K&N Air Filter
 

do i need a tune if i want to change to a K&N air filter? someone said i do and i just want to double check before i go get one.

thanks, mike

No. This is also argued on the Cobalt forums. When I had a couple interceptor gauges in my SS, my numbers were all the same just after I changed my air intake to an Injen CAI-EXCEPT the MAF readings. They saw about 300cfm in increase. The computer was seeing the increase and was accounting for it properly. Some people throw a code when they change their intake. I never did. Car ran like a top. 1 mpg increase to boot.

Essentially, the change is not significant enough to need a programming. If you have OTHER mods, that's a totally different story.
I see you have an exhaust. Have you removed your catalytic converter? Changed your DP diameter? Exhaust dia? etc.

nope, i bought the car used and it already had the exhaust on it, i dont think anything else is done to the car. is there any advantage to changing the filter? will i get better mpg? will i hear the turbo a little more? what kind of change is 300cfm? i really want to learn about all these things, can you explain a little more?

Go here:
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/2-0l-performance-tech-46/k-n-air-filter-27872/

It's a $45 gamble. Mine is on the wash room floor collecting dust until I get a custom tune.
Good luck!

Another one of these threads... to the people that say no have you seen what happens to your fuel trims with an aftermarket filter/intake without a tune??? thats all im gonna ask

It all depends on the car. Some people have issues and others do not. I had one and never had an issue. Advantage is a reuseable filter, if you plan on keeping the car for a long time, which will save you money. I never noticed anything gain/loss in mpg. I didn't notice a sound difference. If you want to hear the turbo, you can pull the top of the lid off. You will hear it more then but you could/will lose performance. IAT's will rise a few degrees depending on conditions ie; humidity, temp. I usually had mine off and with my car even during summer I only saw a two degrees difference in IAT even when idling in 95 degree. 90 percent humidity conditions. I never felt a "butt" dyno power loss but I'm sure I was losing some power but hearing the BOV was pretty cool. Hope this helps,

Dave

ya that helped, thank you for explaining it, what kind of BOV are you running? i kinda want to get one for mine but my buddy says i have to get a re-circulating one or something like that, what are your thoughts on that? i see you have one but you also have a automatic, would it be different?

I don't know about you but I drive down a lot of dirt roads.

Here's the crap I knocked out of my (original) stock air filter when I replaced it at ~61.5K miles last week.
I knocked the dirt out and air hosed it last year and here's what was already in there this summer.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/fil...FilterDirt.JPG

My buddy has 30 years of experience as a full-time mechanic and is a serious performance enthusiast: 450HP 90's F250, 400+HP ST4, etc..
He agrees with me that if I had a KN much of this fine dirt would have gone through my engine.

I have almost always upgraded to a KN immediately upon purchase in the past but road conditions require a stock replacement on my SS.

BTW - Upon stock replacement I instantly noticed better performance & MPG YMMV

I'd use a KN and make it work if I was staying on pavement.

.

i am staying on pavement, i just really want to hear that turbo but if i get an intake kit, im gonna have to spend a ton of money and get it tuned and everything, i just am trying to come up with a better solution

and that is a crazy amount of dirt, i have never seen anything like that before