K&N filter install photos - Smart Car of America Forums : Smart Car Forum

**jwight** · 08-12-2008, 02:35 PM

First, thanks to Kane for the instructions on www.eviluton.co.uk; not quite as easy for me as they sound but anyone can do this swap. Tools needed: flat bladed screwdriver and the special install tool.
Here we go:
K&N 33-2647

Here’s the special tool used for removing & replacing the air box top : Mk 1, Mod 0 broomstick, short, 1 each. I couldn’t get the hose off and on the airbox without using it; YMMV.

Stock filter ready to come out.

Stock and K&N filters.

Difference in stiffness between the two.

K&N will not fit snugly in the top of the filter box on its own; note gaps in corners.

K&N dropped in the filter box.

FYI, stock filter with 5500 miles on it.

Disclaimer: as pointed out in other posts, this is NOT a K&N filter for the smart. It happens to fit, sort of, and may add some umph to the car, although my first drive with the K&N didn’t reveal any. Again, YMMV. If K&N will provide us with a 451 specific filter, that will be the way to go (and hopefully won’t take too long to arrive.)

p1nball · 08-12-2008, 04:05 PM

Good Job!!! Works and plays well with DTH. Car really has much more UMPH, and no lag between shifts!

**jwight** · 08-12-2008, 04:51 PM

I didn't feel that on my first run with the K&N; however, on the second run I somehow ended up ahead of a BMW X5 leaving a stoplight, and he was trying.

mvaldes · 08-12-2008, 05:43 PM

I just posted on another thread that my Smart now runs at 3000-3100 rpm at 65mph when it ran at 3500-3600 rpm at the same speed over the same route I've been driving for the last 4 months. The only difference was that I put in a K&N air filter last night. Is this really possible?

PS I didn't need the special install tool, my intake came off easily. I did find, as has been posted before, that it needed to reconnect it before I could get the cover back on.

saskdiesel · 08-12-2008, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvaldes

I just posted on another thread that my Smart now runs at 3000-3100 rpm at 65mph when it ran at 3500-3600 rpm at the same speed over the same route I've been driving for the last 4 months. The only difference was that I put in a K&N air filter last night. Is this really possible?

Not unless your air filter altered your final drive ratio.
So no.

mvaldes · 08-12-2008, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saskdiesel

Not unless your air filter altered your final drive ratio.
So no.

Thanks, it didn't make sense to me either. I guess it's just another of life's great mysteries.

xcrew229x · 08-12-2008, 07:08 PM

I'm trying to understand what part of "It doesn't fit" you guys missed. I have one, and after a thoroughly exhaustive test fit session, concluded that it doesn't nearly measure up to the stock piece as far as fit is concerned. You can't be sure if it's in place or not when running due to it's flexibility. I'm all for aftermarket filters, and making the little car run better, but an air filter that has at best a sloppy fit will not make it for me. Better to swallow the filter cost than an engine.

mvaldes · 08-12-2008, 07:22 PM

Disclaimer: as pointed out in other posts, this is NOT a K&N filter for the smart. It happens to fit, sort of, and may add some umph to the car, although my first drive with the K&N didn’t reveal any. Again, YMMV. If K&N will provide us with a 451 specific filter, that will be the way to go (and hopefully won’t take too long to arrive.)[/quote]

Whe I spoke to a sales person at Autoanything.com, he got a K&N rep on the line who is the one who said don't use the one we're all using, they are coming out with one for the Smart in a couple of months.

**jwight** · 08-13-2008, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcrew229x

I'm trying to understand what part of "It doesn't fit" you guys missed. I have one, and after a thoroughly exhaustive test fit session, concluded that it doesn't nearly measure up to the stock piece as far as fit is concerned. You can't be sure if it's in place or not when running due to it's flexibility. I'm all for aftermarket filters, and making the little car run better, but an air filter that has at best a sloppy fit will not make it for me. Better to swallow the filter cost than an engine.

Yeah, understand and the photos show the fit issues. However, since I've already got a Fram oil filter on the car, I figure running the K&N for a couple of months can't be any worse.

When the "real" 451 filter arrives I'll swap it out (hopefully not in January!)

runner33 · 08-13-2008, 09:30 PM

Received mine today. I definitely felt a little more pep shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear and seems to shift more smoothly between shifts. Saw no difference in rpm's going 65mph with the K&N vs stock. Both 3000 rpms' @ 65 mph. I will also likely swap out the 33-2647 model once the "real" one becomes available for the 451's.