What is your air filter change interval?

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I should install gauges on our rides.

The filter in the 'bu has 18 months and 38k miles on it, and from the looks has at least that much use left in it. The van's has about 8k and 10 months on it and looked very fresh last time I peeked at it.

I used to change them way too often.

Once while doing some maintenance for my mom, I changed out the filter in her '91 Beretta with the 3.1. Now that's a dinky filter compared to what they put in the Malibu's. It must have had 60k on it, and it was LOADED (way worse than any of my filters), but the car ran fine, and I hardly noticed a change when I was all done..
 
Cabin Air Filter (328Ci/325i/740i): Check every 5k miles to get a feel for how it is holding up, shake off any debris, vacuum out leaves/etc from the cabin air intake, and typically change around 15-20k miles.

Air Filter (328Ci): AFE ProDry Cone Filter located in bumper, about once a month I will take the vacuum crevice tool and suck off anything big that stuck to the exposed "front", and I take it off and fully tap it out and blow gunk out with shop vac on blow every fall before it goes into storage (it has the AFE Sock on it in storage, as well as two plastic bags to prevent rodents). It gets a full clean every 2 years which varies from 10-15k miles.

Air Filter (325i/740i): AFE ProDryS filters, these are driven year round so I check the filters and tap them out every 4-6mo depending on miles and vacuum out housing and any big stuff from filter. I clean them fully once a year or once every 20k miles.

Air Filter (Camry): K&N Panel Filter that is about 120k miles old, I do a full wash and reoil every 50k or so (only done it 2x), but I tap/vacuum the filter/housing a few times a year. For a K&N, it is in great shape...

Air Filter (Contour): Been using $15 paper filters and changing them every 7.5k as they get dirty quick. Will be throwing an AFE in there soon, and the Camry might get one too.

Fuel Filter (BMWs): Every 30k miles, and I run RL SI-1 about 3-5x per OCI (5-7k mi OCI on avg), and it works well

Fuel Filter (Camry/Contour): Every 40k miles, run FI Cleaner 2x/OCI, works great

These are cheap items and cheap insurance IMO, so I would rather replace them too often than not enough.
 
Originally Posted By: nleksan


These are cheap items and cheap insurance IMO, so I would rather replace them too often than not enough.


Given that an air filter filters better as it loads up a bit, that fuel economy isn't effected with a dirty filter, that there is at least a 20-40 percent overage in flow capacity in the average filter to account for dirt loading, please explain how changing more often than necessary is beneficial? Except to the filter manufacturer and the retail outfit where you bought it, of course.

Before you attempt to answer, please read the posts above. If your answer boils down to, "Because it makes me feel good," 'nuff said and fair 'nuff. It's your money. They are your cars to maintain as you choose.

I'm just trying to educate you enough to understand the difference between "need" and "want." If you want to argue the need part, I'm interested to hear your arguments.
 
Like oil life monitor, manufactures should have restriction gauge as standard feature in all vehicles. Too many people change air filter too early.
 
Well, for all but one car I have lifetime air filters and all but one are dry filters, so it is not like I am spending money to replace them...

The reason I inspect them at that interval is to clear any debris (small pebbles, leaves, bugs, etc) out of the pleats and the housing. Knowing that there are no large obstructions gives me peace of mind.

With the cabin filters, it is simply because of allergies, and that is around the point where they start losing effectiveness at keeping my allergies at bay.

Simple as that
smile.gif
 
I use discarded pantyhose as pre-filter, I have it on front of the filter box. It catches all the leaves, bugs, sands ... The pantyhose is cleaned/changed every year.
 
Since BITOG, I've extended air filter intervals from 10K to over 30K. I imagine the difficult part is psychological. Some DIYers who like to maintain their cars can get itchy if the air filter goes over 30K. It's hard to break habits.

Changing too soon wasn't a big deal when I could buy air filters for $1. But now they're over $10, plus we have engine sensors that compensate for air flow, so I can't see wasting money on needless air filter changes.

Cabin filters are another matter. They're absolutely filthy at 15K.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I use discarded pantyhose as pre-filter, I have it on front of the filter box. It catches all the leaves, bugs, sands ... The pantyhose is cleaned/changed every year.


Did that once on my turbo diesel and it, ahhh, ate the panty hose. Thankfully, it didn't get past the air filter.
 
I put a wire screen over my intake hole with mesh 1/4 inch square holes. keeps the leaves and larger debris out. everyone now and then i pop the hood and find stuff on it and i wipe it off.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
Originally Posted By: Doog
Interesting test results. But mine are always visibly dirty to the point where they are black enough not to put back in. Plus there is always leaves and tree debris in there. I live in a wooded area so there is a lot of dust. Same with the house furnace air filters. 120 days and they are done.


No doubt it looks nasty but is it restrictive?


Yes, but then again I service 4 cars and a motorcycle. So when I am in there it is getting changed. 2 of the vehicles go away to school so they are out of my control and only get serviced 2 times a year...so they get a filter.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
please explain how changing more often than necessary is beneficial?


Hot wayward chicks dig a guy with a clean air filter....you just never know....
20.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Doog


Yes, but then again I service 4 cars and a motorcycle. So when I am in there it is getting changed. 2 of the vehicles go away to school so they are out of my control and only get serviced 2 times a year...so they get a filter.


Best answer I've heard so far, at least on the cars off and away at school. When you extend the change interval on anything, you need to be there to monitor. If you aren't, prudence is the key. A school car is likely to be ignored most of the time by the student focused on other things (hopefully the curriculum ( : < )... unless it cacks.
 
I was changing my Mercedes every year, but last year I had only put 5,000 miles on it and it didn't look very dirty. Therefore, I plan to wait 2 years this time, since that will only be approximately 10,000 miles. Mercedes recommends 4 years. I buy Mann (2 pack, car takes 2), because it is 100 percent identical to OEM, from the same factory.

On my old Nissan, I change it every couple years, which is about 15,000 miles. I was going to use OEM on the Nissan again, but the dealer tried to give me some Fram made "Nissan approved Economy line" filter. They stopped stocking OEM. Therefore, I just bought a Mann for it. However, the Mann for the Nissan had gotten cheaper. Previously, it had a metal surround and looked OEM like, this time it didn't and looked Purolator-like.
 
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Never, my trucks intake is in the fender and dirt just doesn't seem to get up their.

I'll probably throw a new one in at 100k and never touch it again.
 
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Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
Steve: Yes, every situation is different, exceptions to every rule, and no matter what, you have to adjust to the situation. What would interest me is if you installed restriction gauges on some of your trucks and see just how far they could go before they indicated a need to change (or clean in your case).

My point above is general in nature and directed more at the, "I change my filter every year." Or, " I change it a X-miles." I'd be willing to bet that the majority of those filters were still very serviceable. And you can't always tell by looks. Widman (you can look him up here on BITOG) runs an outfit in very rural Bolivia and is probably testing the limits of air filter life and performance daily. He's a restriction gauge proponent (and my personal air filtration hero ( : < ) and has seen utterly caked filters that still had very low restriction... proving you can't always tell by looks alone.

Final point is that constantly pulling a filter to look at it may disrupt the sealing areas and you can create a dirt leak in doing so. Seal deterioration is the sole legitimate reason IMO for a filter change based on time. How long they remain viable is variable and debatable and probably a combination of the quality of the sealing material, the way it's designed and how many times it gets molested.

Which brings us back to the restriction gauge. You don't touch the filter until you see enough restriction to indicate service in needed. Probably a good idea to reset the gauge every so often to make sure it's working.

Forgive my pedantic semi-tirade. This is my quest and you are my windmills.
( : < )



Do NOT insult my Dulcinea!

Note that we still have two Savana vans and one Silverado with the factory installed restriction gauges on them. They taught us a lot. The results are easily extrapolated to our identical vehicles without gauges.

You'd be proud of me, as I began 'properly' replacing air filters after joining BITOG!
 
My car is approaching 90k miles and I'm on a second filter. The first one got changed at around 30k miles, but since then I installed a restriction gauge and I plan to change the filter when it shows restriction.

So far, at almost 50k on the current air filter, it shows no restriction.
 
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