algregory

I just put a K&N Filter on my motorcycle. They say it'll go 50k miles without worries about cleaning. While I was on the site noticed they have cabin filters. Washable. Cleanable.

Art161

A filter not only needs a good filtering medium, but also needs to seal well. If the cabin air filter doesn't seal properly, you could wind up with water in the passenger cabin.

I read a post on here a while back where a member posted the names of a few brands of filters, including Motorcraft. He said the Motorcraft sealed the best, although it wasn't as good as the Ford filter that came with the car.

cruisin5268d

Motorcraft = Ford

Mobiusone stang

Thanks for the heads up Art! LRS has one, but reviewers were complaining of a poor fit, so i might stay away from that one then. And thanks algregory, I had a K&N on my old car and it worked like a dream, still one of my options to go to just to avoid the hassle!

Nohippychicks

The K&N isn't the route to go to avoid a hastle. When it comes time to service it, you get to remove it, not damage it, wash it, dry it, oil it, then re-install it. Drying those properly takes time.

With a paper element, you remove, discard, install then drive.

PNYXPRESS

What type of filter to buy depends on how long you plan on keeping and how much you drive your car.

If you plan on keeping the car for a long time and/or you plan on putting alot of miles on the thing then it makes financial sense to spend the extra money and buy the reusable. if you dont drive a lot or replace cars often stick with the cheaper paper filter.

paper filter~$15
reusable filter~$50
From the 4th filter on, you are now spending more on filters than if you would of just spent the $50 at the beginning.

cruisin5268d

Another thing to keep in mind with the reusable filters is how effective they are. I've seen a lot to suggest the paper filters provide better filtration whereas the K&N-type reusable filters provide higher flow rate. Or, maybe I have it backwards.

There's also the issue of oiling it - and making sure you don't use too much which would then gum things up.

Mobiusone stang

Yea I know about the over oiling problem, as well as the arguments of how effective it is. But I got payments for many years to come, and I drive 90 miles a day, so the K&N is def. the better financial decision.

Actually, being the accountant that I am, I just ran the numbers using the concept of time value of money. Using a year of 5 (the life of my loan) and a risk free rate of 1% (the rate of 5 yr US treasury bonds give or take), a one time payment of $55 for the K&N would be $52.33 today for the life of the car. Now using the value of an annuity due (saying payment of $15 each year starting today theoretically) would actually cost me $73.53 today for the life of the car . And i like saving money today :P

cruisin5268d

Let's compare apples to apples.

You left off:
a) cost of recharging kit for the filter ($20 or so, last I checked)
b) cost of water to clean and rinse the filter
c) the actual amount of your time (time is money) to clean the filter and dry it

Mobiusone stang

True true cruisin! Time is money! But, lets say that the time it takes to clean the filter and dry it is almost the same as replacing a paper filter, give or take a few hours, if you do so on a normal interval every 20K. But i normally do those while watching some form of motorsport, so im not really going anywhere for a while during that time (usually end up taking a nap haha :P )

Now the water is another good point, especially depending on where you live and how much water costs for you. It probably costs a lot more for water now in Cali than Texas. However, where I live I feel as if the cost of the water to rinse the filter out is immaterial in nature.

Thankfully, I have a K&N recharger kit from my old car. But you are so right in that the cost needs to be factored in. I can't remember how often you have to recharge the kit, but it was something like every 50,000 miles or so. I've even heard they work better a little dirty! But thats all rumors for all i know. The kit has enough to last you well into 200k miles, so you will only need one. But say that we add the cost to the base of the filter. The best price i could find was on Amazon at $12. So basing off the same numbers as above, the value of the K&N filter and recharge kit ($62) to me today over the 5 yr life of my car is $58.99 compared to the $73.53