Hi, I'm buying a 05 ram on Monday, has under 60k miles and dealer checked out and is in great shape. Has 5.7l Hemi 4x4. They said the air filter is dirty and needs to be replaced. Should I go with a K&N filter or stick with a stock? Or is there another air filter I should go with? Will the K&N filter damage motor over time? What are the cons of aftermarket filters? Thanks all

 

You can get a K&N filter that is "stock" or "drop in" rather than a palin old fram "stock" o"drop in " or whatever brand.

The advantage is its like $60 and guaranteed for 1,000,000 miles or so and you're just supposed to lubricate it every so often whereas if you go with a fram is supposed ot only last a few thousand miles and is still around $20.00.

You can go with an air intake system which is what i think you're refering to when you say K&N in your post. If you buy a K&N one its gonna cost $200+ or you can make one youreself with some pvc pipe, clamps, whatever kind of cone filer you want to for somewehre around $50-$80 depending on the brand of filter you buy. You just take your hemi hat off of your throttle body, remove your stock air filter box, and the piping between them. You can gain a few hp with the air intake system and it will probably be a little louder than your stock air filter.

 

I would go K*N over stock any day but I would price shop and likely buy a K&N over the internet somewhere like ebay where I could get it for much less than at an auto parts store

 

Definily K&N is a no brainer on the drop in options.

If you want to go CAI, I've found the correct K&N cone filter on ebay for $50.00

 

Get an O.E. (stock) replacement. K&N will flow slightly more (unfiltered) air, with a lot more dirt getting past , than a factory replacement paper filter.

Look at a brand new K&N, through a light, and see how BIG the holes are in the media. That means bigger dirt particles getting past the filter. K&N has a slogan- "The Dirtier It Gets...The Better It Works." That is true because the extra layer of dirt closes up the big hole, slightly, to start trapping additional dirt.

 

Thank for the info, I think I'll get the k&n drop in.

 

i agree K&N flow better but also let more unfiltered air through. the stock filters flow more than ur engine needs. also its a truck not a high revving I4 free flowing intakes only make sense if ur always revving high since thats when the engine needs the most air. my manual states that the filter only needs to be replaced at 120k intervals under normal use obviously. if it can hold that much dirty and keep working its a good filter. if u want more power remove the hat but if u want cleaner air keep the paper filter

 

do a google search about my above post and find out for your self