jjbunn

Today I decided to take the air box off and inspect the air filter: the first time I've done so since getting my 964. I was a little surprised to find that it was a K&N filter. It was very grubby. I looked at the K&N cleaning instructions here, which specify first using a K&N cleaning fluid, then rinsing, then drying, and then coating the "dirty" side of the filter (where the air comes in) with K&N oil.

Well, of course I had neither K&N cleaner, nor K&N oil, so I rather rashly used soapy water, a good drying on the static rack in the tumble dryer at low heat, and then a liberal coating of WD40.

After replacing the filter, the engine seemed to really like me: it sounded as sweet as a nut, and perhaps it was my imagination, but it seemed to pull noticeably better.

Perhaps I am a fool for not using the K&N products (there are some dire warnings on their Web page about not doing so) ... is their cleaner and oil so special?

last toy

yes, you should notice a performance improvement with a clean K&N filter. These filters are actual worse than standard filters when they become clogged. However, you should go to an autozone and get the K&N cleaning kit. Using household soap cleaning was probably okay, but I dont think WD 40 is a good substitute for the K&N oil which is designed to coat and capture air particles over a period of time. I don't think WD 40 will do any harm but will probably be useless once dried. My experienced mechanic friend cleaned my tahoe K&N filter and sprayed it with a generic cleaning oil and the car ran like crap until I recleaned it and oiled it with the K&n oil.

DWS964

Be careful not to over-oil the filter - you can foul the MAF sensor and other parts of the intake system. (I know....)
Good news is that you can successfully clean the intake with some throttle body spray cleaner. (I know....)

jjbunn

Thanks for the replies. I only sprayed the filter very sparingly, so I hope that's OK.

This is a "Guards Red Only" thread :-)

JasonAndreas

From a purely financial standpoint it doesn't make sense to use any K&N product (filter, oil, etc.), the factory air filter is available for $11.01USD.

The 964 uses an AFM (vane-type) not a MAF (hot wire/film) so you don't have to worry about contaminating the sensing element, nor is there enough oil on the filter to cause problems for the ISV.

last toy

" the factory air filter is available for $11.01USD".
Can't believe Porsche would part with a filter for less than $30. That's what most shops charge. Whatever the price, K&N filters last forever if taken care of versus changing a throw-away every 10,000 miles. can't prove if the performance is any better but you do get more air flow thru with K&N's 100% surface intake.

JasonAndreas

That is what my May 2006 receipt (from a Porsche dealership) says and it use to be cheaper.

The factory service interval/replacement for the air filter is 30k miles.

Indycam

If you read up on K&N filters via the internet , you might see some people who claim the filter does not filter as well as a normal "paper" filter . Don't know whats true ....

last toy

jason, 30k miles between air filter changes? That may be the recommended schedule but I would never go that long considering you can't drive 10 miles without hitting some kind of dusty construction. IMHO,for $11 bucks, it's worth the money to change it out at least every oil change.

911URGE

Ill bet the WD-40 is already dried up.

I had to add my $0.02 to the "Guards Red only thread" to keep it alive.

jjbunn

It's the ultimate cliquey club: the 964 Guards Red Club. People will be respraying their cars just so they can join ...

911URGE

Entry into the club is a photo of your color codes - we need to keep the riff raff out.

I used the K&N cleaning kit recently ($14 at Pep Boys). Works as designed and my filter looks pretty with the red/pink oil sprayed all over it to compliment the Guards Red theme going on here.

JasonAndreas

I agree and change my air filter every valve adjustment (15k miles).

N51

Drat you Red Car Elitetists! From Christer on down. Or is it Christer on up? ;-)
It may be time for John D. to segregate us by color.

Noah
Quite White

bgiere

You can usually tell from a UOA (used oil analysis) which cars are running K&N air filters. The silicon and metal wear levels are indeed higher. Proof enough that the filtering capabiltiy is not that efficient if you are driving in semi-dusty conditions. As far as HP and torque improvement claims, I have yet to see a single proven dyno run that shows a measurable improvement with a K&N on a stock engine.