (OCG), K&N or whichever. The fact are the UOAs on OCG equipped engines are not universally bad. It all depends on the environment in which the vehicle operates. If it's used in an area where there are a lot of fines in the air, that's the worst venue for the OCG. And vice versa. I agree that the performance increases are minimal for a filter alone.

Bigjl: K&N is and always has been a USA company but they opened a UK facility very early on in their history so you're forgiven the Blighty-centric mistake.
 
Originally Posted By: bigjl
Seems funny but there is no such negative opinion towards K&N filters that I have heard of in the UK.


Well with all the rain you guys get, is there dust there?
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: cp3
Originally Posted By: bigjl
Seems funny but there is no such negative opinion towards K&N filters that I have heard of in the UK.


Well with all the rain you guys get, is there dust there?
wink.gif




You would actually be surprised.

Not dust for the same reasons as in the US, such as dusty desert driving conditions but in the big Cities such as London were the particulate pollution is so bad that the local government use street cleaning trucks at night to wash down the roads, especially near the EU pollution monitoring equipment (no I am not joking on that one!)

London Black Cabs have been using K&N filters for many years, with no issues, and I did some digging and found out the cross reference fitment for my T 4 which is the one for a Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 petrol 2006 onwards.

The older Fairway, TX1 and TX2 all have standard listed fitments and have been widely used for years.

Bu then air filter usage seems to be somewhat different in the UK than the US, for example it was always easy to spot a poorly serviced turbo diesel prior to commonrail and other high pressure systems, when the air filter was neglected the car would smoke badly, black smoke due to running over rich.

This doesn't seem to be an issue with newer diesel tech, possibly a byproduct of higher pressure injection or possibly the introduction of EGR systems, who really knows.

But I do know that round London most people I know that use vehicles for work will change their air filter every 10/20k.

I suspect this may not be needed if they drove on motorway all the time.

To get an idea of how bad London air quality is look at the cycle couriers and motorcycle. couriers, their faces are always filthy at the end of a days work. Not something that happens when riding in the countryside.

And I will just make one comment. It doesn't actually rain as much as some people think in the UK, an in fact rainfall etc are very regionally different. Not to mention temperatures.

For example the West of Scotland and the East of Scotland have totally different climates, West is much more mild summer and winter, East is much more extreme, much colder in winter and slightly warmer in summer.

Just because a country is small doesn't mean it is like a big Landlocked US state, climate is very variable.
 
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