In my simple view of life, I do not see K&N air-filters as upgrades for road use. The only way to get much higher throughput for the same area of filter is to have media that is much less restrictive, which has negative connotations for me. Unless I can use a larger filter, I’d rather use simple stock filters and change them frequently. It’s also another excuse to tinker.
I use FRAM Toughguard for my spin-on oil filters, which is probably against the grain as well. At the basic level, I believe all filters do a good enough job. In my opinion, Toughguard have a better non-return mechanism that the basic and cheaper FRAM and other ranges, and we are only talking cents difference in cost. Another case of using simple readily available filters and changing them frequently.