In summary: I need the highest quality engine air filter that gives the best fuel economy and engine protection.

I'm about to hit 16,000 miles on my car and am ready to replace my engine air filter. I was about to put in the K&N filter that I had bought for my previous 2005 Camry, but saw some negative posts about the filter in the following post:
http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f...-filter-14861/

I went to my local auto parts store to pick up a standard air filter (FRAM I believe) and noticed that the filter was very papery where as the stock Toyota filter was much thicker and "cottony".

I only do premium maintenance on this car (0w20 Synthetic oil, premium oil filter, etc) and want the best air filter for my car, even if it costs twice as much. Does anyone have any comments or knowledge about the performance of these filters? Should I try to find an OEM Toyota air filter or will the FRAM (or other brand) do?

If you recommend the Toyota OEM, do you know of any good place online where I can buy one? I can only find one at my dealership and their "parts shop" hours are very inconvenient.

I replaced mine with a Purolator A35432. It looks very much like the Toyota filter. You might find this thread on changing the air filter useful. Other filters that fit the TCH are:

Toyota 17801-20040
Fram CA9360
Hastings CFA1133
WIX 46673

The same air filter is used on 2002-2007 Camrys with the I4.

Personally I don't care for the fine dust that I've seen pass through the K&N air filter I once used on my truck.

A second vote on the Purolator. I just had to make a decision for my first change out, and I live too far from the dealer to make my service routine there. I looked at the ones mentioned except for the WIX (I did also look at the NAPA one, which may be the same), and the Purolator looked the most like the OEM ones. I did not find the Motorcraft one mentioned on the earlier thread anywhere in my area.

It is the ignorant among us that will eventually destroy us all.

I have the TRD washable air filter. So far it seems to be working well. I am going to pull it out and check to see if there is dust after the filter.

Thanks for the info. I'll pick up a Purolator this weekend.

I replaced my stock filter with a K&N filter. I have used them on all my cars with good results. Look up K&N online and check their results. They do not void the warranty.

If the filter oil ruins the MAF sensor it voids the warranty on the sensor!! Know that as fact.

TCH-43mpg
VW TDI--48
08 LS 600 HL-20
08 LX 470-16

I have used K&N filters in all my vehicles for several years with no MAF sensor problems.
"97 dakota

'98 and '00 Durango

"05 Vibe ( which has the Toyota drivetrain)

K&N specifies that the oil on the filter will not harm the sensor, etc., and I have not had any problems.

Check the web site for more info

I think Skywagon mentioned in another post he had a problem with MAF sensor after using K&N filter in his VW, so it may be car specific, but I can't see oil deposits to be good on this type of sensor, especially problematic after re-oiling the filter by the user (factory could be more consistent with the amount of oil spread inside). Also, unless the area is extremely dusty , you could probably run the car without any filter as well. As a mater of fact on my old Nissan the duct going to the engine intake cracked on the bottom and was sucking unfiltered air probably for few years before I noticed it, the engine run well all the way to the very end of the car's life of about 270k miles , when I didn't feel spending thousands on broken transmission and junked the car.

andrewbmoore: In summary: I need the highest quality engine air filter that gives the best fuel economy and engine protection.

I went to my local auto parts store to pick up a standard air filter (FRAM I believe) and noticed that the filter was very papery where as the stock Toyota filter was much thicker and "cottony".

rburt07:
I would say the Purolator would be a great choice. I had a toyota parts man once tell me that Purolator manufactures the Toyota filters.

I once read the Toyota air filter is a three stage filter. The filter has layers for, coarse, medium and fine particles. These are sandwiched together to make up the element.

We have a windy season here in Southern New Mexico during mid March to mid April. During this time the winds on some days can gust to 45 miles per hour. Here in the desert that can mean lots of sand in the air.

I don't want any dirt or sand in my engine to scratch the cylinder walls or work it's way into the oil.