HelionTBone
Member
- :
- 2003 Mazda Proteg5
Hey guys. I've been hearing a bit about K&N air filters and was thinking about getting one for my MP5 that I bought last month. After searching through the forum I realized that there have been very mixed reviews and I wasn't able to find a definitive answer on whether or not a drop in version would help my MP5 (bluep5)
So I decided to just go for it and post my results for non-modders like myself. First off I should say that my car (2003 AT) is totally stock with the exception of the tires I just put on it (Toyo Tourivo 205-55-16 which offered a huge reduction in road noise). Second, I have felt like my mp5 works way harder than it should at high speed. Nothing scientific, just a gut feeling. Third, I've been very unimpressed with the gas mileage; I have the automatic transmission.
I bought the K&N drop in air filter, but before replacing the paper filter I took the car down a section of highway and set the cruise at 65 with the AC on. I noticed, as usual, that the engine was running between 3,300 and 3,400 RPMs. I then drove home and put in the K&N filter. While examining the paper filter it looked practically new but did have a small amount of dirt on it. If I had to guess I would say it had been used for 5-8K miles. As soon as I left the house i noticed a definite difference in the engine. I don't have a dyno to run on
but it just seemed to be more responsive. Some people say you can get a 5 - 10 hp improvement with these filters - I find that hard to comment on, but there was a noticed difference. Then I took it on the same stretch of highway, set the cruise at 65 with the AC on and it was running at 2,700 to 2,800 RPMs.
So my observations are:
1. engine feels slightly more responsive
2. doesn't seem to work as hard in general
3. runs much more efficient at high speeds.
I can't comment on gas mileage yet, but I will add to this in the future once I have some data. I can say that my assumption is that it will have hopefully a 1 to 3 mpg improvement just based on the sheer fact that I was able to drop below 3,000 RPMs at high speed (usually once you go over 3,000 your gas mileage plummets). I drive 70% highway driving, so if I do see even a 2 mpg improvement I will realize about a $200 savings on gas annually (with the amount of miles I drive). That makes the $35 filter pretty attractive. Plus it comes with a million mile warranty, so its the last filter you ever have to buy and you can feel good about not throwing disposables in a landfill.
So, in conclusion, if you are a non-modder like me it seems like this is a no brainer. If you are a modder I would skip this entirely and go with a cold air intake system.
Thanks for the great site!
So I decided to just go for it and post my results for non-modders like myself. First off I should say that my car (2003 AT) is totally stock with the exception of the tires I just put on it (Toyo Tourivo 205-55-16 which offered a huge reduction in road noise). Second, I have felt like my mp5 works way harder than it should at high speed. Nothing scientific, just a gut feeling. Third, I've been very unimpressed with the gas mileage; I have the automatic transmission.
I bought the K&N drop in air filter, but before replacing the paper filter I took the car down a section of highway and set the cruise at 65 with the AC on. I noticed, as usual, that the engine was running between 3,300 and 3,400 RPMs. I then drove home and put in the K&N filter. While examining the paper filter it looked practically new but did have a small amount of dirt on it. If I had to guess I would say it had been used for 5-8K miles. As soon as I left the house i noticed a definite difference in the engine. I don't have a dyno to run on
but it just seemed to be more responsive. Some people say you can get a 5 - 10 hp improvement with these filters - I find that hard to comment on, but there was a noticed difference. Then I took it on the same stretch of highway, set the cruise at 65 with the AC on and it was running at 2,700 to 2,800 RPMs.So my observations are:
1. engine feels slightly more responsive
2. doesn't seem to work as hard in general
3. runs much more efficient at high speeds.
I can't comment on gas mileage yet, but I will add to this in the future once I have some data. I can say that my assumption is that it will have hopefully a 1 to 3 mpg improvement just based on the sheer fact that I was able to drop below 3,000 RPMs at high speed (usually once you go over 3,000 your gas mileage plummets). I drive 70% highway driving, so if I do see even a 2 mpg improvement I will realize about a $200 savings on gas annually (with the amount of miles I drive). That makes the $35 filter pretty attractive. Plus it comes with a million mile warranty, so its the last filter you ever have to buy and you can feel good about not throwing disposables in a landfill.
So, in conclusion, if you are a non-modder like me it seems like this is a no brainer. If you are a modder I would skip this entirely and go with a cold air intake system.
Thanks for the great site!
