reuseable drop in air filters?
 

I just paid well over 20 bucks for a cheapo fram air filter..

everythings going up cost wize and I think its time for a cleanable air filter..

I'm not a fan of K&N, but I wanted to ask the collective on thoughts for reuseable or possibly cheap alternative air filters that will ensure my engines getting some clean air..

I had a hard time forking over 16 bucks for an air filter, but come on.. 20 and change?

gimme a break..

This economy is so far off balance its ridiculous.
Glad i found this site, the timing was good for me :thumbup:

i like reusable air filters, i havent had any issues (K&N) , if you want to check out reusable filters that are not K&N summitracing.com has a decent selection.

I have K&N cones on both of the cars, it really helps switching to an open element filter when your stock intake is as restrictive as mine was. It seems like you're looking for more of a drop in replacement though. Oiled filters can be a pain on mass air engines too.

Btw I wouldn't buy Fram ANYTHING.

Theres a few companies that have reusable air filters. K&N is one of the more famous ones, but they all perform about the same. from testing, I believe K&N holds the most dirt before choking, but isn't the greatest on flow, or dirt filtration as other brands. Paper filter has the best filtration, but it's too costly in the long run. I'm running K&N in really dusty climates, and haven't had much trouble. Needs to be cleaned soon. I don't know of amsoil makes one or not. a few top brands make reusable air filters. The thing I like about it is less trash piling up from filters, and K&N has a 10 year/million mile warranty. If you don't like K&N, there's a few out there that make an equal or better filter. Just browse and see what you like, and then compare.

I don't like most reusable air filters.... Check out bobistheoilguy.com ;)

Some people use more airflow as a filter metric... But really, that's terrible. A filter's job is to filter - that's it. IIRC, K&N's tag line used to be (or still is) "Proud to Suck Dirt." Personally, I don't want my filter doing that :p

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/airfilter/airtest3.htm


And my last point.... If you're outflowing your stock filter - you're probably not driving ecomodder style :p


EDIT: And holy crap - $20 for an air filter! Mine is $10.03 :D

yea, I read that before. I didn't buy the K&N much really for "improved performance" but more for the fact that I'll save money, and that's one less piece of trash I'm gonna be saving from the landfills. Plus, the AMC 242 I6 is bomb-proof, so I don't think that the dirt will ruin my engine. Now other engines.... that's totally different. I wouldn't put one in my moms Caliber.

I'm with Frank on this one. (I agree a lot with you lately:eek:) The paper filter for my car is $16 not on sale and the K&N is $36. Drive 60K look at it beat on it and press on.

I'm going to try just using my air compressor and blowing the dirt out of the paper one from the back side (clean side)..

as for leaving them in for 80K at a time.. is that 80K untouched or tapped out?
If left in, your emissions systems love that.. (sarcastic)

with restricted airflow your engine dumps more fuel in and you get less burnt
fuel which causes anything after the engine sensors, cat's, ect to clog or
fowl up not to mention more carbon buildup..

I try and replace my air filters every 3K miles because thats how I do things.
I'm pretty anal for maintenance..

I bought my car with a foam air filter and run foam air filters on all my motorcycles, I used to use K&N filters on my motorcycles but they left way to much grit in the carburetor, so I made my own foam filters with bulk air filter foam from a motorcycle parts store, I use the same high tack filter oil as the K&N filters call for, my carburetor stays clean, my performance is the same as with the K&N and better then it was with the paper filter, for my car I keep a spare paper filter on hand so I can drop it in while I wash the foam filter.
I know that last time I checked amsoil was selling dry "microfiber" air filters, that they claimed caught more dirt then paper or K&N filters, and had as good if not better air flow to K&N filters, and apparently you blow them clean with compressed air, but they don't make one for the VX last I checked.

Dirty air filter doesn't mean restricted flow ;)

http://autospeed.com/cms/A_2232/article.html

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The only filters I change frequently are:
*Oil: 10K Miles @ oil change
*Cabin Filter: 25K miles (and I spend the $30 for the factory one because it has a charcoal layer - it has worked pretty well at filtering diesel exhaust :p)

I change my air filters when the rubber/plastic seal falls apart.. Probably if the oil analysis shows a consistent rise in silica too.