What is an air filter ? When should the air filter be replaced?

What is an air filter ?

The air filter is a component that removes dust, dirt and other contaminants from the air sent into the engine. It is installed around the cabin and air ducts and is also known as an air filter or air element.
A filter is a "filter". There are other oil filters and air conditioning filters in a car, but the air filter is a component used to draw outside air into the engine.
It corresponds to the consumables of air filters. Therefore, it needs to be replaced regularly.
What are the differences between air filters and air conditioning filters?

Air filters and air conditioning filters are used in different places. As mentioned earlier, the existence of the air filter is to remove dust and dirt from the air entering the engine.
However, the air conditioner filter filters the evaporator, which is a related device of the air conditioner, so dust and dirt will not flow.
A long time ago, air conditioner filters did not exist. As a result, dust, dirt and other contaminants directly adhere to the evaporator, causing problems such as the air conditioner being unable to cool due to the dirt.
However, air conditioning filters are standard equipment in current automobiles. As a result, we successfully prevented the evaporator from getting dirty.
In addition, the air filter is usually installed at the rear of the storage compartment, but it is inside the engine compartment. Please remember that apart from the difference in usage methods, the installation locations are also different.
Types of air filters [To note when purchasing] Dry air filters
As the name suggests, a dry type is a kind of dry air filter. It is the most widely used type of car nowadays and also the cheapest one.
However, it cannot filter out fine dust and dirt while allowing it to pass through, so its filtration performance is the lowest among the three types. Another feature of dry cleaning is that it requires regular cleaning.

Wet air filter

Wet type refers to the type where the filter paper of the air filter is wet. Soak in oil and keep moist to improve the filtration performance.
In some cases, sponge is used instead of filter paper on motorcycles. The wet type is characterized by its various shapes. Although some types do not require regular maintenance, others may be washed with water for maintenance.

When should the air filter be replaced?

It is recommended that the time for replacing the air filter be approximately 50,000 kilometers. However, if you frequently drive in dusty and dirty areas, the dirt may become obvious before reaching 50,000 kilometers.

Therefore, do not replace it based on the distance, but check how dirty it is.

The dirty air filter was blackened by dust. In addition, fine dust and the like will enter the filter paper. Even if air is blown away, it is still very difficult to remove the dirt.

If you think you haven't replaced it for a long time, please remove the air filter and check if there is any dirt.

What will happen if I don't replace the air filter?

If the air filter is not replaced, it will get clogged with dirt and significantly reduce the car's performance, such as poor acceleration and poor fuel economy.

If the air filter is clogged, air will not flow smoothly into the engine. Therefore, such troubles will arise.

If the air filter is dirty, please replace it immediately to avoid damaging the engine.

Dry air filters need to be cleaned regularly. The cleaning time during the inspection is the legal inspection once a year.

The cleaning method only requires removing dirt with air. The air filter basically collects dust only on one side. Therefore, let's blow the air from the clean surface to the dirty surface to blow away the dirt.

So why does the air filter only get dirty on one side? The reason is that the air flowing through the air filter is unidirectional.

Simply speaking, suppose there is an airflow from right to left. If an air filter is installed between the airflows, only the right side will get dirty.

The air filter filters out the dust and dirt contained in the air, so only one of them gets dirty.

If you know why only one side gets dirty like this, I think you won't do the wrong cleaning method. And by regular cleaning, you can clean the air filter and continue to use it in a better condition.

However, dirt that cannot be removed even after cleaning will inevitably come out. Therefore, if it becomes very dirty, it needs to be replaced.

Precautions during cleaning

One thing to remember when cleaning is not to blow air from the direction where dust enters. If the air blows in the same direction as the dust enters, fine dust and dirt will enter the filter paper. It will cause blockage.

In addition, air filters soaked in oil, such as wet or red yeast rice filters, cannot be cleaned either. It seems that some can be washed with water when they get wet, while others cannot. So when purchasing, it's still necessary to carefully confirm.

As you can see, even a maintenance method can vary depending on the type of air filter, so please be very careful.