equetefue

Guys is it worth it upgrading to KN filters or not? I've always had them in other cars and saw slight increase in mpg and throttle response

saytheb

Avoid an oiled filter if there is a MAF behind the air box. Nothing will ruin your day like filter oil on a MAF

AMG_FVR

Very much agreed here. Try to get a dry highflow filter like BMC. Also a very reputable
company.

MASSC450

BMC doesn't make a "dry" replacement air filter...

"Qualified engineers using advanced software and expert technicians using the latest technologies produce BMC air filters. An F1 filter must be very light, must be made of the best raw materials and must improve performance. For this reason we use only alloy mesh with epoxy coating to ensure protection from petrol fumes and from oxidization due to the humidity of the air. The filtering material is composed of a special cotton gauze soaked with low-viscosity oil to give you the best air permeability."

http://www.bmcairfilters.com/eng/rep...r-filters/1/c2


I've used a K&N replacement air filter in my 2015 C300 2.0L, and I have K&N replacement air filters in my 2016 C450...NEVER seen even a drop of oil in the intakes of either car...or any car I've ever owned with a K&N filter installed.

equetefue

Yeah never seen oil in none of the cars I've used the filters on. This comes from over oiling by the user.

Did you noticed a noticeable improvement at all in any areas to justify the price?

Lionel_Hutz

Google "BMC filter failure." Just saying.

IMHO at this point there is no provable reason to use anything but the stock filters.

Biggreenogg

Cool factor?

equetefue

Interesting replies. Like I said they always yielded better mpg in all my previous cars and a slight improvement in throttle response.

Thank you guys for the feedback.

Edwin

SuckaGDog

Lol, that was a small batch of their filters that were contaminated during the manufacturing peocess. I contacted their support back in 2012 regarding it. It was at the turn of 2011 going into 2012 they had the issue. It's been long fixed now. If anyone has the failed filters they'll replace it no questions asked with the production date form included when the filters were new. I run their filters in all my cars with no issue. I prefer it to K&N.

Anyways, on high flow filters themselves you won't notice any real benefits from just a drop in/panel filter.

saytheb

My recommendation against an oiled filter was more for the user who ultimately goes and buys K&N's recharge kit down the road and absolutely drenches their filter in oil. Not saying oiled filters will always screw with MAFs (I run an oiled filter on my fully built Evo), just that most of the failures are user error which can be avoided.

Improved mileage is possible, especially if your previous panel filter was incredibly dirty. If it was brand new, there's probably not a much of a difference vs. just your pedal modulation.. The throttle feel may also come from a better burn and/or more air passing into the engine.. but again I can't imagine it's more than just a butt dyno fake feeling on a brand new vs brand new filter.

If the stock air boxes were restrictive in themselves and you moved to a cone/open filter setup that was able to breath much more, you'd definitely feel that (and hear that nice turbo spoolup through the intake!)

MASSC450

Then you should have been more clear. You inferred all oil infused air filters will foul the MAF with your statement here...

"Avoid an oiled filter if there is a MAF behind the air box. Nothing will ruin your day like filter oil on a MAF."

Personally I never re-oil my K&N filters. I just brush off the dirt layer, and when it get's real dirty, I toss it and replace with a new one. To me it's not worth paying the $12.95 for the cleaning/re-oiling kit which is about half the cost of a new K&N drop-in filter.

Two things, 1) An aftermarket performance air filter like a K&N or BMC will flow better than the stock paper air filter...that's fact. A K&N or BMC does not filter as well as the stock filter, but 99.8% filtration (in comparison to the stock filter) is pretty damn close.

2) Most people like myself buy a replacement drop-in K&N air filter not just for it's reuse-ability, but also for improved throttle response, not for a theoretical HP increase. As a bonus, I usually see a slight increase in fuel mileage with the K&N compared to stock.

DameMD

Fair enough. Now, back to your car application. Since we have forced induction cars that like more air, do "you" feel a better throttle response with the filters on your car? On my last two Mercedes which were N/A, I didn't really see a throttle difference. I did see a 1-3 mpg improvement city driving with K&N's. I am on the fence between BMC and K&N since it seems like more people are using BMC. I wish we had a true CAI or short RAM for our cars like Audi and BMW

MASSC450

I've installed K&N replacement drop-in panel filters in my old 2015 2.0L C300 Sport 4Matic, and my current 2016 C450, and I experienced improved throttle response and a slight bump up in gas mileage in both vehicles...about 1 mpg.

Now as for the choice between BMC and K&N, IMO the quality is about the same...with the BMC being slightly better, but at twice the price of the K&N, I don't think the BMC filter is worth that kind of money.