I got tired of the poor performance of the stock cabin filter and the fact that they only last about 5K. On top of that they cost anywhere between $16 and $25, mostly $25 if you buy it at the dealer.

SO I did a little mod after I heard some Lexus owner use house A/C elements for cabin filter.

Here is the wrie up with pics. ENjoy.

Clicky

 

they said it gonna out perform in performance and miles.....well they a both pleated with so the surface area is gonna be about the same.....so if the NEW filter last longer then that means more dust has gone through it, if the NEW filter, filters better then its going to clog faster and not last as long......

and make sure you get a filter big enough to make more then one cabin filter, those purple 3M filters are about 15-17 bucks without tax.....

lol that guys a trip....he bought a lexus and doesnt like the price of the air filters.... :rolleyes:

 

The "new" filter actually has more surface area than the stock. If hold the two next to each other you will see. Also I was not happy about the amount of dust going through the stock filter, will have to see over time how well it does. But the new filter's paper element is way better than the stock, again you can't see it on the pic.

If you read the write up you will see you can get 4 filters out of a 20"x30" 3M filter

Yeah Lexus owners can afford it, but now a poor Toyota guy needs to get it too with the 4th Gen.

 

Nice writeup Andries! I like it, this allows you to use the various 3M house filters (ultra/med/reg) to really get the microbes out.
One thing with the 3M's: store the extras in an airtight bag. It helps and is the reason the 3M's come sealed and not just loose like other filters.

The side leakage issue...maybe some electrical tape wrapped on the edges of the filter ?

oh and it's easy to see the difference. the Toyota filter looks like the cheap fiber home filters. The 3M does filter better.

 

I wasnt referring to you when I said that lexus owner.....

the reason i saw they have about the same surface area is becuase when I was a heating and air techican a local parts distributor, R.E. Micheal had a display with some of that spongey looking filter stretch out beside the 3M one and they were almost the same...they were almost the same because where the 3M had tight folds this off brand had round folds using up more material, hence increasing surface area. They had this display to show the price difference and what you were getting for it...

I wont argue the 3M is a better filter, simple because it is and there is no arguing that fact.....

If you can get it to fit snug like I'm sure the stock one fits, and it wont get sucked down inside of it or something silly like that and you also dont mind sitting there cutting those things up then go for it....if you get it nice and tight it will filter much better....just watch the air flow, if you read on the 3M package I believe it says it will cause over heating and over cooling (evap freezing) because it more restrictive then average fiberglass spun filters in SOME furnace/ac, few and far between probably.....

 

Good idea, will try it out before I test it on a dusty road. Which will only in Oct . Got to get some work done in the mean time. Work is for people who dont know how to play golf

 

Cool idea! Just hit 10,000 miles and yet to check my little filter. Looks easy nuff to get to. But, I bet I am not the one to slack.


Mental note:check filter in glove box.

 

I changed mine @ like 25k and there was all kinds of crap in it... Leaves, bugs, dirt. It is expensive though.

 

I checked mine and was pretty dirty........sooooooooo.........
I wash it.
And dry it and Fabreazed.
Works good so far!

 

Hmm.. it's late(4am) and I might be seeing things but isn't this 4th gen mod in the 3rd gen forum?

~Do 3rd gen 4Runners have cabin filters?


--BTW Gio you just bumped a 3 year old thread! lol

 

wow old thread guess the newb was doin some searching