ArthurPE

thanks to Eleven's detailed diy (de-flap) it was easy...

cleaned the pre-filter, it was filthy
soaked in warm water/simple green & rinsed, looked new...from black to white literally...


thought about de-flapping, instead I lightly sanded the flap aound the perimeter for better clearance/less friction/binding

it was tight to begin with, much easier when done...I also lube'ed the flap axle and contact points


cleaned the AFM with residue free electronic cleaner

pretty straight forward, ~1/2 hour total

CanyonRS4

IMHO. This car breaths hard and the stock filter gets pretty dirty. I have been changing mine every 10,000 miles or every other oil change. This was recommended as a result of what we were seeing in my oil analysis...

Mickf29

I noticed at 4k miles my filter was dirty as hell too, but I live in a desert area where the sand and crap in the air are pretty high, plus heavy winds all the time. However last week I went in and looked at it, and it was pretty clean at 7k miles, but it has been wet here, or I was spending alot of time on the west side of the cascades. I wonder if just being in Denver... or vegas, or phoenix for that matter, means you should clean the filter more often. I would be willing to bet if I was still in portland I wouldn't need to clean it but once a year or less often than that. My S4 was pretty clean every summer when I checked it.

also says alot about where you should live if you like good air quality. I miss being in Portland, hate it here in Richland!

Reggie

but then in Portland you would have had mold growing on everything

ArthurPE

so best case 4k miles, worse case 12k miles

it didn't appear to be too bad actually...

ArthurPE

the filters (cabin & engine) require more frequent replacement...

I'm sure the desert would be, for all the reasons you stated...

CanyonRS4

the filter will last that long anywhere. In Denver we have a dry dusty climate so I am sure we are harder on filters than some other places.

In my experience the filter looks clean but the fine particles are what is clogging it up.

My advice is to change it more often if you are not doing oil analysis... In any event I think I would not go longer than 15K...

BaysideRS4

every 15k (I believe).