Air Filters
The job of an air filter is to keep all of the pollutants that your car encounters from getting into your car’s engine. Before air enters the engine, it has go through this filter. Filters are made of layers of cotton, paper, or gauze over a frame and air passes over these layers. The filter’s job is to trap any dirt or debris that would otherwise enter the engine. If you ever wonder how hard your car’s air filter is working, simply look at the exterior of your car several days or weeks after washing the car. Any filth on the exterior of the car could get into the intake system without an air filter.
However, because air filters trap dirt and debris, dirty air filters can have a negative impact on vehicle performance. First, dirty air filters can hinder air flow into the engine, which can reduce engine performance and reduce your car’s miles per gallon. However, you do not want to change your air filter too frequently; new filters actually let through more dirt than older filters and need time to build up a dust film to reach optimum performance.
Air filter performance can also depend on the type of filter you choose; in addition to standard paper replacements, most vehicles will have performance air filter options. These performance air filters are aimed at increasing air flow and decreasing the number of particles that will get through the filter.
Joy Auto Parts of Green Brook, New Jersey and Joy Auto Parts of Chester, New Jersey can help you pick the best air filter for your car type and driving conditions.