How Often?

[Dave A]

Not a super dumb question. How often am I supposed to clean my K&N air filter and how do I do it?

[gtp3800]

I clean mine either every season or 10k miles. whichever comes first.

I just go to the local cycle gear and pick up the K&N cleaning kit. very easy.

spray filter with cleaning spray, rinse out in sink, let dry, add K&N oil to the filter, then reinstall and your good! While its drying I clean out the airbox cuz it gets pretty dirty from time to time depending on the driving conditions.

[Dave A]

Thanks gtp3800.

[sparky300]

Follow the intructions on the box. Rinse from the INSIDE out. NOT from the outside in and DON'T re-oil it until it's completely dry, overnight usually does the trick

[Cooter]

Very, very, very important:
No high pressure air blast. I've seen them at 50K miles untouched and still OK. One blast with compressed air=ruined.
Let it dry completely after cleaning and before oiling. They will buckle and the material will get sucked into the motor, or just make it run super rich and foul plugs.
Very, very LIGHT on the oil. A super light mist is all you need, more oil won't filter better, it will just make it run rich and eff up your sensors (especially true in a car with a mass air flow sensor).

I don't want to start an air filter preference war but I went back to "dry" filters a long time ago.

[anrkizm95]

every million miles like the sticker says. ;)

[stellio78]

http://www.knfilters.com/faq.htm#4

[vtech007]

Good tips. Some super essential, like ruining the filter and damaging your engine by basically not followoing the filter manufacturer's service instructions. But I especially want to emphasize, don't over apply the amount of oil. Will oil foul spark plugs. The instructions may or may not be explicit as to just how much oil is the right amount to spray on.

[Cooter]

I've had one can since the 90's for all of my filters, and all of my buddies filters, and most of it is still in the can!

That nasty, sticky stuff is great for pranks though! I took a different spray tip and drilled a tiny hole 90* off from the front. It's great for making a big mess quickly. Muahahaha (evil laugh):D