Hi,
I purchased a 2001 S60 T5 a couple of months ago and i have grown to love it, i was just curious, Would i see alot of difference if i put a K&N panel filter in or not really?
Cheers :beer:

Well, I have a K&N drop in my T5 and it does make a slight difference in acceleration and miles per gallon. No worries, you can't have performance and economy.

In terms of ongoing maintenance, it will cost you less money as you can simply use a power air hose and blow out the filter and wash it with ordinary dishwashing liquid, treat it with the K&N afterwash, put it in the sun to dry and reinsert.

Cool

:cat: Hi there CrzyT5.

For what this is worth to you-I considered using a K&N filter. I spoke to every man and his dog about them. I could not find a single soul who supported my using a K&N filter.

It was agreed that the filter breathes user and lets in far more air. However, it does that by not filtering the air so well. According to the experts-the K&N filter also lets in far more dust too.

The cost/benefit ratio is simply not there.

I was also told about resale value. If you used one-take it off before trying to sell the car. The mechanics know about the dust issues and will mention that in their report about possible extra wear and tear due to the K&N filter.

Sorry this could not sound better-but it is my experiences. :blush:

Cheers :right:

Dust is not the issue, its the oil in the filter. The oil kills the throttle body/ETM and MAF sensor in Volvos (Audis too from what Ive seen).

Some diff opinions on whether the oil is really bad or not, but the intake system that Evolve is coming out with is non-oil, so that tells me K&N is not good in the long run...

I have never heard of dust being an issue either. Having used K&N on my previous car for about 200,000kms I see no significant dust residue on the filter box past the air filter insert, but there is some dust/dirt before the insert. This would suggest the air filter does work in filtering out dust.

I have read anectodal remarks about some poeple blaming the oil transferred from the air filter damaging the mass air flow sensor. My understanding is this sensor works by charging a wire suspended inside the sensor. Measurements are taken from the resistance of this charged wire affected by the amount of airflow and temperature of the air. The air flowing through after the filter insert is in no way sterile or HEPA grade. Will oil ruin it (that is, if it gets there). I'm guessing probably not.

In most cars that I have seen (Volvo included), there is no direct airflow between the filter and the MAF sensor. Air will hit the edge of the filter box (or in some cases piping) before deflecting itself to the MAF sensor. If oil was a problem, these points of delfection would be greasy from oil droplets. I have not detected any grease in this edges from my personal experience. This would suggest that the MAF sensor is not contaminated either.

Mass air flow sensors have know to have failed even with the use of OEM air filter inserts due to other causes or maybe just age.

I do use K&N but I am in no way affiliated with the company and I am prepared to switch if a better product comes along. I use it because there is an improvement to my fuel economy. Improved airflow can only be good for fuel economy and performance, conversely a dirty and badly clogged air filter will be bad for both.

The final word I feel, belongs to Tech.

Of the faulty MAF sensors that he or any other mechanic has replaced, is there a correlation between the probability of faulty MAF sensor and the use of an oil based performance air filters like K&N?

If you buy one and install be Very light on the oil.
Or yes it will burn componants up.

Grr, and I just installed one and this thread showed. Oh well. I'm just gonna listen to poopbunny. Hopefully your right.

Also I havent noticed anything with my filter, I have checked it over the past week after a long trip(600 miles) for anything noticable. I've found nothing. I get paranoid when I put new things in the car.

My S60 was hesitating before shifts and the error code showed a mass air flow sensor issue. So I removed it and carefully cleaned it with a Q-tip. Lots of oily gunk on the sensor - and you know it - a K&N filter. After replacing the clean MAFS, no problems. So you may want to keep the benefits of better air flow with the cleaner by checking the MAF every couple of months or so.

I'm not sure if there is any long term damage caused by gunk on the sensor, though. My guess is that it's unlikely.

Dealers will ususally not go through the trouble of cleaning the MAF, they'll just replace it at the tune of $400 plus. However, for about $150 you can get a rebuilt one from Swedish Volvo

http://www.swedishpartswholesale.com/searc...20mass%20sensor

It will more likely then not lower the resale value. Private buyers that look under the hood (like me) see that filter and think hard driver which equals poor condition of the vehicle. I found a good honda accord that I turned down because I saw the same thing. It's hard to tell how the driver rode the car, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.