There is a fad advertising that when you replace your car’s air filter with high performance filter types or install induction kits, you can your boost car’s performance or add extra power to your car’s engine. This made car owners and drivers both go crazy and skeptical about how effective these performance air filters are. So, how effective and beneficial are they really?
How do engines work?
Your car’s engine is a machine that uses a system of moving parts to power your car and make it move or function. The engine does this by creating a chemical reaction called combustion. Combustion is a reaction process that needs fuel and oxygen from the air to produce fire and heat that will power the car to work and run. In principle, the more air and fuel are combusted properly, the more power it gives your car. Likewise, the less air or fuel, the less power your engine generates for your car.
How do air filters work?
Standard air filters are made of paper materials that sift and absorb contaminants from the air. Air filters make the air that flows into your car free from dirt, toxins and other pollutants that can cause your engine to bust or break during combustion.
Problems in engine performance can only be associated with the current status of your car’s air filter if the filter is not replaced whenever it needs replacing. Air filters accumulate dirt and dust over time, so old filters become restrictive in airflow because the dirt and dust are making the filter materials less permeable and absorbent.
When an air filter becomes airflow-restrictive, less air enters your engine, so less power is produced.
What are performance air filters?
Performance air filters are basically any air filter that is marketed as power-boosting, but these usually come as part of induction kits. Induction kits are essentially just air filters with pipe works that help concentrate the airflow into the engine.
There are other types of air filters made of different materials that are said to help boost car performance. However, the claims are simply based on the combustion principle of “more air and fuel give more power”. Manufacturers produce air filters that are less airflow-restrictive but still effectively filters away the dirt and pollutants. So, the more air the filter lets in, the more power it allows to be generated.
Do performance air filters and induction kits really increase performance?
Scientifically, these specialized filters do help improve airflow into the engine and thus helps produce better combustion, but only on a low quantity or ratio. The most popular filter brands, K&N and Air Raid, increases airflow for up to 0.14 percent only. The performances of these filters may vary according to their type and positioning in the engine bay.
Air filters are usually placed in the car’s airbox, which is engineered to be the spot where air from the atmosphere and environment should flow into. Some performance air filters are placed in the air box, but some filters and induction kits will actually require the removal of the airbox in order to fit the filter set in.
The airbox is designed to collect air from the surroundings around the car and feeds the air into the engine’s pipes. The filters that are placed in the airbox let in air directly from the surroundings and ensure that the car gets cool air for the engine. Cool air is dense and has more oxygen than warm air, so it produces more combustion reaction. Thus, more power is generated.
Those that require the removal of the airbox will get air both from the surroundings and directly from the engine bay. The air in the engine bay is hot and thin, so there is less oxygen. When there is less oxygen, there is less combustion reaction. Thus, no extra power is produced.
The verdict
Performance air filters can help improve your car’s performance just a little and only when you use the right type for your car. If your car is designed with an airbox, you’re better off with air filters that fit in the factory airbox. If you have an older car that doesn’t use an airbox to collect air, you can experiment with different filters and induction kits.
Or, you can simply replace your old standard air filter and you’ll probably get improved result anyway. If you really want to increase your car’s performance, you’ll have to focus beyond your car’s air filter and consider other power-boosting options such as an ECU remap.
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