# Tune up and headlight selection help



## cplank00 (Jan 17, 2015)

I'm new to this forum. My gf has a 2010 Nissan S 2.5 Altima. She has put 35k miles on her car in a yr and a half. I want to get her the k&n filter, some vent shades for the windows and wondering if I need to change her plugs? It has 51k miles on it. She is pretty easy on her car and its 65 miles each day of just highway miles and she also uses her car for her work around city streets. 

My 2.0 turbo sonata gets better gas mileage than her. To me that shouldn't be the case.

Also....I want to get her some bright headlights like HID's. But she only has the halogen headlight housing. I've installed 4 sets of these on vehicles but only with projector headlights. Should I get the HID set or just a set of bright bulbs?

THANKS


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

The plugs are good for 105,000 miles so there is no need to change them. The K&N air filter isn't going to increase the gas mileage and is a waste of money, IMO. Altima's were never great as far as fuel mileage until the 2013 model, but even those don't get real-world mileage anywhere near Nissan's rating.


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## cplank00 (Jan 17, 2015)

The k&n will help the way she drives. She never stomps on the gas and is almost a granny driver at age 30. HAHA I replaced my air filter with a k&n between 200 mile trips on my 2012 sonata 2.0 turbo and I purposely didn't stomp on the gas and got 2.74 mpg better with the k&n. I'm sure every car is different but they do make a difference. Thanks for the help with the plugs. 

Definitely wanna get her a brighter set of lights. Her car is the base model...how hard is it to slap in a set of OE fog lights? The spot is there for them.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

"_The k&n will help the way she drives. She never stomps on the gas and is almost a granny driver at age 30. HAHA I replaced my air filter with a k&n between 200 mile trips on my 2012 sonata 2.0 turbo and I purposely didn't stomp on the gas and got 2.74 mpg better with the k&n._"

I would say the reason you got better gas mileage is because you "purposely didn't stomp on the gas" rather than because you put a K&N air filter into it. Driving style has more to do with gas mileage than anything else. Aggressive driving almost always results in decreased gas mileage. An engine, especially a normally aspirated one, is only going to pull in a given amount of air. A paper air filter is more than adequete for what most consider to be "normal" driving conditions. K&N filters are mainly beneficial to engines running at a high RPM. Also, there are two other reasons to not use a K&N air filter. First, if it's a cloth filter that needs to be oiled, you need to be careful not to apply too much oil to the filter or it can coat the MAS hotwire, which will cause false readings. Another reason is that they also tend to let more dirt pass through them than a conventional paper filter (check out the Spicer air filter test sometime if you get a chance).

As far as the fog lamps, it is likely pre-wired for the lamps, already. Take a good look behind the bumper cover and you should see the foglamp subharnesses taped up somewhere. If they are there, you just need to install the lamps in the bumper and plug them in, install the foglamp relay and replace the combination turn-signal switch with a fog-lamp type combination switch.


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## cplank00 (Jan 17, 2015)

No...i was saying that for both my trips, I didn't do any crazy driving all the same driving conditions and weather and roads etc. I just believe it was the k&n. Obv your not a fan of them that is totally fine. I'm not trying to sell them to you either. I believe they work.

I appreciate the help tho! Will definitely be looking at the fogs. I searched for that spicer thing but all the links they showed me gave me error pages or links to forums where they were saying the website isn't working.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Here are some good articles:

The Spicer air filter test:

ISO 5011 Duramax Air Filter Test Report - MotoWiki

Not as good, but still read-worthy:

Air Filtration Test


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