those air filters...just a friendly reminder! The other day, one of the threads reminded me that I should clean my filter beings it looked horrible and it'd been roughly a yr. Yes I know, I have been neglecting the truck since I bought a house. Anyways, I cleaned the KN and :icon_OMG:. It was bad... I should have did this awhile ago. I would have probably saved my sinking fuel mileage (I noticed a drastic decline since the fall, which I thought was the fuel and my longer idle times, which yes should be accounted for some of it). Yes, Yes, I know dirty air filters will decreased fuel mileage from a clogged filter on the newer, non carbed vehicles, was debunked a while back, http://fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/Air_...02_26_2009.pdf , however performance is decreased, which I feel would decrease mileage too if the driver is expecting a certain level of performance out of the engine, hence harder on the accelerator. Since the cleaning I have refueled and am currently running 18.5 with a mix of highway and city, if anything I would say more city. This is based on the computer which is on paper as being within .5 mpgs +/-. I'll even check it again. I think I have gained my 2-3mpg back. We shall see in the next few weeks. On top of this the truck feels less "stressed", it takes little effort now to get up to accelerate and its but more responsive.

Anyways, for discussion matters, whats your thoughts on the debunking of the myth of the air filter causing decreased fuel mileage on the new EFI vehicles?

 

unless the computer compensates for the decreased airflow i would think operating in the best conditon would be more efficient than running dirty.

 

less airflow = less performance = heavier foot = decreased mileage...imo...lol

 

Mines so dirty right now, I need to clean it... or just buy another cheap one, lol
The dirty you see on it in this pic, its like 3 times worse on the other side.

 

I always thought it was comical how K&N suggests cleaning a CAI filter every 100,000 miles. They say to "inspect" it every 25,000 to make sure the screen is still visible and, if not, then it's time for a cleaning. I get that over-cleaning can break down the cotton fibers and make the filter last fewer years/miles, but if I didn't clean mine every 6-7000 miles, it wouldn't even let air through it anymore. I typically try to clean every 6-7000 when I change oil (Mobil 1) and it's so dirty by then I think I should clean it more often...

 

theres that blue loom, horsepower right there!!

 

I have 2 cone filters,one in truck, one on shelf in garage, got tired of washing the original one and waiting for it to dry before oiling it back up, now after a good cleaning, it dries for 24 or more hours before I oil the filter again