Ok, so now that we've determined that the K&N filter will flow more air as well as more dirt, but we haven't determined whether that extra amount of dirt is detrimental to the long term performance of the engine.

Has anyone personally seen damage to an engine over time due to the use of a high-flow filter, K&N or otherwise? Fancy charts and graphs and stories of earth movers are nice, but how does the extra dirt affect MY car?

 

just my experience....i had a cold air intake on my 2001 miata for a year, cleaned it once. noticed better throttle response and alot more noise at wop. i ran a clean rag through the intake hose, which is between the engine and the filter...it was clean as it was when i had a paper stock filter after over 12,000 miles, that is when i cleaned it.

i don't think they are worth the extra $$ and work...but i also don't think based on my experience that they pass material through at a higher than stock rate to damage the engine. i would own one if they were free or the same price as the stock filter, i still have the cleaning kit to use up!