Category: Engine Air Filter

It’s (Not) Complicated (Engine Air Filter)

While many components of your vehicle are complex and composed of lots of mechanical and electrical parts, there’s one that isn’t complicated but still important. It’s your engine air filter.

(And, we should point out, the engine air filter isn’t to be confused with the cabin air filter. The cabin air filter cleans air that goes into the passenger compartment while the engine air filter cleans air that goes into the engine itself.)

Why does your engine need a filter? Think of all the stuff–dirt, dust, and debris in the air¬–that gets kicked up on the road. If that were to go unfiltered into your engine, it could damage other components.

There are many different materials used in an engine air filter, including paper, cloth (frequently cotton), and other synthetic fabrics. The material is usually folded tightly to maximize the filtering capability over a relatively small surface.

Before computers were employed to determine the proper mix of air and gasoline, a dirty air filter could contribute to a decline in fuel economy. But a study of engine air filters done by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2009 found that in modern fuel-injected engines, computers can maintain the correct air/fuel mix even when an engine air filter is really dirty, minimizing effects on fuel economy.

That same clogged air filter, though, can affect your vehicle’s performance, mainly how much power and acceleration it delivers. In testing three different vehicles, a dirty air filter made the vehicles slower by about 6-12%. That’s something you’d definitely notice if you were driving.

But it happens slowly, over the course of several months, so you might not even know your engine air filter is dirty unless you bring it to us and have a technician inspect yours.

There are many different types of engine air filters, from the ones made by the original vehicle manufacturer to aftermarket ones. Some can increase your engine’s performance; some can be washed and re-used but are generally more expensive.

Your service advisor can recommend several options for you, depending on the type of vehicle you drive and your driving habits. Dirty, dusty roads will require more frequent engine air filter changes than cleaner drive routes, and each vehicle manufacturer recommends when your filter should be changed. Keeping it clean will help your engine breathe a little bit easier.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Autotronics of St. Peter Engine Air Filter Replacement

When your experienced Autotronics of St. Peter technician changes your oil, he will also inspect your air filter. You shouldn’t need a new air filter at every oil change, but you will need to change it regularly. Heed your technician’s auto advice if they tell you to change your air filter.

An air filter does what its name implies: it filters stuff out of the air. Air is drawn into your engine through the filter because your engine needs air to burn fuel. If the filter weren’t there, a lot of dust and debris would come into the vehicle engine with the air when you are driving around St. Peter. That dust and debris would get hot, burn and produce all kinds of ash and gumminess that would eventually clog up your engine.

Drop in an air filter and voilá! Problem solved.

But air filters themselves get clogged up with all the junk they clean out of the St. Peter air. This doesn’t allow the junk into the vehicle engine, but it does block up the airflow. A blocked airflow will reduce engine efficiency.

St. Peter residents who get a charge out of the feeling of power in their engine might consider upgrading their air filter. Talk to your friendly and knowledgeable Autotronics of St. Peter service advisor. Premium air filters have been proven to increase horsepower and torque. So with the cost of a premium air filter, you can increase the horsepower in your engine — there’s no cheaper way to do that!

It’s also one of the simplest elements of routine preventive maintenance – and it protects against damage to expensive vehicle electronic systems. No St. Peter resident should have an excuse to drive around MN roads and highways with a dirty air filter.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Clean Air for Your Engine: A New Engine Air Filter at Autotronics of ST Peter

All of us St. Peter car owners know we have to get the oil changed in our minivans periodically. That’s just part of good car care. But when Cleveland service advisors change your oil, they also usually inspect your air filter. That’s why they sometimes let you know that your air filter needs to be changed before releasing your minivan.

Don’t just chock this up to trying to sell you something else. Saint Peter car owners really do need to change their air filter when it gets dirty. You can check your owner’s manual to see how often your air filter should need to be changed, but remember, if you live in an area in MN with poor air quality, or if you drive a lot or drive under harsh conditions in the Cleveland area, you may need to change that filter more often than is recommended.

Changing an air filter isn’t guesswork. If a filter’s dirty, it needs to be replaced. Air filters aren’t very pricey at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter. But the problems they cause if St. Peter drivers don’t change them can get to be pricey.

For every gallon of gas your minivan burns, it needs 12,000 gallons of air. Clean filters allow better airflow into your engine, which means that your engine will get more air more quickly. That means your minivan engine runs more efficiently.

Dirty air filters cut airflow to your engine. All the debris in the filter clogs up the spaces the air needs to pass through to get to the engine. This dirty air can damage costly electronic components.

If you are in tune with your minivan, you’ll notice a difference when you change a really dirty air filter for a clean one. Your minivan may actually purr for you again. Its performance improves when it has a new, clean filter. So remember, changing your air filter is one of the most essential elements of preventive maintenance. At Autotronics of ST Peter, it’s inexpensive, it’s effective, and it’s important.