A couple of days ago, Moom asked, “Does the higher air flow reduce fuel consumption?” with regards to K&N filters.
I had to double check this with my boyfriend who tinkers with his car. Higher air flow reduces fuel consumption indirectly. By feeding more oxygen to the internal combustion process, you get more complete burning of fuel. If flow is restricted, you can’t feed in as much oxygen therefore you get less complete burning of fuel and then less efficiency. Older filters slowed the air down as it went through the filter, so less oxygen gets to the engine. In addition, feeding in more air is usually feeding in cooler air, which is more dense and has more oxygen molecules. It will cool down the combustion chamber better than an air filter with less flow.
Whether or not this really works on my particular engine, my boyfriend couldn’t say. But he runs a very old vehicle and this kind of filter definitely works better on his car.
Because the life of the K&N filter is longer than I will be keeping my car, I chose not to get one. But if I buy a newer car, I will probably get one.
Per Karen’s comment, OEM stuff is middle grade equipment. You can get premium-grade stuff but often, you don’t need it unless you take your car to the track. The cost of premium grade car parts may not be worth it for your personal driving style. For me, I get slightly better brake pads and tires due to stop and go traffic in DC, but all the rest is usually middle-grade stuff.
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