KN air filter for S6 or not.....

[dumbledore]

Hi guys,

Any advice on swapping out the the stock filter with sock around it for either the K&N or another stock Mahle with the sock removed.

I searched the forum but there was not a whole lot of feedback.

Thanks for the comments!

2016 S6 with VR Tuning box

[RAF_S7]

I put the K&N on my S7 within a week of purchase. Made the car sound better, but didn't feel any faster.

The problem with modifying the intake is once you start, it can be hard to stop!

K&N --> AWE S-Flow --> Roc-Euro

The RocE is AWSOME

[dumbledore]

Thanks! I think I can be restrained..... Filter is only $55 so I guess I should get it.

I put the K&N on my S7 within a week of purchase. Made the car sound better, but didn't feel any faster.

The problem with modifying the intake is once you start, it can be hard to stop!

K&N --> AWE S-Flow --> Roc-Euro

The RocE is AWSOME

[SunDevil]

Is the K/N filter lightly oiled?

[Clipse3GT]

Yes it is

[dumbledore]

Just ordered one on Amazon Prime. About 58 bucks with free two day. I'll report back later this week......

[Chris@EPL]

I have used K&Ns in every car I have owned since 1994 and hove logged 500k miles just in VW and Audi's with them with no MAF issues. Make sure you take the filter out of the plastic and shake it and hit it in a table with a papertowel on it until the oil stops dripping off. And just leave it out in the air for a day or 2 as well. If you can drop the filter on top of a papertowel or newspaper and not have any loose oil come out you should be good.

[Djpeaksd]

Good thing is our cars don't have MAF sensor so nothing to worry about!

[dumbledore]

Got my filter yesterday. It was not too oily. I did not get any oil when shaking it. Installation was cake. I removed the two hoses hooking up from the engine to the air box. I was able to rotate the lid and remove the stock Mahle filter. The box did have some leaf debris in it. I was able to then install the KN and position the lid back on, locking it in place with the tab thing. I probably spent an extra five minutes studying it and making sure I did it right. I clamped the hoses back on (making sure the arrows were lined up on the hoses and plastic tubes) and voila.

I was only expecting slightly more turbo noise. However, and maybe because I have a VR box which is likely running 25% more boost, I feel that the car is slightly more responsive and free revving. Makes some sense as the hotter 4.0TT motors utilize twin intakes for more flow. No doubt this KN greatly outflows the Mahle with sock! Hopefully this is not a placebo effect. Sure felt great last night.

Happy with outcome.

[SunDevil]

I have used K&Ns in every car I have owned since 1994 and hove logged 500k miles just in VW and Audi's with them with no MAF issues. Make sure you take the filter out of the plastic and shake it and hit it in a table with a papertowel on it until the oil stops dripping off. And just leave it out in the air for a day or 2 as well. If you can drop the filter on top of a papertowel or newspaper and not have any loose oil come out you should be good.

You read my mind.

[nogall23]

I just picked up a 2015 A6 3.0T and installed a K&N filter. The dealer tech told me that they don't recommend them because it may run a little lean. Has anyone who has a K&N filter experienced this?

[elp_jc]

Racing filters, especially the oiled type, filter like crap. And that's not speculation, but a fact, and an easy one to confirm by oneself. Anybody with common sense knows if holes are larger for better airflow (heck, you can almost see thru a K&N filter), they're also larger for more dirt to go thru. The issue is modern cars rarely need more air than tha stock air filter supplies, so a filter with a higher CFM rating doesn't mean the engine will get more air. You could remove the freaking filter and the car won't be any faster, to go to the extreme. Bottom line is you're allowing more dirt into your engine, and more intake noise (some like that. I don't) by installing a racing filter, with basically no performance benefit, at least on a stock car. Living in the dusty desert southwest, it'd be a stupid idea to put such a filter on your car, but I wouldn't put one anywhere even if free. But to each his own, I guess. K&N makes great racing filters, but lousy street filters, but it's incredible what a little marketing does in this country.

[Krueger]

I've upgraded my intake to the complete RS7 setup and I still run the stock air filter (well, the one that comes with the RS7 airbox). Like others have mentioned, oiled filters do not clean the air as well as the factory paper filters. There is no disputing this, just look at the designs. What percent of additional particulate matter makes it through? Well, that I can't say...it would depend on the location and driving conditions.

I've run cold air intakes & K&N filters on many of my previous vehicles but I'm going to stick with the factory filter on this one. I've done a lot of research on this subject and my conclusion is that these aftermarket filters are a bad idea. Millions of dollars go into the design & testing of these OEM products. Regardless of what these aftermarket filter manufacturers say, their products are not held to the same standards as Original Equipment. If the intake is good enough for a +620 HP RS6 Performance, it is good enough for my stage 2 S6. I'll gladly take a 5-10HP loss in exchange for better filtration. (It is REALLY bad for dirt to get into your engine)

That is my $0.02. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong.

[GilliamOS]

Racing filters, especially the oiled type, filter like crap. And that's not speculation, but a fact, and an easy one to confirm by oneself. Anybody with common sense knows if holes are larger for better airflow (heck, you can almost see thru a K&N filter), they're also larger for more dirt to go thru. The issue is modern cars rarely need more air than tha stock air filter supplies, so a filter with a higher CFM rating doesn't mean the engine will get more air. You could remove the freaking filter and the car won't be any faster, to go to the extreme. Bottom line is you're allowing more dirt into your engine, and more intake noise (some like that. I don't) by installing a racing filter, with basically no performance benefit, at least on a stock car. Living in the dusty desert southwest, it'd be a stupid idea to put such a filter on your car, but I wouldn't put one anywhere even if free. But to each his own, I guess. K&N makes great racing filters, but lousy street filters, but it's incredible what a little marketing does in this country.

Beat me to it. If you're doing it for noise, great, but don't think you'll get any other meaningful gains from it. The gains you will get will be more dirt and contaminants in your engine and oil. Not worth it long-term IMO.

[Kevin1]

Beat me to it. If you're doing it for noise, great, but don't think you'll get any other meaningful gains from it. The gains you will get will be more dirt and contaminants in your engine and oil. Not worth it long-term IMO.

Plus 1!

[Kczach]

I've upgraded my intake to the complete RS7 setup and I still run the stock air filter (well, the one that comes with the RS7 airbox). Like others have mentioned, oiled filters do not clean the air as well as the factory paper filters. There is no disputing this, just look at the designs. What percent of additional particulate matter makes it through? Well, that I can't say...it would depend on the location and driving conditions.

I've run cold air intakes & K&N filters on many of my previous vehicles but I'm going to stick with the factory filter on this one. I've done a lot of research on this subject and my conclusion is that these aftermarket filters are a bad idea. Millions of dollars go into the design & testing of these OEM products. Regardless of what these aftermarket filter manufacturers say, their products are not held to the same standards as Original Equipment. If the intake is good enough for a +620 HP RS6 Performance, it is good enough for my stage 2 S6. I'll gladly take a 5-10HP loss in exchange for better filtration. (It is REALLY bad for dirt to get into your engine)

That is my $0.02. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong.

If you have the Revo RS7 airbox with their filter it is an oiled filter. I've run oiled and washable filters (Afe pro dry) in my past BMW, Mercedes and S4 without any issues. I agree there probably aren't any HP gains and only a little difference in sound. If you live in a dusty environment they probably aren't the filter for you. Personally I think they filter pretty well whether they are oiled or not. I cleaned my filters at each oil change on all my cars and noticed that they were definitely doing their job. If you are waiting 20-30k to change/clean your filter that might be a little too long. Just my two cents.

[Krueger]

If you have the Revo RS7 airbox with their filter it is an oiled filter. I've run oiled and washable filters (Afe pro dry) in my past BMW, Mercedes and S4 without any issues. I agree there probably aren't any HP gains and only a little difference in sound. If you live in a dusty environment they probably aren't the filter for you. Personally I think they filter pretty well whether they are oiled or not. I cleaned my filters at each oil change on all my cars and noticed that they were definitely doing their job. If you are waiting 20-30k to change/clean your filter that might be a little too long. Just my two cents.

No, I have the RS7 airbox & inlet pipes with the factory filter. It's looks to me like the Revo filter is foam w/ oil. That type does perform marginally better than the cotton-gauze style K&N in filtration. Still, I would rather stick with the factory paper. Not worth it IMHO.

[nogall23]

Thanks for the feedback. It's greatly appreciated.

[4Chio]

I installed mine yesterday.. the response is A little better. have not notice much in sound. my fiancé asked if I did something to my car because it sounded different .

[The Infiltrator]

I installed mine yesterday.. the response is A little better. have not notice much in sound. my fiancé asked if I did something to my car because it sounded different .

Hmm, I guess I'll order it for the car then and see for myself.

[MadAboutCars]

Hmm, I guess I'll order it for the car then and see for myself.

If you put a couple of additional holes in the air box (where the RS7 has then) and fit the KN air filter, you get a nice turbo whine when getting on the accelerator. Two 1 inch holes in my S6 box sounded just nice and not over the top.

[The Infiltrator]

If you put a couple of additional holes in the air box (where the RS7 has then) and fit the KN air filter, you get a nice turbo whine when getting on the accelerator. Two 1 inch holes in my S6 box sounded just nice and not over the top.

lol, thanks but drilling holes isn't what I'd do. I'm doing little things until the warranty goes away and then I'm going all out.

[acruxksa]

Racing filters, especially the oiled type, filter like crap. And that's not speculation, but a fact, and an easy one to confirm by oneself. Anybody with common sense knows if holes are larger for better airflow (heck, you can almost see thru a K&N filter), they're also larger for more dirt to go thru. The issue is modern cars rarely need more air than tha stock air filter supplies, so a filter with a higher CFM rating doesn't mean the engine will get more air. You could remove the freaking filter and the car won't be any faster, to go to the extreme. Bottom line is you're allowing more dirt into your engine, and more intake noise (some like that. I don't) by installing a racing filter, with basically no performance benefit, at least on a stock car. Living in the dusty desert southwest, it'd be a stupid idea to put such a filter on your car, but I wouldn't put one anywhere even if free. But to each his own, I guess. K&N makes great racing filters, but lousy street filters, but it's incredible what a little marketing does in this country.

This!

I've owned turbo diesel trucks for decades and did the K&N thing way way back. Truth is that a stock paper filter will let just as much air in when it is clean as any of the oiled filter replacements. The difference is that the paper filter will clog up and restrict airflow faster. Might sound good for the oiled filter, until you realize the only reason the oiled filters flow better over the long term is because it's letting more dirt (particulates) in............... If you really want to increase the air intake of your vehicle, find a real intake solution that uses a real filter, not one that simply lets more air in because it doesn't stop any dirt. ;)

That being said, I will agree that a WELL maintained and PROPERLY oiled re-usable filter is probably no worse for your turbo's than a cheap paper air filter. Whether they are more inexpensive over the long term is debatable. If you start buying the "special" cleaner and oil, costs quickly add up... and they will never filter as well as a quality paper air filter.

*note I use the term "paper" but don't really know what they are made of, it looks like a type of paper/cloth etc......

Lastly, when you over oil your re-usable filter (and you will ;) ) you will find that oil and some of the dirt that gets past your filter stick to the sides of the intake piping, in the turbo intake and intercooler.................

[The Infiltrator]

This!

I've owned turbo diesel trucks for decades and did the K&N thing way way back. Truth is that a stock paper filter will let just as much air in when it is clean as any of the oiled filter replacements. The difference is that the paper filter will clog up and restrict airflow faster. Might sound good for the oiled filter, until you realize the only reason the oiled filters flow better over the long term is because it's letting more dirt (particulates) in............... If you really want to increase the air intake of your vehicle, find a real intake solution that uses a real filter, not one that simply lets more air in because it doesn't stop any dirt. ;)

That being said, I will agree that a WELL maintained and PROPERLY oiled re-usable filter is probably no worse for your turbo's than a cheap paper air filter. Whether they are more inexpensive over the long term is debatable. If you start buying the "special" cleaner and oil, costs quickly add up... and they will never filter as well as a quality paper air filter.

*note I use the term "paper" but don't really know what they are made of, it looks like a type of paper/cloth etc......

Lastly, when you over oil your re-usable filter (and you will ;) ) you will find that oil and some of the dirt that gets past your filter stick to the sides of the intake piping, in the turbo intake and intercooler.................

Good info and I know it doesn't do the better at filtering and I guess I'll hold off on the K&N.

What filter do you use?

[acruxksa]

Good info and I know it doesn't do the better at filtering and I guess I'll hold off on the K&N.

What filter do you use?

My S6 is stock, so Stock air filter.

I don't own a diesel truck anymore, but when I did, I ran the largest Baldwin cylindrical filter I could find that fit in the K&N filter housing I had installed with my K&N filter shortly after buying the truck.
I run a wix cylindrical air filter on my jeep, but it's NA so it doesn't need to be very large to give it all the air it can ever use.

These are completely different engines and vehicles than our Audi's, but when you replace a few turbo's, you get a very good look at the intake system and just how well your air filter works. :D Also, a huge cylindrical air filter doesn't look out of place under the hood of a 3/4 ton diesel truck, but certainly would under the hood of an Audi. It's a trade-off either way. I was religious about cleaning and oiling my K&N filter(s) used them on several trucks without any apparent issues for years. It wasn't until I was several years into my most recent turbo diesel truck that I had to rebuild the turbo (just installed a new CHRA) and then about 18 months later a new/upgraded turbo that I was able to see just how dirty my intake piping was. Despite taking care not to over oil, oil from the filter still coated the intake pipe and to some extent the charge piping. This causes dust/dirt particles to stick to the oil which got me thinking.........that's just the dirt I could see.....

Here is one of the threads that helped with my decision to replace the K&N. Old, but when combined with my own observations of my turbo intake???
https://www.thedieselpageforums.com/...ad.php?t=11674