Have you ever been to an auto parts store and seen air filter boxes that promise more power and torque than the factory filter? It's true that high-performance air filters can improve your engine's performance, but don't expect a huge boost in power when you hit the accelerator. Watch the video above for more information. The answer to the question of whether conical air filters actually work is a resounding yes. The best sports air filters can increase your power by 3 to 5 HP and also increase your torque. More air equals more power, and oversized K&N high flow filters will allow greater airflow.
While replacing only the OEM air filter with a K&N high flow filter will add power and increase acceleration, the biggest gains come from installing a complete cold air intake system. An engine requires almost fifteen times more air than fuel for efficient combustion, which emphasizes the importance of providing a high volume of air through an intake system. To solve these challenges, K&N offers the cold air intake system designed to offer air a shorter path through thicker and shorter pipes. Aftermarket air filters improved performance in tests, with sprints of 9.01 seconds from 20-60 mph and 3.61 seconds from 45-60 mph. The colder air outside the engine compartment is denser than the warm air inside the engine compartment, which is heated by internal combustion of the engine and other moving mechanisms that create frictional heat. To properly clean a K&N filter, you will need pressure cleaning of K&N and after cleaning the filter will need to be greased. There is a variety of high-performance air filters for cars to choose from.
Most disposable paper filters create a lot of airflow restriction, as the openings in the filter media have to be extremely small to filter efficiently, which slows down airflow. The filter element may be simply paper, but it is often made of cellular foam and is designed to draw more air from colder places than the factory air filter, thus keeping the engine cooler and helping to achieve optimal performance. Fuel economy improves because high-performance air filters draw air from outside the engine compartment, where the air is colder. This cold air is denser and therefore burns better, further improving the performance of your engine. Maintaining the proper air-fuel ratio (AFR) is critical to engine performance and relates to the amount of air versus the amount of fuel used by an engine for combustion.
