lexus114

Do any of you guys have a K&N air filter in your RX`s? I`m thinking about putting one in.

Clutchless

Why? Just replace the factory air filter (even use an aftermarket) every ten thousand miles for much more protection.
A K&N will not make much of a power increase, (if any). As if the RX350 needs more power for what it is. Plus, you have to re-oil them every 6 months or so as the oil dissipates, leaving gaps in the cotton gauze to let wear particulates (dirt) into your engine. Then you have to be careful not to over oil it or the excess oil can mess with your mass airflow sensor.

There was a thread on it a few years ago https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...-n-filter.html

hypervish

Every 10,000 miles is way too often for an OE filter.

+1, to the K&N passing oil over to the MAF sensor. Just not worth having to regularly clean it.

bionictony

i would skip k&n and go with either an afe oiled or dry filter. if you look through the afe oiled element, it has better filtration than the k&n oiled filter.

diverchris

I have the K&N filter for both the air filter and cabin filter; I've used these filters on many vehicles and never had any oil appearing on the MAF.
I waited until they came on sale and then the cost of the K&N is that of two OEM filters
Chris

carguy75

I use a dry oil-less performance filter in my RX350.

I use a Upgr8 performance air filter which uses acrylic fiber.

Acrylic fiber is a very good air filtering media that collects very fine particles while allowing more airflow than paper.

The Upgr8 filter works very well in my RX350 and my AWD RX averages about 22-23 mpg in the city.

The engine seems to be little more responsive as well.

I used to be a die-hard K&N fan until I found performance air filters that are oil-less.

http://www.upgr8.com/store/oem-repla...ir-filter.html

Freds430

Agree with 10,000 is to much. I change mine every 20,000 and that is probably overkill. Every 10,000, I remove it and use my shop vac to clean it. I buy it on line from Lexus Parts World for $17.60 and use cl5 in the promo code to receive another 10% discount.

Clutchless

I said 10,000 if one wanted to maintain about the same performance levels as a K&N, because after that there would be a decrease in airflow and performance due to dirt build up. This was recommended to by consulting tribologist Terry Dyson.
That UPGR8 filter does look interesting. How do you clean it, just blow compressed air through it?

fastnoypi

how long have you run the upgr8 filter? Is it washable or just clean with compressed air?
I have a aem dryflow filter in one of my other cars which is great, i just checked and they had an application for the rx350 that looks very similar, if not identical, to the upgr8

tradosauru

K&N filters are good for high HP engines that suck in a lot air such as race cars but for normal every day drivers stick with OEM.


http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

carguy75

I only had my Upgr8 filter for a month.

I believe it can be blown clean.

I will just replace my old filter with a new one every 3 years since it only cost me about $20 on amazon.

FYI, I love the AEM Dry S filter.

I have one in my 2014 KIA Optima SXL turbo.




I wish that they had one for the 2011 RX, however the Upgr8 seem to perform fine in the RX so I am good with it so far.

lexus114

Interesting. thanks carguy

fastnoypi

i also noticed on the site you linked for the upgra8 filter mentioning about using compressed air for cleaning but nothing about washing. Thats why i like the aem dryflow, you can rinse it in detergent and water

If the filter media holds up like the aem, IMO its a good deal that would pay for itself in 2 cleanings. Fram paper replaceables are roughly 17 each plus tax at its cheapest.

carguy75

No problem.

I will posts some more feedback if the Upgr8 filter has any issues, but it seems to be working as good or better as the stock air filter.

Without a proper dyno test run, my RX350 seems to have better acceleration and the gas mileage is pretty good around town compared to before the filter change so I a guessing that the car picked up some extra horsepower with the Upgr8.

I gain about 1-2 mpg in the city when the ECO light stays on.

I will check for extra fine dirt and sand after the filter element in the intake tract to see if the air is being filtered as well as with the additional airflow.

carguy75

Yes time will tell if the Ugr8 will be a quality filter like the AEM brand of filters.

I will just replace the AEM dry filter in my Optima as well in three years.

Therefore, cleaning the filters do not really matter to me personally.

Spending $20-50 for an air filter every three years is not a problem for me, but it may matter to someone else I suppose.

I believe that an air filter will still have trapped dirt in the element even after washing it, so I just replace my filters with fresh ones.