Air Filter Replacement

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Seems like air filters never get very dirty. I check mine each oil change and they are a bit discolored/small debris.

Do cars just run cleaner now? Depend on car or driving conditions?

Just chatting...
 
Originally Posted By: coopns
Do cars just run cleaner now? Depend on car or driving conditions?


An air filter getting dirty doesn't have anything to do with a cleaner running car. It all on "environment"

You probably spend all your time on clean pavement, away from country roads or construction sites.
 
It seems that the old carburated engines turned air filters much more "dirty looking". Member Widman from Bolivia had some good threads on air filters showing how we tend to replace them much earlier than needed.
 
I got 105K on one of my filters before it tripped and engine code. The filter still looked okay, until you put it up to the light and couldn't see light through it. Now I know not to got beyond 60K.
 
Remember: Today's air filters live above a velocity drop box.

Dirty air enters through one hole or another then it's immediately in a large box (below the filter element) where the air's velocity drops.

Large (as in heavy) dirt precipitates out and only the finer stuff reaches the element. That's why they don't "look dirty".

The funny thing with my car was that soon after I bought it the filter was 30,000 miles old. I'm happy to change them then.
I lifted the element out and gobs of sand fell out. There was a lot of it to be sure.
I had no thought of tapping the sand out and possibly reusing the element thought I'm sure the "100,000 mile guys" would scold me for wastefulness.
 
I do annual air filter changes, i sleep better knowing my engine isn't laboring to breath.
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All depends on the car's environment. I replace the filters when I bought a car, then replaced with every timing belt change at 60K
 
K&N hi flow filters any good? Just wondering
if anyone has any experience with them...
I run both paper and k&n but not sure if its worth it
 
Originally Posted By: Insertcoolname
K&N hi flow filters any good? Just wondering
if anyone has any experience with them...
I run both paper and k&n but not sure if its worth it


There is a lot of UOA evidence out there than K&Ns let a huge amount of dirt through. Stick with paper, and leave the K&N on the track where it belongs.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Originally Posted By: Insertcoolname
K&N hi flow filters any good? Just wondering
if anyone has any experience with them...
I run both paper and k&n but not sure if its worth it


There is a lot of UOA evidence out there than K&Ns let a huge amount of dirt through. Stick with paper, and leave the K&N on the track where it belongs.


X2. I had a guy on an ATV forum telling me how good his K&N filter was. He said after numerous dusty trail rides, his filter still looked great. I replied and thanked him for proving my point that K&N's sucked at filtering but were great at flowing air. Surprisingly, I never heard back from him.
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I only do city driving. My air filter usually looks bad after 15-20K miles (typically 2 years worth of driving). Honda OE filter from my car is $18 and takes less than 10 seconds to check and/or replace.
 
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