Aftermarket Performance Air Filter Vs Standard Panel Paper Element - Testing - Results

Sporty engine modifications, such as an aftermarket performance air filter for your petrol or diesel car, are known to enhance the car's drivability factor, by incorporating fun into the equation.

It could be possible that a sharper throttle response / poke / surge of power could be positively essential, and even life saving when required.

And as inconsiderate or wrong as they may be, both boy and girl racers are of various ages and they drive all types of cars on the street, petrols and diesels, whether their transport is modified or not.

Performance panel / cone / pod air filters such as K&N manufacture, have taken much criticism recently. Some skeptics doubt a product's claims. All you have to do is check the forum discussions online to see what i mean.

This does not only apply to any specific brand, as all manufacturers and their air filtration types, such as sponge performance filters, even, are under scrutiny from suspicious naysayers and non believers.

On the other hand, many diehard fans absolutely adore performance panel filters and/or pod cone filters, and fit them freely to their petrol or diesel car.

Just do an online search and you will find the less restrictive aftermarket air filters are selling very well.

Reviews from real users are in abundant. Mainly their experiences differ, being both positive and negative.

Folk do not notice real gains after they have swapped the paper panel filter for the performance air filter. Some only notice a throaty, sportier sound when accelerating, but no gain in power or fuel economy, some even claim horsepower is down.

On the plus side, there are the majority of folk who readily share their fantastic experiences when using aftermarket performance air filters; faster acceleration, more MPG, quicker throttle response, sportier sound.

You may have pondered long and hard whether to purchase a performance air filter, or not, but hold onto your cash for just a moment.

Before you read further and make up your mind, I want you to watch an interesting video which reveals something quite shocking. If you are thinking of buying a performance air filter for your car, this is a must see. The test results may surprise you.

You may very well be disappointed, but before you shove your wallet back into your pocket and disregard manufacturer’s claims, and decide to stick to a regular paper filter for the car’s next service, take a look at the revealing results showcased inside this short video below.

There is an important reason why aftermarket performance air filtration may not work on everyone’s car, and why it may be wiser to stick with the factory fitted one, instead.

Let us delve into the importance and the purpose of correct air filtration into an engine, especially with the sportier aftermarket filters, and folks expectations concerning the positive effects such as gaining more horsepower, better sound and sharper throttle response, and often benefitting from slightly better MPG.

Performance air filters are designed and constructed purposely, despite the first video, there is no denying this.

Air filters protects car engines from harmful debris entering the engine when cars are running (stationary and moving.) The engine is able to obtain a mixture or clean air into its fuel supply.

The air must be clean and the advantage of allowing even more air to freely rush in, benefits the drivability, immensely. When designing and manufacturing performance air filters, the materials incorporated are of a specific and durable nature (depending on each manufacturer.)

The concentration of airflow is focused upon the utmost, allowing free-flowing filtration, whilst obtaining that all important blocking of moisture, heavy and fine dust particles, dirt and debris which could kill your engine stone dead, if entered. Performance air filters seem to serve their job very well, and can in many case last the lifetime of a car.

So, the question of should you buy a performance filter, or not, remains. And those who have them fitted, or experienced a performance filter, may find they don’t work so well their car. Some do notice is a throatier sound when planting their foot hard to the metal, though.

Performance air filters such as K&N do work so well on many cars. There is good reason of why they do.

Performance air filters are not only designed to allow clean air to pass through more freely compared to standard paper filters, they are durable for the task and designed with ventilation in mind.

Are you making the mistake of replacing the paper filter with a performance type, hoping for a pleasant ride, and you fit the unit inside the hot and stuffy, restrictive engine bay, and shut the hood closed. Then you notice no significant gains when you drive away?

As an example, I took both Stephanie, my metallic black Toyota MR2 MK2 I once owned, and Suzy, a shiny red Mazda MX-5 my ex girlfriend once owned, to have specialist air induction modifications. The cars came back and the cone filter was well away from the engine (near the NS INTAKE vent beside the rear wheel arch on the MR2, where cold air could easily RUSH into the engine.)

The results were amazing. I noticed sharper throttle response and very nice sporty sounds that complimented the cars. The Mazda MX-5 had a vented bonnet that drew fresh air DIRECTLY into the pod / cone filter whenever it moseyed on down the road.

But the key fact is, unless you incorporate free-flowing ventilation of air (preferably cold) supply when driving forward, flooding your performance filter, then you may not be benefiting from the product as you hoped for.

It is quite popular to fit a performance air filter to a petrol car. But do diesel cars also benefit from any of the positive aspects, such as performance and economy?

Some argue blatantly that better airflow into a diesel engine is not as important as better airflow into a petrol engine. Because of some technical jargon I can't even begin to explain. And competitors argue back, what a load of trite!

Me, personally I have run various diesel cars over the years and I normally fit performance air filters as standard, with no problems reported.

Many aftermarket performance air filters need to be maintained every once in awhile (depending on manufacturers claims.)

Usually washed, dried, and then lubricated with fine oil (Again, depending on each manufacturer's recommendation) may pose a bug-bear for some users.

Fitted on many cars is a device which sits snugly inside the air intake pipe (past the filter box) called the MAF mass air flow which is a sensor. This needs to be in place for the car to run, and it preferably needs to be as clean as new.

A problem could arise due to a fine build-up of oil, slowly departing from some types of performance air filters. Of course, with the correct MAF cleaning fluid, folk overcome this issue and spray the sensor clean every time they maintain their filter.

Have you had expectations and experiences with aftermarket performance air filters? Please share your ideas inside the comments box below.

Regards, Dale Ovenstone 2016