Guys, do you think there are any major advantages or running Volant CAI system as compared to a drop-in K&N filter in the stock airbox?
Esentially you still get an enclosed box with K&N, feeding colder air from the fender opening with free flowing filter element inside. Plus stock box with K&N will be quieter than Volant at WOT. I can't imagine air flow will be that much better with Volant set-up.. Any ideas? I love the looks of the Volant, but if I can get the same effect for $45 with K&N drop-in filter, as well as less noise, I don't really see a point. What do you all think?

Before I throw out my $.02, let me just say that you need to google all of your choices. Having said that, I have read hundreds of threads from various auto/4x4 forums dealing with the Volant. While I really like the looks of it, I have NOT come across anything that gives any type of definitive proof of mpg & hp gains, and I won't be buying one until I do. K&N is just about the same, although from actual filter tests I have seen, I won't be running K&N in any vehicle I own (especially in the dusty conditions I see).

I promise you will find some website or some individual on a forum who will sing praises about either the volant or K&N. You will also be able to find exactly the opposite type of posts. Weeding fact from fiction is the hard part, as most everything out there is just opinion & no factual info.

Not really an answer, but I just wanted to warn you that only one or two opinions from people (myself included) really won't cut it with either of the products you are looking at. If you find anything interesting & factual, please post it. I know there are a couple threads here talking about both...

The biggest issues with the K&N and similar filters is that they let more dirt pass through to the engine compared to conventional paper filters. Also, the oil coating K&N and similar filters use can contaminate the hotwire of the MAS and cause false readings. If you google the "Spicer air filter test," you can find some info regarding the "dirt filtration" of different types of filters.

I run a K&N filtercharger in my 05. I have run K&N filter chargers (drop in replacement for factory filter) for years on my vehicles from close to new all the way to 300k+ kms.

The key to making sure these filters work properly is to properly oil the filter medium. Too much oil will cause CELs and fouled sensors in the intake. Too little will allow too much large particulate through and cause excessive engine wear.

I've had no bad experience. I don't think I will ever go to a cone style filter though. Too much opportunity for leaks, and that will cause wear.

Case in point on my 98 civic, ran a K&N from 50k kms til she died at 298k kms. (rear ended someone). I checked compression at 280k kms, and had 195psi all across. I drive plenty of gravel, and live in the country. Oil consumption is another sign of wear from bad filtration, and I have had no issues with that either on my civic or pathfinder.

So my advise is follow the instructions, make sure to apply the proper amount of oil. And you don't need to clean this filter every 3 months. I do mine every 6 or so, based on inspection.

Air filtration is MUCH more critical in applications with a turbo. We have coaches running on mining roads in NW US (nevada, utah). The composition of the soil seems to have a large effect on this. In this application, we had some minor leak issues on the conical style filter we used due to water ingress and improper installation. The turbo impeller looked like rats had been chewing on it. Engines dusted after 30k miles. brutal.
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I've had a K&N drop in filter in my pathfinder for a couple of years (about 40k miles) with no issues at all. I clean it about once a year. The only reason I got it was the fact that I will never have to buy another air filter for my truck. Any HP gains are just an added bonus, although I haven't noticed any difference.

+1, that is why I got mine too, reduce the landfill!

NVSteve wrote:Before I throw out my $.02, let me just say that you need to google all of your choices. Having said that, I have read hundreds of threads from various auto/4x4 forums dealing with the Volant. While I really like the looks of it, I have NOT come across anything that gives any type of definitive proof of mpg & hp gains, and I won't be buying one until I do. K&N is just about the same, although from actual filter tests I have seen, I won't be running K&N in any vehicle I own (especially in the dusty conditions I see).

I promise you will find some website or some individual on a forum who will sing praises about either the volant or K&N. You will also be able to find exactly the opposite type of posts. Weeding fact from fiction is the hard part, as most everything out there is just opinion & no factual info.

Not really an answer, but I just wanted to warn you that only one or two opinions from people (myself included) really won't cut it with either of the products you are looking at. If you find anything interesting & factual, please post it. I know there are a couple threads here talking about both...

I have not done anything whith the wife's Pathy yet but I put the Volant in my '12 GMC Sierra last week and I got an immediate sound and power increase and on 93 octane I picked up a little over 1 mpg. There is a guy who has a thread on my GM forum that is posting dyno results after each mod and he picked up 12 hp and 25 tq over stock with the Volant.....