should i look at investing in a k&n air filter for my mini? i hear that it is good, but how good? what does it do for me? is it worth spending the extra money? thank you...

 

are you thinking about the panel replacement filter? If so it and the Alta Panel filters are good OEM replacements and since you clean them and not replace them they cost less over time. Some people report more MPG with them too. We carry the Alta at www.autoxcooper.com

If you are thinking about one of the K&N CAI kits they are for bling more then anything IMHO.

 

I would never use an oiled guaze type filter, I've done a fair bit of research an have found that they pass more dirt, flow less air when dirty, plug up quickly, not worth the money for my engine. I'll stick with paper, if you feel you really need high performance, then try to find something that is oiled foam dual stage. I'm sure I'll get flamed for saying this but science doesn't lie, stick with paper! If you're really interested I can find the link for the study I looked at that compared the performance of several type of filters using an industrial testing rig, an interesting read on filter performance.

 

http://duramax-diesel.com/spicer/index.htm
this is the link to the study, in case anybody is interested, its for a duramax diesel site and shows the data on a couple of different brands of filters that were tested by a third party. Anybody who looks at the results will see the the kn type filters have less restriction but pass more dirt. Logical when you think about it. So the basic trade off is do you want more dirt in your engine, or more airflow (at least until the filter clogs)? Personally I prefer to have the least amount of dirt enter my engine as possible versus a slight gain in performance. Having said that I plan on keeping the car for a few years. If you don't have long term plans with your car put whatever you want in it.

 

i plan on keeping my car for my life. i want it to last as long as it possibly can. i think i will take your advise and stick to paper. thanks for the warning!!

 

Actually, there are several companies that make high flow, oil free filters. These are by far the best filters to get if you are concerned with using an oil based filter.

Personally, that test doesn't really prove anything to me. I have run K&N air filters on all my cars. The first thing I bought for my Suzuki Sidekick, when I purchased her back in 1996 was a K&N filter. What's funny is, after 12 years of abusive driving, this trucks compression ratio is still good, with a K&N. I would never run something on my vehicles that I felt would cause more harm than good. The negative side to K&N or any type of oil based filter really boils down to how you re-oil the filter. Not enough oil, and you're not catching the dirt. Too much oil, and you're sucking it into the intake and fouling the MAS. You can see everyone has an opinion on the matter. I can tell you from personal experience that I have never had a problem running an oil based filter on any of my previous or current cars to include my '96 Sidekick, '06 Equinox, '00 Celica, '73 Austin Mini, '93 Swift, '03 Cooper, and many more that have come and gone. Joe dirt may tell you he has blown up 2 engines from using an oil based filter. What it boils down to is how comfortable you are with using this type of filter.

 

I realize this is only 1 car and not a MINI to boot but... my friends race a SCCA prepared VW. Finally when they had the $ to take it to the dyno, they found the K&N cost them 3 hp over the stock VW paper filter. Take that for what it's worth as I've used K&N in some street cars before w/o any problems but then I wasn't trying to squeeze every last ounce out of a tiny unblown engine

 

Save your money and put it towards our Cooper intake It will make a REAL difference. It imroves throttle reaction, HP, and most important Torque. The drop in filter replacement is expensive for the little gain.

 

I have a K&N Typhoon CAI and I love it. It sounds great, looks great, better mpg (just a little, but who can argue), a bit more HP too. The sound is the big thing though, worth every penny.

 

I've got K&N filters for my 2002 Mini S, 2006 Jeep Wrangler X, and my wife's 2003 Mercedez ML500. Best and cheapest modification you can make for the money. I had one in my old 1995 Jeep and it worked for over 10 years. It more than pays for itself over time and since you stated you'd be keeping the Mini its a no brainer. I have improved gas mileage by almost 2mpg but part of that was when I replaced the one on the Mini (I got the car used this year) it seemed to still have the stock filter that came with it in 2002. I cleaned out the airbox with a toothbrush and a vacuum. Get a K&N and then forget about it for about a year.

 

I have a K&N drop-in panel filter and it works just fine. I clean it twice a year. MPG seems to be very slightly better, but it also seems to make the car sound a little more growly. Good, easy cheap mod IMO.

 

If you are a simplist like me (not into oiling and cleaning a filter once a year), then paper is the way to go. Pull out the old one, plop in the new one. Simple and easy. 2 mpg better one way or the other doesn't really matter to me. I'm not racing it, I'm just motoring.

 

The way to prevent premature engine wear, whether with a K&N or not, is to change oil more frequently.

I change mine at around 9K miles, and it is filthy at that point. All the wear from airborne dirt happens because anything that passes the air filter goes straight into the oil, where it is transported into the parts of the engine where it can cause the most wear.

You won't get better gas mileage of performance simply from dropping in any panel filter.

BTW, there is no MAF or MAS on a MINI - wrong technology.

 

Not saying the MINI had one, just stating the obvious that it can foul up O2 sensors since I did mention at least 5 OTHER cars that I have ran K&N's on. MAF sensor or not, the oil can still get sucked into the intake.

 

I'm still running the same 12 year old K&N on My Suzuki. Depending on how you drive, and the conditions, you don't always have to clean these filters as much as people say you do. I clean the one on the Suzuki annually, unless I go off-roading. It's not a big deal to clean and re-oil. Of course on my MINI, I've got an intake, so like I'm really going to put a paper filter on that.

 

I use a K&N in my JCW intake. I clean it twice a year, and change oil at around 10K miles.

 

Same schedule here, albeit mine's an Ultrik intake.

 

I've been using K&N air filters on most of my cars for nearly 20 years, on more than 20 different cars totalling nearly half a million miles of usage, including my Mini Cooper. Never had a problem with them on any of my cars, and its kinda nice to buy an air filter only once and be able to use the same cleaning kit for the air filters on all of my cars. Some have been direct replacement drop-in filters, others were on cold air intakes.

 

The dense mesh of a paper filter also causes dirt and grime to build up within the filter, further restricting the inlet air flow. ... Aluminium meshing is pleated with the cotton fibres intertwined between the metal to create a cotton-based gauze, maximising surface area leading to an increase in potential filtration.

 

resurrection ... previous post Jan 2009 .....

 

Zombie bump thread provides perfect oppo to share a pic from a junkyard in NC that I visited while working there and came across this cool WMW R50 intake,
I didn't get it but I did snap a photo:

 

WOW that is at least 10yrs old. I wonder which of our customers it was. Should have snagged it a new filter and that would have been a deal for an R50 owner

 

i commented as far as this being a zombie post, not a customer of yours but wish and would have been if you shipped to Australia, lucky outmotoring, pelican parts just to mention a couple who do from the US...