4.6L Northstar V-8 - To K&N or NOT to K&N?

[rivieraranch]

I used a K&N air filter in my previous ride, the leased 2006 Lacrosse, from 2,000 miles to 35,000 miles. During this time I cleaned it several times and it performed fine. I did not experience the parade of horribles others forewarned - such as messing up the MAP sensor. I think I did a pretty good job of oiling the filter right, without exceeding what was required of a recharge. It seemed to me that the car got better mileage with the filter in.

Should I get one for my new ride? It has 3,500 miles on it now and I am thinking whether I should K&N or not.

[Drew Dowdell]

Unless you're regularly winding the engine up over 5,000 rpm, don't bother. Stock up on standard filters and be done with it.

[balthazar]

From the diesel consumer base, oiled filters have been repeatedly & thoroughly tested for numerous criteria of performance. Diesels are all about air & fuel quantity & quality- moreso than gas engines. There, the results were that while the oiled filters did offer an airflow advantage when first installed, within the suggested oil lifespan of the filter, the airflow dropped well below that of paper elements. The consensus was paper filter offer better overall performance (air flow, dirt filtration, performance & mileage), with a far better price as an added bonus.

[smk4565]

I've logged about 75k miles on the Aurora V8 with a K&N filter, I never had any bad experience, any performance gain is probably negligible though.

[daves87rs]

Fot most cars, a waste of money.

For trucks, on the other hand.....