Originally posted by 2.5L of Rice:
The K&N filter should not be cleaned all that often! Only when it is VERY dirty should you need to do so. Every time you clean a K&N filter you loose some of its filtering capability. 25 times is the max number of times you can clean one. Then you should throw it away. It says so in the instructions!
Maintenance of the filter is best. Gently tap out any loose dirt and re-oil where necessary. As the filter gets dirty it soaks up a bit of oil(giving you more filtering surface)that you will need to replace.
10,000 miles x 25 cleanings = 250,000 miles.
Depending on where you drive your car, you sometimes can't go the recommended 50,000 miles. I've seen people with less than 30k miles since a cleaning get a CEL because the filter was so dirty it was blocking the air flow. Because it is an oiled filter, you cant simply knock off dust and dirt, it sticks to the filter.
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