K&N FIlter worth putting on my C43?

[abalto]

Noah or any others...have you done this. Is it worth doing?

[TommyMB]

I have K & N in both my Porsche and Mercedes, and in both cases the performance improved. They really improved the higher rpm breathing. My cars also idle smoother with them (I cannot explan this one). I think they are worth the money.

Well, I'm not a big believer in K&N - but I seem to be alone. The actual Dyno tests i've seen show a REAL benefit only when the paper filter is dirty. A clean filter is just as good/better than a clean K&N - again based on the dyno tests i've seen. I have choosen to replace paper filters more frequently, than to clean and oil a K&N.

AGAIN: this is only my opinion - i don't want to flamed over this.

Also: It is a GIANT pain in the ass to change the two filters on this car. Not like on any BMW i've had.

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Noah
1999 C43
4Noah.homepage.com

[akry]

No flamming here......

Well, It seems that K&N works better on one car than another. Really depends...

But I am kinda with Noah here, as original paper filter is just as good, if not better, than K&N. But as it gets dirty, K&N will have advantage over it....

Andy Kuo

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• 1992 Mercedes-Benz 400SE
  
• Moonstone Grey/Black Leather
  
• Blue/Red Headlights
  
• Xenon-Look Foglights
  

ICQ#26950002
Mercedes Owners ICQ ActiveList ID#61730549
http://drive.to/akry

The previous owner of my 500E put K&N's in, and I've got to tell you that it was scary how much dirt came out of them on the first washing. What I mean is ... it was immediately obvious how much dirt is in the air because of how much these things had in them. Now I know what kind of job filters do do. But it was really scary to think how much is getting through the K&N's into my engine. If you hold them up to the light, you can see straight through the tiny holes in the weave. I doubt that the K&N's trap much more than half the particulate.

I've thought a lot about going back to the regular filters since then. Who wants to spend 1/2 hour cleaning and re-oiling these buggers every 1500miles anyhow?

[abalto]

Thanks for all your replies!

I thinks I will stay with the factory Mercedes-Benz/AMG paper elements. I have believe that MB (with their multi-billion dollar corporate research and development teams), they could certainly put together a foam element for one or more of their cars...if that was the way to go!

I remember from my youth when I was into dirtbikes, we used K&N foam slip-on elements then, and I remember that they were not very good at filtering the fine dirt out, but they were very free-flowing.

For dedicated dragstrip use they would probably be great, but for everyday use considering how often you have to clean and oil them, I think I will stay with the OEM filters. TY!

[Lee Scheeler]

A plan of action I might use would be to use OEM filters (Mann, etc) for daily use and keep them changed often. When I go to the track I might pop the K&N's in for the speed events then swap them back for the OEM's as soon as I was done.

Just an idea...Lee