> >A K&N air filter drops in just like the stock.  You clean and re-oil them
> >rather than replacing them.  According to their literature they filter
much
> >better than stock paper filters while passing much more air.

Just to offer a different view:
I haven't read the K&N information for about two years.. but...
I do remember coming to the conclusion that if I read the words carefully
they said nothing about filtering 'better'... better meaning smaller
particles... there was much said about passing more air and better
performance... the information that they offered at their web site was very
much focused on racing and performance... nothing about longevity of the
engine.
The conclusion I came to was that these guys are catering to the performance
crowd. My experience with the performance crowd is that their priority is
speed and power; not longevity of the engin.
My good sense tells me that if more air is passed, then there is a good
chance that more particles are passed too... perhaps only the very fine
particles, but particles that could scower the inside of your piston walls
none the less.
Being a Syncro owner that goes to extremely dusty/sandy places I decided not
to risk the K&N filter.

Another concern I have is if the K&N filter can be re-oiled by the average
owner as effectively as they are turned out at the factory.... too much oil
and there is a chance it will migrate down wind and coat the potentiometer
in your AFM causing drivability problems (as I remember the K&N literature
specifically warns about not getting too much or too little oil on the
filter... and getting a consistent layer on) ....  my conclusion: for those
who gum up the original oil on the filter quickly by driving in extremely
dusty places it might be best to just buy a new filter every  10k miles
rather than risk doing a sub par oiling job... but... does a $40 filter make
sense every 10k miles???

Just my 2 cents...

Bill Davidson
90 Westy Syncro

Plus they have
> >a million mile warranty -- I'm looking forward to collecting on that in
about
> >99 years!  A lot of FLAPS (NAPA, Autozone, etc.) are carrying them now
but
> >will likely have to special order one for a Vanagon.  Fast German Auto
and
> >Summit Racing are two mail order sources I know of.
>
> *blatant plug* 8-)
>
> Get Martin Schneider's custom air intake system for your Vanagon. I've
> been running mine for over a year now with excellent results. There's
> definitely a discernible improvement in overall power. The engine does
> tend to sound 'throatier' however. It also uses the oilable K&N style
> filter, although the MSDS one is an almost 360 degree cone!
>
> check out http://www.msdsinc.com for more info
>
> Pete C (just a happy customer)
>
> --
> Peter Cassidy,                   pcassidy@apple.com
> Sr. Dev. Engineer                 +353-21-4284316
> WW Operations Engineering
> Apple, Cork, Ireland.
>