jesser916

Thinking about getting a K&N drop in filter for my 2014 accord sport. Don't really care for the hp aspect. Just wondering if it will actually increase gas mileage?

94vtecmn

If it does, it will be so small you won't notice the difference because you can never replicate exact conditions.

silvertaxasteg

I had one on a 4 cyl. Dakota. Milage increased 1 mpg, but it wasn't exactly a feat of performance engineering if you get my drift. And I generally hammered it quite frequently. It saw WOT quite a bit.

Now, that generally comes at expense of dirtier air at first, but not quantitatively sure that's a big deal.

For the Honda, 94vtecmn may be right - if any, it could be driver induced.

MSchu

unlikely... and at best it would be barely even negligible

GoLowDrew

I've used K&N Drop In filters on two of my J35 V6 cars. More than 100K miles combined. No change in MPG. The only advantage is that you can wash and reuse them. So save $$$ there. That is it.

As far as other "issues," since I don't over oil it, never had any problems or CELs.

Some may be concern about filtration. For more flow, it's not as tight as paper. There is just no way around it. However, stock air box is pretty restrictive so it's not like one will suck in dust, sand, and dirt.

Would I still get it in my future cars? Yes, from a financial perspective.

GoLowDrew

The next reply by someone may be......Good luck, a new engine cost more.

We don't know that. I'm happy with it. Many owners are happy with it. My other car (non Honda) is at 206K miles with CAI with K&N. But that car is for a different purpose.

If I get 200K+ miles out of my Accord which is daily driven, I would be happy with it. I have no desire to see 300K miles. Not because I don't think it will make it. More like I want a new car by then.

furious94ls

If you want to improve the mileage get a CAI, but avoid thrashing it to hear the cool sounds

GoLowDrew

Some Gen 8 Owners have mentioned that their car "stalled" a bit when inching during heavy traffic with the summer heat with SR CAI. This was when these cars were "new." I've only read a few cases. I guess the car was sucking up hot air.

The OP has a 2014 which is closer to the 8th Gen Accord. And it's under warranty. Forget the law, why deal with aftermarket mods question by the dealer?

In fact, when my cars were under warranty, I would put back the OEM paper filter when the dealer have to look at it for any reason.

With a CAI, it would also be hard to "defend" the notion of K&N sucking up crap on the road. With the restrictive OEM air box, I would have no hesitation in using K&N. Cause the filter portion is "protected."

johnnyb588

A K&N drop-in filter isn't going to get you any performance bump, no matter what they claim.

Cold air intake, in my experience with my '04 Accord 6MT, does nothing more than make your car louder. I didn't get noticeably better mileage. I didn't have noticeably better performance, and I appeared like a bigger tool on the road.

All in all, you're better off saving your money, imo.

GoLowDrew

On saving your money. Let's assume one changes air filter every 10,000 miles. With a K&N drop in, your "savings" won't come into play until after 70,000 miles, based on cost.

Just based on simple math of $10 paper - $70 K&N.

The prices on K&N has come down a lot (due to so many ebay vendors), so I think you can get one around $45-$50 today.

jesser916

sounds like the gains in MPG are very minimal. Only advantage is that I'll save money on the air filter, rather than changing it every 30k miles I'll be able to wash it out and apply the oil.

GoLowDrew

Yup.

P.S. I think a 30K mile paper air filter would be pretty clogged. I would change paper filters 10-12K miles at most.

BLKFLSH

Besides the fact that I would have to clean the K&N filter, which doesn't appeal to me, don't you have to buy the cleaner, and the oil from K&N? How much does this stuff cost, and how long does it last? $20 a year (10k miles), for a new OEM filter doesn't sound like such a big expense, that it makes me want to clean and reuse the air filter to save that money. I wonder about the K&N filter material holding up wash after wash, or not being clean enough after a washing.

GoLowDrew

Good question. Let's cover that too. The oil can cleaner is about $15. You can find them about $13 on ebay.

For my current cars, I got 80K miles on the 09 Odyssey. And 50K on the 10 Accord. My KN use was about 2-3 month after I got the cars new. Got the cleaner and oil at the same time, I have about 1/3 bottle left. I clean mine about 8-10K miles. I go "conservative" on the oil. That has always work for me. I can't tell you exactly how many oz that is. Or maybe I under oil it. I know for sure I don't over oil. And always let it rest on a newspaper just in case there is excessive oil.

I'm in no way trying to convince OP or anyone to use it. Just sharing my experiences.

One more on dollar and cents. When I sell my cars, I will put the paper filter back.

A used KN filter will sell for about $20-$25, in excellent condition. They would remain in excellent condition because the OEM air box is sealed, and the filter media does not get exposed to the elements.

I'm too lazy to figure this out, so what's my "real" cost of using K&N?

Yes, K&N does take work. About 1 hr of time once a year to clean. 15 mins of real work and the rest is wait time for it to dry. If this is your only car, that you would have to plan ahead, just incase.

GoLowDrew

Counter Point. Ok, we all can agree that there is no mileage gains. I demonstrated that there is cost savings as a benefit.

However, if money is really an issue, then skipping that Starbucks coffee a few times a week more than make that up.

So K& N is more of what some of us do. Car guys I guess. Don't approach it like one is really going to save $$$ cause there are other ways to do so.

jesser916

I've put k&n filters in all my cars pretty much. In my 04 g35, I installed it at 500 miles. The car has around 95k miles now and I've cleaned it 4-5 times at the most, which is fine. In my 05 accord, prolly cleaned it around the same amount of times and it has 135k miles. The material on the filters does not mess up.

BLKFLSH

So you've had these filters in your own cars for all those miles, and you're asking other people if they improve mileage? Something smells here. If you don't know if the K&N increases mileage, who does?

DCFIVER

No. Dirty or clean air filters(or "higher flowing" filters) do not affect fuel mileage on feedback controlled vehicles. That misinfo is spread by internetz gurus,dumb *** mechanics and the old men who only know how carburated vehicles work....

jesser916

yes.

I want to see what other people think. I know a lot of people have more knowledge of this than i do.

DCFIVER

Go to the K&N website. They make no increased fuel economy claims.....
(and if they did, you could sue for false advertisement)

shotoutacc0rd

The commercials used to claim MPG and HP for their CAI. Now they guarantee HP only.

I think I should waste the money on a Dyno, and see if it adds even 1 hp. And when it doesn't ill sue em

NightHawk92

I think the K&N does ok for filtration I mean I had it for more then 10 years so it lasted for along time now.But as for extra mileage and increased horse power I don't really notice any. I'm actually going to go back to the factory paper air filter and see if there is any major difference between the two. If fact the only problem I have with the K&N filter is that it caused my throttle body to get dirty but I believe it is because I put the oil possibly on the wrong side and over oiled it. But that was all my fault. so lesson learned. K&N filters in my opinion are ok if you want to save a little money even though the recharge kit costs about $15 but you only clean and re oil it every 30k miles or so. you do save some money but the factory filter will do just fine.

GoLowDrew

That's fine. You could have stated that, so we could have discuss "advance" stuff instead of newbie stuff, which I thought you were, and how my replies have been pointed toward.

Finland

I installed a K&N air intake on my 09EXLV6 and have had 2-3 mpg increase in mixed driving biased toward highway. Probably about 80% highway.

I was averaging low 22's and now for the last 4-5 tankfuls I've averaged low 25s with one high 24. I drive the same and am certainly not babying the car after the filter change. No other changes were made.

I normally would not expect gains this large, but it happened. Also I have not checked tire pressures since I bought the car.. I probably should and maybe even gain more.

Oh.. and the previous filter was OEM honda and not dirty at all.

DCFIVER

FE (fuel economy)is very dynamic. 4 or 5 tankfuls is not nearly conclusive enough to claim mpg increase. And regardless,you absolutely will NOT notice any gains(or losses) from an air filter. The air filter has ZERO input with regards to FE.(on a feedback controlled vehicle.)


That is an indisputable fact.