GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I'm thinking about putting a K&N filter on my 05 AWD Vibe. Any idea what kind of gains I can expext in horsepower and gas mileage? Will I even notice a difference?

Maybe a horse on the AWD. You'll injest more dirt because they don't filter as well. No you won't feel it but it will be a bit louder so you may think something is going on. If you do it, let the filter sit out for a day so the oil gets tackier before install or you may contaminate the MAF. I tried one and it came over oiled from K&N. It puts the intake out of warranty. GM had a memo on this because of MAF issues. Mileage will stay where it is now unless the MAF gets dirty and your running lean. Wix(NAPA Gold) are good dry filters for the Vibe.

Jeeze, sounds like it's not worth it. Thanks.

I have a reuseable filter for my dirt bike and the oil you spray on is VERY tacky and thick. I wonder if that stuff (you can buy it from any powersports type dealer) would be better to put on a K&N type filter for cars instead of the thinner way less tacky oil they recommend. I know the oil filters much better because it's so sticky and it would solve oil getting onto the MAF as it's too thick to work it's way through the filter from the outside.

I use K&N air filters on my Jeep, Quads and cars/trucks and have never had any problems. I can tell you for sure that it improved the performance of the quads (even had to rejet the carbs). I believe they allow more air thru and clean it better at the same time. I started using these products right after Mt St. Helens dumped a couple inches of really nasty ash onto us. Paper filters let the very fine particles thru while the K&N did not. I have never noticed an improvement in gas mileage. But after several paper filter purchases they pay for themselves. I used one in a Dodge Neon for just under 300k miles, then gave it to a friend and he is still using it. Just my experiences. GoodVibe has a point about over oiling, a little goes along way.

I'm glad they work for you but they clealry do not filter as well though they may filter well enough and actually start to filter pretty well after about 10k mi or sooner in severe conditions once the larger openings have been dirtied up a bit. They also continue to flow pretty well under really severe conditions but not what we normally see on the street. I've seen a number of used oil analysis that show more dirt injestion and associated wear from K&Ns. The problem gets cured buy going to a standard filter. With air sensors no rejetting is required. Gas isn't regulated by throttle position but by air flow and even though you got more part throttle flow with the K&N it doesn't equate to more power in our cars though it may have in yours. Many people with carbs claim better mileage with K&N and it's probably true if they didn't rejet as you did because they run a bit lean. If you do rejet, mileage should be worse. On our cars it's moot. On the 4wd the greater restriction is on the exhaust side of the motor.

I had an issue with my mine on my blazer this passed week for the first time.I was crusing down the road and hit my breaks then let off and went to reapply my breaks.It was like when your engine is off I had to stand on my pedal with both feet just to slow down a little.After not finding a vacuum leak under the hood I decide to remove my air cleaner and see if that was my problem.Low and behold that was it.I havent cleaned it since last fall, about 4k miles ago.I won't make that mistake again.There was no way I could have stopped that truck if I would of had to.

I've been using K&N filters for over 10 years....1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T = Incresed hp and mileage - went from getting 17 miles per gallon to 25+ miles per gallon. More eager to rev. also.1994 Toyota corolla = Incresed miles per gallon 25 mpg to 28 mpg 1989 Chevy Suburban 5.7 V8 = increased mileage from 15 to 18 mpg 1992 Buick Roadmaster = 5.7 V8 - incresed mpg from 21 to around 26 mpg.1993 Chevy Blazer 2dr- 4.3 cpi V6 -= went from 16 mpg to 20 mpg1995 GMC Vandura - 4.3 tbi V6 - went from around 14 to 16 mpg1999 GMC Sierra Z-71 Ext. Cab 5.3 V8 = from 15 to 17 mpg.All figures are hwy miles noted when taking a trip to Georgia from Texas.Around 1900 miles round trip. Never had a problem with any of them....always a plus when used them I recommend them....I'd use one on my Vibe but I got a good deal on a Short Ram Cosmo Intake. But like they say, "When in doubt..do without.."Just my $0.02 - (You can also look into the TRD filter for the Toyota Matrix.)

Those improvement would sure save those stupid auto engineers the trouble of always having to redisign everything to meet those pesky CAFE standards. You can't get a performance increase and better gas mileage from an intake mod. If your making more power then your taking more air and gas in. If your getting better mileage then your running leaner and not running the mixure intended for the car. If your normally rich anyway or the car runs fine on a leaner mix, then maybe you can get a bit of both but that will vary by RPM and throttle position and shouldn't happen with air flow sensors. Even K&N claims a maximum 10% best case increase vs a dirty paper filter and they make no claims vs a clean one. That said, you can get about 4 HP in a GT because the filter does help flow at the top of the RPM range but that filter box allows a lot more air to enter above 4k than on a base where your at about 2hp and on the 4wd a hair less.

Quote, originally posted by goodvibe » It puts the intake out of warranty.I thought K&N's big thing was that is doesn't effect the warranty.

It depends on the company/dealer but GM did put out that info. look at how many MAF have been replaced for people with intakes here. Dealers take the easiest route to a fix. I bet a lot of those could have been cleaned to work properly again. Here's an oiled Intake replacement filter that flows great. cleans better than then drt filters and won't mess the MAF. http://www.mrtruck.net/proguard7.htm They dont make this model as a drop in for us yet but they do have a cotton gauze filter that has a layer of finer mesh and does about twice as well as a K&N on dirt but still not as well as dry filters. Their oil is also better.

For some reason, K & N filters don't perform quite as well on the standard steady airflow SAE filtration efficiency test as paper filters. However, they were developed over 40 years ago for off-road motorcycle racing and until other similar designs appeared recently, were used almost 100% by off road competitors who needed unrestricted power but couldn't afford to trash a big $ engine half-way through a race. For many years, K & Ns were the ONLY filters that would allow a race vehicle to complete an event like the Baja 1000 without wearing out the engine or choking it because of a clogged filter.Given the decades that have elapsed since it the was designed, it's probable that recent improved versions of the basic oiled cotton technology can offer even better filtration, but in the 20 plus years I have used K & Ns, I have always found carburetors and throttle bodies interiors stayed squeaky clean and even the oil showed less darkening that with paper elements.

They are fabulous off road filters. They will let a bit more dirt in at first but as they get dirty, which happens quickly in this environment, they filter just fine. They also don't break through from water and will continue to flow when faced with immense amounts of dirt. They'll keep you in a race and stop the motor from failing from a media break. The tests I was referring to are daily driven vehicle oil ananlysis. I've also seen a test of different filters in a vehicle with a second small filter down stream. The K&N let the most dirt through to the second filter. The situation is somewhat vehicle dependent and they may filter well enough. They do flow better. The drop in I tried did foul my MAF right from the carton.I just wanted everyone to know that there is almost always a trade-off and that many claims are exagerated. In the case of the 4wd Vibe, the performance difference is neglegable and probably not worth it on a base either unless you don't want to buy dry filters and prefer to do the clean and oil periodically. On a GT or blown Vibe the gains may be noticable In the upper ranges. I definitely wouldn't use one in Chicago during the winter because of all the salt spray we deal with. They don't salt the roads in Ontario, do they?