Your vehicle’s engine air filter is a necessary component that keeps the engine running smoothly no matter what the environmental air is like. While its shape affects how it functions, the material used to create it also gives these air filters specific properties that shouldn’t be overlooked. Today, we’re looking at how engine air filter materials affect air filter quality and how it all comes together to help your vehicle’s engine run properly.
What Do Engine Air Filters Do?
The engine air filter cleans the air that enters a vehicle’s engine during the combustion process. When the air that enters the combustion chamber is clean, it ignites cleaner and fewer particulates enter the system. The engine’s air filter essentially acts as a vehicle’s lungs, managing about 10,400 gallons of air for every gallon of fuel that is injected into the engine. The average 25-mpg air filter will clean 6.2 million gallons of air over its 15,000-mile lifespan. Most are either round, conical, or flat.
Engine air filters shouldn’t be confused with cabin air filters, which filter the air entering the vehicle’s cabin and keep it clean for the vehicle’s driver and passengers.
Engine Air Filter Material Types
There are three common air filter material types—paper, cotton, and foam. These air filter types each affect the air filter’s performance in different ways.
Cotton Air Filters
Cotton or gauze air filters are particularly good for the environment. They’re often designed to be cleaned, oiled, and reinstalled every 5,000 miles. This does mean more work on the driver’s end, because you’ll be the one doing all that work every 5,000 miles, but it does have its benefits.
High-mileage vehicles like long-haul trucks benefit from these filters since you can reuse them until the element wears down or ends up damaged. The same goes if you often drive in dusty environments. In performance vehicles, cotton or gauze filters have a special oil coating that increases their ability to capture debris.
Cotton air filters will ultimately last much longer than paper air filters, reaching up to around 150,000 miles of use. They cost twice as much as well, but considering how much longer their lifespan is, they’ll likely make up for their price after a few cleans and reinstallations.
Paper Air Filters
Paper air filters are the most common engine air filter on the market. The paper in these filters are actually a type of woven wood pulp that offers good air flow through the filter and also reduces the dust and debris filtering through to the engine. You’ll need to change them every 12,000 to 30,000 miles, and as such, they’re designed to be as affordable as possible. They’re inexpensive and you’re meant to throw them out after use, not clean them.
Synthetic or Synthetic Blend Air Filters
Synthetic and synthetic blend filters are especially resilient to moisture, heat, and chemicals, making them an excellent fit in hot, humid driving conditions. They’re often more durable than traditional paper air filters while still balancing airflow and filtration efficiency. Their synthetic material, however, isn’t as environmentally friendly as a cotton air filter.
Foam Air Filters
Foam air filters or foam filter wraps are the least popular filter material. They don’t trap as well as paper or cotton and restrict airflow if not properly designed. Foam filters are more often found on farm and lawn equipment, where they’re coated with a special oil that increases their effectiveness. They’re also used as an extra layer of protection for other air filters. So in especially dusty areas, certain service centers or mechanics might suggest adding a foam filter wrap to your vehicle’s existing paper or cotton air filter.
Dry vs. Oiled Air Filter Elements
As you look at the different air filter types and their many materials, you might notice that some air filters are dry while others are oiled. But what does that mean? We’ve touched a bit on this in the earlier section, but essentially, oiling a filter with a special air filter oil will improve the filter’s ability to capture particles.
However, this is only the case for filters that require oil. Most paper filters don’t need to be oiled, and only specific cotton gauzes need oil. When it’s needed though, the air filter oil can increase filter longevity and effectiveness. Some manufacturers go so far as to formulate the oil to create a positive magnetic charge within the filter’s steel mesh to attract particles that are negatively charged as they pass through the filter.
Oiled filters tend to last longer than dry filters, but they do need to be maintained and cleaned more often, which can be a hassle. Oiling is what allows some filters to be reusable and washable though, so it’s often worth it. Many air filter cleaning kits come packed with air filter oil and a set of instructions on how to use it.
What Is the Best Air Filter Material?
In the end, the best air filter for you will depend on the type of environment you drive in, your maintenance schedule, how willing you are to clean and reuse the filter you’re using, and your budget. Obviously, cotton air filters will last longer, with some lasting as long as your vehicle’s lifetime, but they require more maintenance. Paper air filters will need to be replaced more often, but they’re cheaper and you only need to install and replace them as needed.
Choosing an air filter material will determine how often you need to replace or clean the filter throughout your vehicle’s life, so choose well. You can always switch air filters later, but picking one that suits your lifestyle and environment from the start can save you the hassles of complete air filter replacement down the line.
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