So I've had the Powercore filter in my IS300 for a few weeks now. My first impressions were that it was of high quality construction and solidly built (it better be for $95). But I'm not sure it will last 100k while filtering 99.99% as Volant claims. Another thing is that it does look a little funny (just different from what I'm used to). I also noticed that the sticker on the filter itself says Donaldson, and Volant is only mentioned on the box. This makes sense if you read my original post.
With the new filter mounted, I started her up and immediately took note of the absence of the hissing noise that the K&N made. Some people might like the hiss and it didn't really bother me unless I was trying to locate the source of another noise under the hood. When trying to troubleshoot, it can get real annoying real fast.
Being satisfied with my initial impressions, I took her for a spin. During a sufficient warm up period of normal driving, I couldn't tell a difference. My car only has the intake and a conservative catback exhaust so it pretty much sounds stock (very quiet). Even with the K&N filter, it was very quiet unless the throttle was at least 50% open. So after I was satisfied that my oil temp was up, I found a suitable stretch of road for the real test.
To be honest, the butt dyno says the new filter made more power. It's likely just my imagination but there definitely wasn't a decrease. More importantly, I was able to hear my engine and the subtle note of my exhaust without them being overpowered by the K&N. Some people like the sound of a K&N but I felt that it only exaggerated the psychological "feeling" of power that wasn't really there. Overall, I'm now quite satisfied with the way my car sounds.
So after a couple weeks of testing at all RPMs and gears, I couldn't be happier with the purchase. And while I'm unsure about Volant's claims, I certainly don't have a reason to believe that their claims are impossible. Expect an update in several years regarding this filter's durability.
One last thing I forgot to mention. When changing the filter, I decided to clean the throttle body. Even though I've heard from others with the same car that mine should be spotless, and claim that theirs was spotless at 90k mi+, I decided to take a look at what a ~31k mi throttle body looks like. Let me tell you, mine was FILTHY. Seriously, it was DISGUSTING and almost looked like there was a gasket around the edge of the butterfly valve. I cleaned it up to like new but I feel sorry for my intake manifold. I can't say that I'm 100% sure that the K&N filter caused this, but I'm pretty sure there was no air leak in the intake and my car is pretty new. If there is another possible source of this filth, I'd like to hear it.
I also didn't throw away the K&N filter as many others do. I sold it on eBay for ~$30.00. Should I go to (H E L L) for contributing to the damage of another man's vehicle? Probably - but I never claimed that it was a suitable filter in terms of efficiency.
I'll post a couple pics if anyone mentions that they'd like to see them. Otherwise, I won't.
