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I think that the defining question is "how long does an owner intend on keeping his/her vehicle?" If the answer is less than five years, it will probably be OK to use an inferior product for filtering air & oil. However, please let me know before hand if I am looking to buy "your" vehicle. I'll pass on it.
Let us examine what an air filter does. First, the easy part, flow volume or dynamics. A balance must be struck to ensure adequate air for combustion, flow volume, and particulate filtration. It is know that the less about of filtration or disruption that occurs - the better the air flow and flow volume. K&N filter were designed for racing applications. The engines have fluids changed constantly and therefore remove air induced particulate matter that can damage an engine over the long haul. Therefore the K&N design has excellent air flow qualities but minimal filtration capability.
The second function of an air filter, naturally & more importantly, is cleaning the air. If you are considering a K&N filter, go to your local auto parts store (pep boys, autozone, auto advantage, ect...). Open up a K&N filter box and look at the filter. Hold it up to the light and you'll see relatively large holes in the media. Yep, great flow but piss poor filtration.
Again, I'll refer you to this web article that has been published many times over: http://www.scruz.net/~barneym/toy_root/techtalk/engine/air_fltr.htm
Proponents will argue that they feel more power/acceleration with the K&N in the airbox. Please refer to this web site:(http://www.gadgetonline.com/airinduction.htm)
This web site shows a dyno comparison (measured) between the K&N and Amsoil airfilters. The test was run on a 96 Toyota 4Runner with a low compression Roots type supercharger. The bottom line result is that the K&N produced less rear wheel horsepower (185 vs 172). The inference drawn is that the flow quality/quantity is slightly better in the Amsoil Filter over the K&N as all other variables seem to be equal.
So what does this mean. If one drops back a moment and assumes that the difference is negligible between the filters in the ability to produce horsepower, the real deciding factor is the ability to filter/clean the air. Again refer to the web article published at http://www.scruz.net/~barneym/toy_root/techtalk/engine/air_fltr.htm
This begets the question again of how long an owner wants to keep the car. If you want to enjoy the car for a considerable time/distance, I would suggest that the oil be kept as free from contaminants as possible. Hence, all filtration (air, oil, fuel) be as efficient as possible to ensure purity.
Some may argue that Amsoil doesn't make a filter for their car. I currently have Amsoil air filter (TS-118), oil filter (SDF-42), oil (10W-30) and ATF fluid in my '97 850 GLT. If one cannot find their vehicle listed in the guide for Amsoil, write to the technical dept with your details.
I state unequivocably that I do NOT work for Amsoil nor receive any financial or otherwise compensation for stating this information. I will however state that I have used Amsoil products in my 96 Runner with 73K on it. I believe it is in better shape now than when it left the factory.
Best of Luck
Andrew T. Watson
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