The K&N is installed

[SantaGuy]

This may look like a PT thread but it's not. I did install a K&N dropin filter in my 2006 NA PT Vert but that's not an exciting story. Including opening the hood and filter box that operation may have taken all of 3 minutes tops.

This story starts with the PT and moves to the Chevy Venture. My wife and I decided as long as I was replacing the PT's air filter with a K&N we might as well try to get better fuel mileage out of the van so I ordered one for each vehicle.

The Venture airbox is in a little harder to reach place and requires you remove the breather tube and mass air sensor to get to the filter. This van is a 97 and when I bought it shortly after Christmas last year, it only had 80,000 miles on it. The van lived most of it's life in the country and as we were soon to find out it was a rough 80K. It gets good-for-a-van gas mileage, has plenty of power and rides great BUT it's been nickel and dimeing us to death.

So it should not have surprised me that when I got the air filter out it looked as though a rat had built a nest in the airbox. I'm not sure how the van even ran it was so restricted. It is undoubtedly the worst air filter I've ever seen and I've seen a few.

So we'll see how it goes for the PT and the Venture.

[808]

I just installed mine a couple months back. I did notice a slight improvement in throttle response and a little up-hill help, but everyone's right that it ain't a kick in the pants!

But it still helps me sleep better at night that the filter is better than stock and you only have to clean it every 50,000.

[slayerdarkcross]

Glad to see you got it fixed

Did ya keep the rat?

[garner49]

I have a K&N 'like' on all my vehicles, and a real one on my airplane. Some think it's not worth it - no, you can't feel and may not see much in additional hp or mpg; but I like the idea that you can clean it and reuse it. The one on my airplane has saved me more than five times its cost already, as the replacement is $100+, recommended yearly or every 100 hours flight time. Several that I know have run a vehicle on a Dyno and it does show a slight hp increase. For no more time, effort and cost - that's worth something. Look on eBay you'll see generic's available.

[SantaGuy]

Originally Posted by slayerdarkcross

Glad to see you got it fixed

Did ya keep the rat?

I didn't actually see the rat, just his residence. He must have hit hard times in the rat biz and faced a foreclosure.

[quicksilverdon]

Reminds me of a story....
I had an old Volvo 144 - had 2 SU carburetors and a rectangular air filter over both.
I lived in Joisey, and was driving to NY to see my folks - car was bucking and running like crap. When I got to my folks, I opened the air cleaner, and the air filter was missing!
I looked closer, and noticed some ash along the rubber on the edge...
Seems there was a backfire and it set the filter on fire...
I was amazed the car still ran....