Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Finally changing a car Air Filter - my first time!! Did I gain 50 horse power?! Air Intake Resonator to expend outward pressure resonance - fascinating

High Flow Air Filter - claims a 2 to 3 increase in mph fuel use plus increase in horse power up to 10 horsepower increase!
I haven't noticed a fuel economy difference, but there is a bit of power increase.
So I just read through the Air Filter change history on this car with 240K miles on it. I did NOT install the above filter - wow $70!! (installation vid - you need to change the air intake tube also) - oh it's over $300 for the kit Mine was $17
  The fit was perfect and I noticed an increase of throttle response and at least a 2-3 mile per gallon increase on my first tank refill.  more details on -
Specrtre makes a "high performance" one for less price - $32 - review vid

yep 9345 - same number that I originally had.
amazon reviews

But you gotta clean the filter? Nah... vid

The filter is supposed to be changed at 15K at most or sooner depending on driving habits - so a gravel road obviously will kick up tons of dust. I had been driving on lots of gravel roads since I like the back country encounters with wildlife, etc. I didn't realize the gravel roads are salted to keep down dust - so the salt was destroying the undercarriage or frame - chassis - and the dust had clogged up the air filter!
I was amazed at how dirty the air filter was - it had been 44K miles!!
To find the air filter for this car - first I wrote down the number that was recommended. Then - the local gas station with an automotive supply did not have it. Home Depot's automotive aisle also did not have air filters! Wow - the auto parts store then did not have the number I had written down. I had seen that number for a couple different brands. But not the brands at that store! So they had a big book that gave the air filter numbers once you look up the year and make of the car.

So then I bought the proper air filter after looking up that number in the big book - it took me a while in the auto parts store!

So if the filter is not changed then the motor is forced to use too much oil - and it gets oil in the cylinders - along with debris. The Mass Air Flow Sensor takes the signal of low air from debris in the air filter - and so fuel use is reduced. But that causes performance problems - lack of power, etc.

So we had a new mechanic but he's over worked - and didn't get a chance to check and change the air filter. The previous shop got shut down by the owner - but since I had been driving on gravel roads - the mechanic had replaced the air filter at 20K miles.

So you get Less Miles per Gallon with a dirty filter due to the ratio of reduced air to fuel. The air filter has to suck in 10,000 gallons of air for ONE gallon of fuel! So this very very dirty air filter is now gone and the new clean air filter will make a big difference!

The spark plugs can foul out - misfire - from too much fuel going in - and so you get carbon build up. So the check engine light can come on from a very dirty air filter.

Also a rough start and rough idle and rough acceleration - since the engine is struggling to pull in air to compensate for the increased "desire" for power.

A good test is to hold up the air filter - and if you can NOT see day light through the filter - then it is TOO dirty!! It does not have to look that dirty for it to block daylight coming through the filter.

Video of a Performance Test before and after the Air Filter is changed - vid

He gains 40 horsepower - and at SAME RPM - he gained 50 horse power by changing the air filter!!

Wow - amazing.

So amazingly we went 120K miles before changing the air filter previously way back in 52K mileage!!

Why so long? I think that the "inspection" mechanics just kept over looking the air filter - I think it's an easily overlooked part.

It was inspected as "good" for several inspections.

OK I just "redid" the changing of the Air Filter - one vid said you needed to "line up" a certain part of the filter with a certain part of the intake hose. But I didn't notice that - no this filter does not have that.

Amazingly the car really does sound better - the idle is not so rough - it sounds much smoother at start up!!

Fantastic!

Oh so you can stick a light inside the filter to see if you can see light coming OUT of the filter...

Oh he changes the filter blind - so that means the whole "lining up the slots" thing is not necessary.

So for the brand I used - the number is
MGA42729
Microgard Air Filter
The MicroGard had fewer pleats, but they were thicker. The WIX had a million thin pleats. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure WIX makes the MicroGard air filters. There's no other explanation for the part numbers being the same.
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3363640
The MicroGard and the WIX filters have a heftier better quality feel to them.
Wow there's over 40 tests for Automotive Technician Service Excellence or ASE rating....

https://itstillruns.com/air-intake-resonator-do-12156112.html

Air bouncing back out of your engine and into the intake tube doesn't do it in a single pulse the way it would in a single intake runner; the multiple pistons put out pressure waves at their own intervals, and some of those are going to try to bounce back in while others are going out. The result is a "clog" or high pressure area in your intake tube that ultimately limits airflow through almost the entire rpm spectrum.

The Resonator

Adding an expansion chamber to the intake tube forces air coming back out of the engine to slow down to fill the cavity, thus expending a great deal of its energy and slowing the pressure wave reversion.

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