A Clogged Air Filter Can be a Dangerous Enemy

There are plenty of obstacles on the road in front of all of us…literally. Cars, trees, kids playing in the street and the occasional mudslide but some of the biggest ones are inside our own car. Lots of issues rob our cars of horse power and performance. Cars operate in a tolerance of everything working correctly to achieve proper mileage and performance. Wheel hub bearing must not offer too much resistance and the fuel pump must be working with enough pressure, basically everything make the car run the way it should. People tend to over looks basic maintenance and don’t realize that even the smallest thing can cause a huge issue.

Oil changes can mean the difference between a motor lasting 10K miles and 300K miles, while transmission fluid changes can extend the life of the tranny. The air filter is one of those parts that people tend to ignore but not realize what a filter can do. Think about breathing through a straw, could you run a mile like that…well that’s what your car is doing with a clogged filter. A clogged air filter robs horsepower and gas mileage and can also cause complications in high performance cars. With restricted air flow in turbocharged cars this can cause un-needed pressure fighting the turbo. This pressure can cause the oil in the turbo to leak from the unit or it can cause a loss of the proper air intake amount. This can cause incorrect combustion in the cylinders and even cause damage to the bottom end of the motor.