Was searching air filters for 2012 plutin and can across these performance air filters. Are these useful for Prius 2012 plugin?
An engine is nothing more than an air pump, the more air you can put in the more you can put out. By lowering the restriction of an air filter your air pump becomes more efficient. In my opinion by increasing the air flow through the air filter the microscopic openings have to be bigger and create less restriction but the trade off is more dirt. The exception is by increasing the surface area. The only way you could prove an increased efficiency is on a dyno and I suspect it would be very small.
A performance air filter is what you would buy for a muscle car so it can suck air in more quickly so it can burn more gasoline and accelerate faster, pull more weight and cruise at a higher speed. If you're not constantly flooring the Prius you will never need to pay extra for a performance air filter.
I made the mistake of installing a K&N "Performance" air filter on a Corolla years ago. I was talked in to it by the guy at AutoZone. What I learned about 9 months later is that, yes, indeed, the filter allows the engine to "breathe" better, however, I never noticed any increase in performance or gas mileage. What I did notice, however, was replacing a Mass Air Flow sensor (Never needed to replace one of these before or sense), since it had been gummed up, and oil that appeared dirty prematurely. Subsequent on-line reading told me that the quality and cleanliness of your air filter is directly related to the quality and cleanliness of your oil, and that is always best to use OEM air filters. Since then, it has been OEM only air filters in all of my vehicles, replaced every 10-15k miles (Probably overkill, but cheap overkill) and no problems.
