I think the aftermarket filter lets in more air resulting in a faster throttle response. It is better even at lower RPM's where there is no real difference in sound between the two. I have a stretch of road near where I live that I use as my 'testing track'. I did runs with both airboxes and I was running faster by 6-7 MPH by the end of my pull when I had to brake.

It was mentioned somewhere here that another reason for the performance improvement was that K&N moved the MAF much closer to the filter and further from the plenum. Now this has also caused problems with K&N oil potentially fouling the MAF but my filter arrived and it was fairly dry. I also bought an AEM dry filter when I bought the K&N out of fear that the K&N would be too oily. Performance wise the AEM and K&N seem to be equivalent. The sound on the K&N is slightly better. The AEM can sound hollow at high RPM's is the best way to describe it. It might have something to do with the K&N being cone shaped instead of barrel shaped like the AEM. Not really sure.

 

Thanks, it's reassuring to hear other owners using the K&N intake also noticed the same thing.

With the stock intake I blocked the Helmholtz resonator which resulted in ever-so-slight increase in throttle response, plus more intake sound at higher RPM's. Installing the K&N made the effects even more pronounced.

It might be in my head, or perhaps I've been running the car in 80-90 degree heat for many hours but the car appears to bog down upon initial throttle input possibly due to heat soak. Been meaning to switch back to the stock intake to try to replicate the behavior. I'm not at all worried about it, and I wouldn't even mind reduced HP for better sound, it's just more out of curiosity.

 

Maybe I'm just lucky but I really have not experienced any kind of bogging and we had a fairly hot summer here on Long Island NY. As I mentioned, once the car is in motion I don't think the engine bay is significantly hotter than the outside air. For stop and go traffic I almost never keep it in sport mode because the car revs faster and it is slightly harder to launch below 1200 rpms. Anyway l'd rather spend $300 on a mod like this than any kind of cosmetic mod like LEDs or splitters or decals or whatever.

 

My Evoms intake is still for sale fellas

 

Sent you a PM...

 

PM Sent

 

It's already sold