Hrududu

My 77' Z is in need of a new air filter soon. I was looking at the K&N filters and have a few questions. Will this thing help the car run any stronger or give it a little more power? My car also runs quite rich, will this help that at all? (the AFM is set as lean as possible). What i am asking is, is it worth the $45 for this filter or is it just the same as the paper FRAM filter that needs replaced?

BoulderZ

My experience with the K&N is that it seemed to have a little more power, but I never got before and after dyno numbers, which would of course be the only way to really tell. I did notice a negative impact on starting/running in really cold weather. The stock snorkel, as widely derided as it is, helps that a lot. With as nasty a winter as you guys get in Kansas, maybe that's a consideration (maybe not if it's a nice weather only car).

Note that you can get a freer-flowing-than-paper, reuseable, oiled-foam filter that fits the stock box from Amsoil (and probably others). Sort of a compromise (and inexpensive) between the two, really. I had great results with that.

There was a rumor about the K&N filter + really wet weather driving (you know, those 1" of rain in 5 minutes summer thunder storms) resulting in water getting sucked in to the intake manifold. I don't have any firsthand knowledge of that (I don't have to drive my Z's in weather like that, and I've fixed too much rust to want to give it the remotest chance). The friend who told me about it was a Civic SI driver, though (hey, he's a nice guy, just crappy taste in cars), and his K&N intake ended up in a good position to pick up splash and funneling from his front fascia/airdam. Might not be anything to worry about in a Z.

I'm sure others here will have a lot of good additional info, too, shortly.
Dave