Air Filter

AKA: Air Cleaner, Automotive Air Cleaner

The air filter cleans the air coming into the engine by removing debris, grit and general contaminants. On older cars with carburetors or single point fuel injection, a round or oval air filter is usually contained in snug fitting housing. The hard plastic or metal housing most often seats to a lip on the top of the carburetor. I... Read More

Items 1-12 of 43

Sort By: Popularity Name Price Manufacturer Starting Price

Items per page: 12 24 36 48 60

View as: Grid   List  

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 

Items 1-12 of 43

Sort By: Popularity Name Price Manufacturer Starting Price

Items per page: 12 24 36 48 60

View as: Grid   List  

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 

Air Filter Information

Why are Air Filter Part(s) Important

AKA: Air Cleaner, Automotive Air Cleaner

The air filter cleans the air coming into the engine by removing debris, grit and general contaminants. On older cars with carburetors or single point fuel injection, a round or oval air filter is usually contained in snug fitting housing. The hard plastic or metal housing most often seats to a lip on the top of the carburetor. In newer cars with multi-point or direct injection engines, the air box is frequently tucked to the side of the engine compartment so the hood can be shaped more aerodynamically. These filters can be flat panel filters, round filters or conical filters and connect, either directly or through ducting, to the air intake system. They can be made of a number of materials, the most prominent designs use disposable foam filtrate or a reusable cloth.

Air filter failure comes in stages and many different forms. The most common breakdown is for the filtration media to be overwhelmed with debris causing a dangerous air flow restriction. At that point, performance is compromised.

Fuel needs to be mixed with air to combust; this is true whether you have a diesel engine or gas engine. So when the engine is robbed of this essential mixture, it works harder and uses more fuel. An engine starved for air will produce low fuel mileage and could eventually compromise spark plugs and valve components.

To the other extreme, if a clean air filter rips or is removed entirely, unrestricted airflow means debris will eventually overwhelm the components and tight tolerances of the internal engine. Everything between the air filter and the combustion chamber would be open to contamination.

How often should I replace my air filter?

The short answer to the question of, "when do I replace my air filter?" is about once a year or every 12,000 to 20,000 miles, which ever comes first. A particularly dusty area requires more frequent air filter inspection.

Keeping up with scheduled air filter cleaning or replacement means better fuel economy and engine life among other benefits. Remember, your car is a series of interdependent systems, so you can't stress one system without compromising the health of the systems down the line - and just about the entire top half of your engine is down the line from the air filter.

Replacing the air filter is the lowest of the low-hanging fruit of automotive jobs that you can DIY yourself through instead of paying a mechanic. You may think it's so simple that the mechanic will probably do it for free. Well, unless you're excessively attractive or adept at black mailing, nothing is free. So even the act of taking an air filter off the shelf, removing it from the box and inserting into your car's air filter housing may incur costs. .

What are the different types of air filters and how are they different?

Air Filters come in three common shapes: round, panel, and conical. Each type usually corresponds to a specific engine setup. 

Round filters are normally found on older carbureted engines. The air filter surrounds the carburetor or throttle body forcing the air to go through the filter before going into the engine.

Panel filters are found on fuel injected cars. Most stock panel air filters use a corrugated-type folding of paper in flat rows that maximizes the surface area. Flat panel air filters provide exceptional surface area to clean air before going into the intake manifold.  Conical filters are usually used on high-performance applications requiring a cold air intake. The conical air filter elongated tube design provides a large, sometimes tapered surface that not only creates a lot of filter area but also a generous angle for forcing air on into the engine with limited restriction and turbulence.

What's the difference between an OEM air filter and performance air filter?

The main difference between OEM air filters and performance-designed air filters is generally materials and location. Many OEM filters are housed within air-boxes and are intended to meet manufacturer goals in regards to sound, cost and versatility. However, without the same restraints, the aftermarket can provide better materials and varied air intake routing and locations. The most prominent examples being cold-air intakes and ram air setups. These variances can change the filter size, shape, location and materials.

Many high performance air filters have the last the life of the vehicle. They do this by using washable filtration material that is reusable. You can simply remove the filter at the normal intervals (usually about 15,000 miles or one year) wash it with warm soapy water, allow it to dry and reinstall it in the housing. Many performance intake and cold air intake filters require oil. Special cleaning agents are available to clean this oil, however air filter oil needs to be replenished as it is a natural part of the filter's dust trapping system.

What are the different types of air filter materials?

Air filter materials can vary. Filters were originally constructed with paper and as time passed, the air filter materials gradually included cotton/gauze and foam.  Most tuners consider the best air intake filter material to be cotton; it's the best option for maximum airflow. Care must be taken in the use of polyurethane foam filters due to the fact that they can be susceptible to melting under extreme temperatures. While this is not a problem for most applications, in a carbureted setup the carb can backfire and damage the foam air filter if it's in close proximity to the flame.

Air flow and your air filter—there is no such thing as too much air flow?

The capacity of your engine depends on its internal measurements. The bore and number of cylinders primarily dictate engine capacity while stroke—the length that your pistons can rise and fall within the cylinder—also contributes to capacity level.

Whatever the capacity is, it can't have too much supply, not from the air filter anyway.

Airflow that doesn't come through the air filter, on the other hand, is a problem, i.e you can't simply smash your air box to increase capacity. Compromising your air filter housing leads to loss of compression, flow and flow dynamics as the air can no longer follow its low-turbulence high pressure path to and through your air filter and onto the engine. Similarly, removing the air filter may increase initial flow but, over time, it will allow a choking level of debris to move through your carburetor/ throttle body and onto the internal engine where the debris will gunk-up inter workings.

So when deciding how much flow your engine needs and therefore what design and performance level of filter to buy, remember: bigger is better. Your engine won't choke on the extra air flow, but if it doesn't need it, it won't use it either.

How to find your air filter

Air filter boxes are found in cars that have modern Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) fuel systems—loosely broken down as cars from the mid-1980s to present. These air filter boxes can be located anywhere in the engine compartment and are then connected to the rest of the engine through ducts. Finding the air box shouldn't be too difficult. Simply identify the air supply going into your engine (usually the biggest hose or duct to come into the top of the engine) and trace it out to the air filter box. Often the air filter box is mounted to the inside of the fender or the fire-wall.

Cars from the mid-1980s on back are usually naturally aspirated, i.e carbureted, and will most commonly have an air filter housing, sometimes called a "air horn." The air filter housing is most commonly located directly on top of the carburetor which usually sits top dead center of the engine but can also be located off to one side.

How to change an air filter

Getting into the actual air filter replacement job takes few tools and instructions although the specifics vary from car to car.

Whatever type of air filter you have, sensors, wires and vacuum lines are a constant concern when replacing and air filter, especially when they are running to or from the air filter housing. In the vast majority of air filter installs, no sensors or vacuum lines will need to be removed but in the event that one blocks the removal of the air filter housing lid, simply disconnect it and reattach after the install is complete.

Try to anticipate any confusion about where a wire or vacuum hose will reattach, mark both ends with masking tape if necessary.

If you have an older style housing you shouldn't need any tools at all. Simply unwind the wing-nut (regular nut with Micky-mouse ears) to release the top lid from the bottom pan, thereby releasing or revealing the air filter.

Once the new filter has been installed, simply replace the lid—fitting it onto the stud that the wing-nut will thread onto—and tighten down the wing-nut.

Changing an air filter in an air filter box is a little more complicated.

Separating the air box cover from the top of the air filter box shouldn't be difficult but it may take a few minutes to figure the "correct" way to disengage any clips or tabs that hold the whole air filter box together.

Of course you can rush and fumble and crack it open if you're feeling impatient but you may not be able to put it back together. And no one is going to take you seriously with a big slab of duct tape holding your air intake filter from falling out. Also the air induction system is a closed system and the more porous the system becomes—the more breaks and spaces that form between components—the less efficient the flow will be.

Clips and tabs on air filter boxes can be separated by any number of tools and makeshift tools. The best option is a small trim bar (hard flat-bar with bends to apply leverage, no bigger than the length of a pencil) but a small flat screwdriver and even a butter knife will work. But the correct tool is used by the pros for a reason: the better matched the tool is for the job, the more likely it is to work.

Once the air box has been opened, simply swap out the old filter for the new replacement filter, replace the air box lid and refasten the clips. Lastly, reattach any portion of the wire-harness that needed to be disconnected before the air filter installation began.

If you buy a higher-end performance filter, it may come with sealing grease (which you can also purchase separately). The air filter sealing grease acts to further insulate the binding area—the lip—where the air filter snaps into the air filter housing. It works to create a tighter seal for less air divergence and overall decreases turbulence within the air that moves through the filter housing.

Brands

Brands within Air Filter

AFE	Airaid	Auto7	BBK Performance	Beck/Arnley
Fram	K&N	RBP	Spyder Auto	Volant
WIX