Automotive Air Filter

T he engine air filter is the car component that filters air before it reaches the engine. Usually mounted just before the carburetor and in front the intake pipe, the filter ensures that an adequate amount of clean air enters the cylinder by blocking dirt, dust, sand, and other debris from passing through. Clean air is necessary for proper fuel combustion and to protect the engine from damage. This way, an auto air filter directly affects your car's engine performance and life.
With the engine air filter purpose being to ensure only clean air reaches combustion chamber, you need to ensure that it's always in good and working condition. Over time, the filter accumulates trapped dirt, dust, and other particles. It gets clogged up, restricting the flow of air through it. As a result, the engine receives air that’s inadequate. This causes the fuel mixture in the combustion chamber to be too “rich, or to have more of fuel than air.
A "too rich fuel mixture" situation results in weak engine power, reduced fuel economy, and a rise in engine emissions. To avoid this, you need to schedule filter cleaning or replacement to be before the one in operation becomes too clogged with dirt.

Car Air Filter Types

There are two automotive air filter types: the dry and wet filters.

Dry Filter Types

Dry air filters use a dry element, either paper or non-woven fabric for filtration. The filter is protected with a urethane or metal seal and housed in either a plastic or metal construction. Dry air filters with paper as the filter material are the most common. They’re lightweight, more efficient, and easier to maintain. The efficiency achieved by paper filters can be up to 99.5% while that of oil bath types lies between 95 to 96%

Wet Filter Types

These filters can be either oil-immersed or the oil-bath type. Oil-immersed filters use an element impregnated with oil to filter dirt and dust from the air. The filter media of these types of air filters can be either metallic mesh, fabric or foam. Oil-bath filters consist of oil contained in a bowl and a filter element made of metal mesh. They work by the intake pipe directing air onto the oil. Dirt particles get trapped by sticking onto the oil droplets they hit. The droplets then get drawn onto the filter element where they wash the dust trapped by the element back into the oil reservoir. Oil-bath filter types are mostly found in vehicles used in agricultural conditions such as tractors. The process of filtration occurs in three ways; filter, inertial and oil bath.