FRIDAY TIDBIT: Air Filters

Air Filter

Air filters are made of paper. They filter the air that goes into the combustion of the engine.

The paper filter is where you should never cut prices to buy cheaper quality ones, but many do. It can be one of the most important elements of making an engine last a long time. Paper is porous, so the better quality filters have smaller holes in the paper to filter better. Cheaper air filters can come apart and go into the engine.

If you use cheap filters the dust will go into the engine. This will wear out the rings and cylinder walls of the engine. That is one reason why some vehicles get 100,000 miles out of their engines, when others get well over 200,000 miles.Cheaper filters have a lot less paper surface area; therefore, they don’t last as long, and they plug up sooner.

If you have a turbo or supercharger engine, the quality of the filter is especially important.  The braces on the filter prevent dust from being sucked into the turbo.
We have a display set up in our office to show the difference between good quality filters and low quality filters. Stop by any time and we will go over it with you!

For more tips like this, visit our Auto Care Tips page.