I dipped mine in a bath of kerosene. I don't know all the pros or cons of this method, but it worked well for me in a pinch. I believe the risk is that the filter is so clean, it is not trapping any particulates. K&N makes an oil spray that is supposed to help the effectiveness of their filters. I read about it on their website, but when I inquired about it at my local auto parts store, which carries a large selection of K&N filters, I found that they do not carry it. The clerk did not seem to think it was necessary. Of course, this is just one opinion and maybe not a very well informed one.

The K&N came with my car and I was exploring around to find why oil was leaking out of the bottom of my air cleaner housing. It appeared to me that the engine was starved for air because of the dirty air filter and was sucking air along with oil up through the return tube that travels down to the crankcase. After cleaning the filter and changing the oil, the problem went away. It could also have been due to a dirty check valve at the base of the tube which corrected itself after I changed the oil. But that is a whole different topic. If you are interested, Dave Morrison wrote up an excellent DIY article on replacing the check valve.

My car performed significantly better after I cleaned the filter, as it was soaked with oil and preventing air from flowing freely through.

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