Air filter, does brand matter?

[abracadabra]

Folks-

Its getting about time to change my air filter, which I'm not looking forward to.

It'll cost me $30 with shipping to get the factory Toyota filter.

I checked with the local Autozone, STP is $12, Fram is $13, and K&N is $50.

Any reason not to go with the cheapest one? Ideally I'd like the best compromise between cheapest and best.

Thanks!

mark

[skibum]

To preface, I have Amazon Prime, so I go there first, almost always (not to mention that I live rurally most of the year, so stuff coming to me is a plus).

I got a K & N from them for closer to $40 (which would ship free, anyway). The K & N is washable, so with their "million-mile" warranty, that's a lot of $12 filters.

They claim a horsepower increase, which can't hurt.

[timsrv]

I usually don't worry much about where these come from. If I'm shopping at Toyota I'll buy some from them. If I'm getting stuff from www.rockauto.com then I'll buy from them. If rockauto is having a sale, depending on price I'll buy a bunch. As long as you change them every 20k miles or so it shouldn't matter about brand. To me the Frams look as good as the Toyotas. Tim

[abracadabra]

I have to admit its been far more than 20k since this air filter has been changed!

I like the idea of the K-N filter being cleanable but for the price I can't justify it. I'll probably just go with whatever Autozone has in stock and make sure I change it sooner next time.

mark

[timsrv]

Toyota recommends changing at 30k intervals (which is a long time). I've probably gone over that a few times, but I usually replace around the 20k mark. If you're using the van on dusty dirt roads, then I'd probably replace or at least blow out every 10k. Tim