K&N cabin filter

Joined
Apr 2, 2005
Messages
298
Location
SC Coast
Went to put a new cabin filter in my tundra and found it had a k&n. Was pretty dirty so went ahead and put paper/charcoal filter in since I already had it.

Do I clean and oil this filter like the air filter?
 
They make washable cabin filters so yes it's likely you can wash it. I would not oil it, even if they state to do so. Who wants oil vapors coming into their cabin? Then again I would never use a K&N for a computer controlled engine either due to any chance of fouling sensors. I know, they claim they won't, which is contrary to science. If you can smell an oil, it is releasing air borne vapors.

However, you can vac out pretty much any cabin filter unless you have respiratory problems that make every last micron count (or it has molded and it's not worth considering) but you can't get back active charcoal by washing it. Some say you can reactivate charcoal by heating it but it will never get back the original surface area, will always be less effective than new.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Dave9
They make washable cabin filters so yes it's likely you can wash it. I would not oil it, even if they state to do so. Who wants oil vapors coming into their cabin? Then again I would never use a K&N for a computer controlled engine either due to any chance of fouling sensors. I know, they claim they won't, which is contrary to science. If you can smell an oil, it is releasing air borne vapors.

However, you can vac out pretty much any cabin filter unless you have respiratory problems that make every last micron count (or it has molded and it's not worth considering) but you can't get back active charcoal by washing it. Some say you can reactivate charcoal by heating it but it will never get back the original surface area, will always be less effective than new.


How exactly is it "contrary to science" that their air filters don't foul sensors? Some great testing on the youtube you can see where they show that basically at no flow rate that can be produced by a vehicle's intake can the oil come off the filter. It's complete urban legend and the folks claiming that their MAF went bad b/c of the K&N had...wait for it..bad MAFs..ahahahah. And why in the world would you oil a cabin filter? That's not how these work. BITOG is so anti-K&N it's funny.

https://www.knfilters.com/cabin-air-filters

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Originally Posted by TiGeo
Originally Posted by Dave9
They make washable cabin filters so yes it's likely you can wash it. I would not oil it, even if they state to do so. Who wants oil vapors coming into their cabin? Then again I would never use a K&N for a computer controlled engine either due to any chance of fouling sensors. I know, they claim they won't, which is contrary to science. If you can smell an oil, it is releasing air borne vapors.

However, you can vac out pretty much any cabin filter unless you have respiratory problems that make every last micron count (or it has molded and it's not worth considering) but you can't get back active charcoal by washing it. Some say you can reactivate charcoal by heating it but it will never get back the original surface area, will always be less effective than new.


How exactly is it "contrary to science" that their air filters don't foul sensors? Some great testing on the youtube you can see where they show that basically at no flow rate that can be produced by a vehicle's intake can the oil come off the filter. It's complete urban legend and the folks claiming that their MAF went bad b/c of the K&N had...wait for it..bad MAFs..ahahahah. And why in the world would you oil a cabin filter? That's not how these work. BITOG is so anti-K&N it's funny.

https://www.knfilters.com/cabin-air-filters




It is funny and also sad there are so many sheep.
 
They make washable cabin filters so yes it's likely you can wash it. I would not oil it, even if they state to do so. Who wants oil vapors coming into their cabin? Then again I would never use a K&N for a computer controlled engine either due to any chance of fouling sensors. I know, they claim they won't, which is contrary to science. If you can smell an oil, it is releasing air borne vapors.

However, you can vac out pretty much any cabin filter unless you have respiratory problems that make every last micron count (or it has molded and it's not worth considering) but you can't get back active charcoal by washing it. Some say you can reactivate charcoal by heating it but it will never get back the original surface area, will always be less effective than new.
 
The K&N cabin filters are awesome. You can clean them much faster than going to the store and getting a new paper filter. Another good thing is you buy once/cry once. They last forever and you can always clean them every 6 months if you want to. I don't know of anyone who buys a new cabin filter for about $12 or more every 6 months. I drive on a lot of gravel during pheasant season and sometimes for shore fishing trips and the cabin filter gets a little dusty at times but to each his/her own.
 
The K&N cabin filters are awesome. You can clean them much faster than going to the store and getting a new paper filter. Another good thing is you buy once/cry once. They last forever and you can always clean them every 6 months if you want to. I don't know of anyone who buys a new cabin filter for about $12 or more every 6 months. I drive on a lot of gravel during pheasant season and sometimes for shore fishing trips and the cabin filter gets a little dusty at times but to each his/her own.
I buy a few charcoal filters on Amazon at a time and change every 6 months
 
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