Hello Everybody
I have a question about my airbox, can it be modified, could a K&N filter be riggerd? Anyone done this? I took a look at my air filter, looks like it hasn't been changed in a long time! Can changing it help acceleration, mpg, anything else? Any imput on the subject or FYI on my car (87 300D Turbo). It is old and in tough shape, I'm just an 18m in high school. Is it the right car for me in college? Want another MB but 5-spd, probably gas, hard to find though
THanks for yout imput guys. I had no idea that this many post were made on the diesel section of this board, but kudo's to MB diesel drivers.

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Elliot Easton
1987 300D Turbo 151K
1996 C220 stock (Mom's car)

A K&N air filter is two & a half times the price of a stock paper air filter, yet flows no more air. Why would you want to install it? OK, it lasts longer.
save your money - thats my advice.

Elliot,

A clean air filter can definitely help performance and fuel economy. As far as a K&N filter goes, there is a very good chance K&N makes one for your vehicle, but there may be no benefit to using it.

The general consensus on most forums of this type is that the stock air filter is not restrictive enough to hamper power output and a K&N would only succeed in allowing more dirt into the engine.

Basically, the stock setup is more than enough for the air demands of the engine. It's cheap, too.

Sincerely,

Aaron

K&N does make one for his car, but its really expensive.

I have one on my 79 300sd. I had to call K+N directly to find out the part number. They looked it up in the european catalog. My particular car was K+N's part # E 2870. It was $69 at autozone, and $57 at Advance auto parts. I ordered mine mail order from a company in California for $45 plus $5 shipping. Shop the mail order and internet places for the best price.
As far as performance goes I can not say personally on the diesel because when I bought my car the stock filter was filthy and I replaced it with the K+N immediatley.
I am not very educated on the physics of diesel and turbo aspiration but I can definatley speak to the positive effects on low rpm performance in gasolene cars that I have owned.
Not everyone agrees on their performance, but one thing is certan is that you will end up cleaning your washable filter more often than you will go and buy a new replacement filter. The end result is that you are driving around with a clean filter more of the time.
I did not look up what a stock replacement filter costs for the MB diesels. I just assumed that it would be a little spendy. You might want to just do the math and see how much a stock filter is times how long you plan on owning the car to see if you would save money in the long run.
Eric Z

I can recall posts to this forum from the fall of 2001 by people who did understand the physics of diesel combustion, regarding just this topic - K&N air filter vs. the regular paper filter. Those posts can be found by searching the database. The topic was discussed at length, as I recall, by people who supported their assertions with some fairly compelling factual information. I recall reading those posts with interest. I am sure that by entering the keyword "K&N" those posts will all surface.
They were interesting. Check them out. Although nothing definite was proven, the only advantage K&N seemed to have was it's reusability. I'm going to go back and re-read those posts, as I seem to recall one post by a knowledgeable senior member that gave a good fact-based argument for the paper filter actually outflowing the oil-soaked variety.

This historical information that this forum keeps is absolutely great. It was a while before I bothered trying to search for answers to my technical questions and research the symptoms manifested by my somewhat quirky car (83' 300D) however now I spend a lot of time researching past discussion topics. It seems like everything you could possibly want to know is there. I can't emphasize enough about the value of getting familiar with the database of previous posts, and how to search for information that is already available right here.