55k air filter replacement w/ pictures

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I decided to replace my air filter today. I got 55k miles on OEM air filter.

I noticed the filter felt damp as I removed it. The air box was quite clean, vehicle mostly driven on paved roads in the country side.

What do you think, should I have changed it sooner, or do I still have life left in the old filter?

Filter: NAPA GOLD, FIL 9038

Quote:
Other Information:

•NAPA's Line of Gold Air Filters Sets The Gold Standard In Aftermarket Air Filtration
• The Gold's Nine Pleats Per Inch Media Provide A More Robust, Upgraded, Water and Snow Tolerant Media That Prevents Dirt + Dust From Damaging Cylinder Walls, Pistons and Piston Rings
• NAPA Gold Air Filters Mean Better Filtration And Longer Engine Life
• NAPA Gold Air Filters Offer Premium Application Coverage For Both Passenger Car and Light Truck Coverage - Foreign And Domestic




















 
Looks a lot better than the OEM filter I replaced on my Ram at 21K miles.

The filter had thick crud on it that felt and had the consistency of left over fat on a outdoor grill.

Then again I drive in Arizona with upteen dust storms a year.
 
From the pictures I'm saying the old filter still have some life left, probably 10-20k miles on the media. The problem is the seal around the filter may not stay flexible enough to do its job after 55k miles (and probably 4-5 years ?).

I think getting 50-60k miles out of air filter is very good ROI, some changed their air filter every year or every other year.
 
The first two pictures shows the dirty portions of the air filter where your engine likes to suck from. It appears as though you could turn the air filter 180 degrees to get the engine to suck from the clean areas of the filter before changing it.
 
Looks pretty decent. I got 65,000 miles out of the OEM Civic filter. I did pull it out and vacuum it a time or two but it too looks good.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
From the pictures I'm saying the old filter still have some life left, probably 10-20k miles on the media. The problem is the seal around the filter may not stay flexible enough to do its job after 55k miles (and probably 4-5 years ?).

I think getting 50-60k miles out of air filter is very good ROI, some changed their air filter every year or every other year.


The seal doing its job is a good point. Especially in vehicles that tend to be cramped and hot underhood.

I suppose a bit of grease on the seal would be prudent.
 
Originally Posted By: Kool1
The first two pictures shows the dirty portions of the air filter where your engine likes to suck from. It appears as though you could turn the air filter 180 degrees to get the engine to suck from the clean areas of the filter before changing it.


That's actually what I was going to suggest. It wouldn't change the flow, but it would at least allow a different part of the filter to catch dirt.
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: Kool1
The first two pictures shows the dirty portions of the air filter where your engine likes to suck from. It appears as though you could turn the air filter 180 degrees to get the engine to suck from the clean areas of the filter before changing it.


That's actually what I was going to suggest. It wouldn't change the flow, but it would at least allow a different part of the filter to catch dirt.


Without running a CFD on the filter geometry and air box volume, we can't know for certain, but I'd suspect that this wouldn't much matter.

The cake builds up due to weak attractive forces between the media and the particles, and the cake is actually what does the filtering. As the cake in one area becomes overly restrictive, velocity will drop and the gas will preferentially flow to another area where it can go with less loss. Since the air is being sucked (manifold vacuum), it needs to go that way since theoretically the vacuum is presented equally on the engine side of the filter.
 
Originally Posted By: Kool1
The first two pictures shows the dirty portions of the air filter where your engine likes to suck from. It appears as though you could turn the air filter 180 degrees to get the engine to suck from the clean areas of the filter before changing it.


You wear your underwear inside out to get a few more days before washing them, don't you?
grin.gif
 
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