Despite all of the several hundred mods you can add to your 3G(s), I feel that this one is generally looked at first by about 90% of the ever popular Import Market as a first mod. I've loved mine, and it's more than done its job already. I can not only hear a differance in the way my intake sounds as the air is sucked into the intake pipe, but it was possible to feel a slight increase in hp output. More air doesn't always equal more power. In this case though, I don't think you can go wrong with a K&N as you can't go any faster w/o it. - Dustin Palmer
The Open element
The “drop-in” element
The Open element is commonly referred to as the conical element, and is commonly seen on almost any import performance vehicle on the street. To use this element, you may have to remove the factory air box and have to contend with a different sound under idle conditions (sounds like a mild sucking-hiss), and a more throaty sound under more moderate conditions. Here is my take on the open element: It undoubtedly offers more surface area over the stock element but it also causes a “bog” under initial acceleration and all that it initially “fights’ to get in to the throttle body.
The “drop-in” element works well for the people that don’t want to remove the stock air box, but wants to benefit in the flow capability that it offers. This element offers less horsepower gain over the open element but it allows for a seamless transition from idle to heavier throttle conditions. I have found that in the 3rd Generation preludes the location of the stock air filter allows us to use a type of open filter element that resides in the air box. The simplest modification to convert this element to an open element is to remove the air box; I vote unanimously for K&N. - Vince Barton