K&N Air Filter for 2008 4Runner

NWSKIUrbanRunner

NWSKIUrbanRunner

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Anyone know approximately how much more HP I'll get out of my 2008 Urban Edition 4Runner here by placing a K&N Air Filter on it? Additionally will this effect my MPG at all? Just became a 4Runner owner last Saturday so I am still learning alot about the car :)
 
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0 and no. I put it in mine and it just feels a little smoother. Take out the HCF (hydrocarbon filter) while you're at it.
 
Because K&N filter MAY work on ONE specific vehicle does NOT mean it'll work for all vehicles.

Today's cars are designed a lot better then they were 30 years. They know exactly how much air a vehicle is capable of taking in through all stages. Engineers design their air-filter system to meet the max peak air volume load. A K&N filter MAY allow more air to be sucked into the engine...but if the engine can only intake so much air then the increased air K&N will allow in won't help one bit. It's as simple as that.

K&N filter company use very good marketing to sucker in simple minded. What K&N did was go out and find one vehicle that who's air intake wasn't designed properly....then install a K&N filter to correct the design flaw...thus an increase in gas mileage.


As P.B. Barnum said - "There's a sucker born every minute."
 
That's not correct at all....modern day cars are for the most part engineered to be quiet. And 30 yrs ago cars just had a filter sitting on top of the carb so there was no noise reduction through baffling and such.
 
edit: ha, you beat me by a minute!

MikeInNH said:
Because K&N filter MAY work on ONE specific vehicle does NOT mean it'll work for all vehicles.

Today's cars are designed a lot better then they were 30 years. They know exactly how much air a vehicle is capable of taking in through all stages. Engineers design their air-filter system to meet the max peak air volume load. A K&N filter MAY allow more air to be sucked into the engine...but if the engine can only intake so much air then the increased air K&N will allow in won't help one bit. It's as simple as that.

K&N filter company use very good marketing to sucker in simple minded. What K&N did was go out and find one vehicle that who's air intake wasn't designed properly....then install a K&N filter to correct the design flaw...thus an increase in gas mileage.


As P.B. Barnum said - "There's a sucker born every minute."
Click to expand...

OEM engineers have to factor in the most important thing- noise. Intakes are tuned and designed to be silent above absolute flow rate. Also they are usually better at avoiding sucking in water and other items vs an aftermarket unit. Take out the noise silencing factor and you flow more air.
 
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Excessive noise that a air-filter may produce can easily be controlled. And any noise increase would be insignificant to the other noises from the car.

In order for the K&N filter to increase performance and/or gas mileage on MOST vehicles...the heads would have to be reworked to allow more air.

There are several independent tests done on the K&N filter (that were NOT bought an paid for by K&N) that have shown no performance increase to a very modest increase but only at high RPM's.

Here's just a couple...

Testing a 'performance' air filter for MPG - Part 2 - MetroMPG.com

AudiWorld Tech Articles

Debunking the K&N Myth - Why OEM is Better : Nissan Articles
 
MikeInNH said:
Excessive noise that a air-filter may produce can easily be controlled. And any noise increase would be insignificant to the other noises from the car.

In order for the K&N filter to increase performance and/or gas mileage on MOST vehicles...the heads would have to be reworked to allow more air.

There are several independent tests done on the K&N filter (that were NOT bought an paid for by K&N) that have shown no performance increase to a very modest increase but only at high RPM's.

Here's just a couple...

Testing a 'performance' air filter for MPG - Part 2 - MetroMPG.com

AudiWorld Tech Articles

Debunking the K&N Myth - Why OEM is Better : Nissan Articles
Click to expand...

All of those tests pitted a stock filter to a K&N drop in filter. I said in my post above that a drop in won't give you any more power. You get a cleanable filter, and that's it.

Replacing the entire intake tract will give you more power. I will concede that if you look at the K&N dyno above- the real HP gain is above 4500rpm and the 4runner will rarely be running at the speed for long. So the power gain could be said to negligible in normal driving. I did it for the sound- nothing like hearing that V8 roar.

As for you saying that any intake noise is negligable? How many intakes have you actually installed on cars and driven? I've done at least 10 on previous cars and trucks and they ALL made a major difference in sound at wide open throttle.
 
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FYI, before you buy those DAM filters! Put one in my 99 tacoma, and 97 4runner, both totally f-ed up my MAS air flow sensor because of the oil used. I will never buy another reusable filter again!
 
I've never had a problem with MAF. You must have used so much oil it was dripping in the box. I'm done making my points. Enjoy your paper filters. :hello:
 
What about Volant intakes I found one for about the same price as the K&N complete intake
volant-intakes.com
when you take off the extra $20 it is $239.87 with free shipping and it looks custom!
anyone know if this one will do better?
 
NWSKIUrbanRunner said:
Anyone know approximately how much more HP I'll get out of my 2008 Urban Edition 4Runner here by placing a K&N Air Filter on it? Additionally will this effect my MPG at all? Just became a 4Runner owner last Saturday so I am still learning alot about the car :)
Click to expand...

If you are looking for more HP and MPH a drop in K&N filter is not going to make much of a difference. 50-75 HP increase at the cost of $50 is NEVER going to happen. The K&N CAI for $300 is tested to only increased the RWHP by 9 HP in the v6 (or 4.6% increase) and 12 HP in the v8 or 6.1% increase.

If you are looking for one filter to keep the life of the vehicle then K&N or other clean reinstall filter is the way to go. For me I was sick of filling up the landfill. My choice was K&N, I wash and re-oil it once a year.
 
the volant intake system is great. I have owned mine for 4 years and love it.

mikeinnh. you obviously have never owned a vehicle with an aftermarket intake system or you would know that the engine noise is alot louder with the aftermarket system..night and day...so please stop spewing misinformation that you read from some online article. If you are talking about a drop in then you are right they are not worth it.

zachb_NW. You definately overoiled the filter.

What you can expect from the volant system is...Alot more noise, especially when getting on it. You might feel it a little in the hp department and possibly a smoother power band but 12hp is really insignificant in a motor that already produces around 300hp. You should get better gas mileage, mine increased about 35-40 miles per tank.
 
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I have a full k&n plastic intake on my v8, and it sure as hell made a difference in performance. I'm not really sure about the mpg since I'm always smashing on it just to hear the engine roar . I'm sure if I wouldn't have such a lead foot, the mpg would probably increase, but I just can't help it. :D . Got mine on ebay for about $270 if I remember right.
 
Drop in KN Filter, VOLANT CAI

Hi, I use both, the K&N drop in filter and the Volant CAI on my V8 4runner. I bought the K&N because I like the idea of a reusable filter. I have never had any problems with the oil on my MAF. Even using oil is debatable. You really only need to wash it out. If you do oil, a little bit goes a long way. There are so many posts here about over oiling. Don't do it. I also removed the HCF just because I wanted to see it for myself. In retrospect, I don't think the HCF removal was necessary as in I never noticed a difference. All I gained from this is a reusable K&N filter, for the hippie in me.

The Volant CAI isn't legal in California, but I do use it when I don't have to bring my 4runner in for a smog check. It sounds great, has that box that is almost sealed off. The hole in the front of the airbox I went to Home Depot and capped it off for like $3. CAI and Borla exhaust sounds great together. The only way I'm going to get better gas mileage is if I keep it under 70 MPH. I'm over the whole gaining HP thing. If it does help great, but I'm not going to get sucked into the debate. Throttle response is the only thing I notice.
 
The only true way to tell if you're getting better performance - put it on a Dyno. Most say they FEEL better performance, but when actually put on a dyno...there's actually 0 increase in performance or may even decrease performance.

There are DOZENS gas savings and hp improvement devices on the market today......I've yet to see ONE that's done anywhere near what it's claimed to. Products like Slick-50 is one of those tried and true products making well over $100 million annually selling pure snake-oil. Testimony after Testimony (hundreds if not THOUSANDS)....and yet put under controlled measurable testing...slick-50 FAILED EVERY SINGLE TIME. Yet people keep buying it because someone told them how WONDERFUL it was.

Testimony is one thing...true controlled testing is another.

One argument for the K&N filter that makes sense is that it's reusable. Just wash and re-oil. Great....But to me it doesn't offset the FACT that the filter let's in more dirt then a good OEM or OEM replacement filter. I usually keep my vehicles over 300k miles. The less particulates you can keep out of the engine the longer it'll last. So to me...the K&N filter is a complete waste and it may actually harm my engine..so I'm not going to take the chance.
 
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