Originally Posted by gwhayduke

Amazing how these old threads crop up from time to time. I still have the '99 and it still gets 20 mpg in town and 22 on the highway with summer gas. Awesome vehicle. Tell your buddies they should have gotten a manual transmission.

Edit: 165,000 miles now, and no oil burning.

Originally Posted by gwhayduke

I live in the desert, which means lots of dust. A mining company ran a test using K&N filters and had their oil analyzed over a period of time and compared the results to a stock paper filter. The K&N vehicle had more silica (sandy dust) than the paper element vehicle. Since I keep my vehicles practically forever, I tossed my K&N that I had on the '95. Hold yours up to the sky on a clear sky day. You'll see pinholes through the guaze. Where you see pinholes of light, dust is going to sneak through.

When I got my '99 4Runner the original owner had installed a K&N filter (with the K&N, "do not throwaway" sticker on the airbox) that the dealer had removed and had replaced with a stock filter element. The 4Runner got 17.4 mpg on the first tank. I changed the plugs, cleaned the MAF, cleaned the TB and mileage jumped to 20 intown.

K&N is in the business to sell filters. In my 46 years, I've been promised everything from whiter teeth to "this is gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt you." K&N does it with smoke and mirrors like most of the companies in the world. Take it from a former advertising man. It's all a bunch of hooey. They tell you what you want to hear.

However, with the power of the web now, we can compare notes, post reviews and avoid getting taken. Do a little research. It's well worth your time (and money).