Comment Re:So what happens (Score 1) 388
I tried multiple *paper* style filters, ran for 2-3 months, then tried the next - checking mileage over time, none of them gave the improvement that the K&N did - with the K&N only costing about $10.00 more than the paper filters (shopping around).
Iridium plugs, and expensive wires only showed marginal improvements overall (2% to 3% total over stock plugs with 70k miles on them). Trading out to the pulstar plugs not only improved the mileage over time, but also keeps the emissions down.
Going from an average to around 173 to 215 miles per 13 gallon fill-up for in-town, traffic to between 260 and 300 miles per fill-up doing the same drive day in and day out.
Granted, I made the changes when gas was upwards of 3.75 a gallon, but they've more than paid for themselves with the improved mileage.
You can call them snake-oil if you'd like, but the results I've had speak for themselves.
oh - and if you want a quick fix - check your MAF - if it hasn't been cleaned in a while, clean it - the wires in the MAF will build up a coating that requires higher voltage to heat the wire and keep it at the required temp, which tells the engine that more air is flowing through the MAF than there really is, which causes your engine to push more fuel into the mix. cleaning the MAF clears that coating and returns the flow detection to a more accurate read, improving economy again.