Does Your Car Need a New Car Air Filter?

Your car air filter’s purpose is to prevent dirt and debris from entering your engine. Any debris from sand grains to dust, to dead bugs can damage your engine and interfere with combustion in your engine. The filter will eventually fill up and this will block the flow of clean air into your engine. If you’re in Tyler, TX we can help you. These are some of the signs you need to come and us for that filter replacement.

Does Your Car Need a New Car Air Filter? In Tyler, TX We Can Help

Lower Gas Mileage

When you hit the gas, fuel enters the combustion chamber and mixes with the air. The spark plugs ignite this air-fuel mix and a series of controlled explosions move your car. This is the process when your engine has enough clean air, and your engine requires huge amounts of air for combustion. The best combustion ratio is 14:1 air to fuel, and the less air available the less efficiently your engine will work.

If your air filter is blocked, very little air will enter your engine. The fuel-rich environment created by a lack of clean air prevents much of the fuel in the chamber from burning. The excess unburnt fuel is forced out of your engine and is wasted. This waste of fuel will become noticeable when you have to make more frequent trips to the gas station than you used to.

Backfiring and Flames

The fuel that isn’t burnt up in the chamber due to the fuel-rich environment explained above is forced out of your engine through the exhaust. Some of this fuel will come into contact with the hot exhaust pipe and it will produce mini-explosions called backfiring. Backfiring acts exactly like the process should work in the combustion chamber, just in minute form.

When you accelerate, more fuel than usual enters the combustion chamber. This results in an even greater amount of unburnt fuel being dumped out of the exhaust and this can briefly be seen as flames coming out of your exhaust.

Rough Engine Noises

Wasted fuel is not the only downside to fuel-rich combustion. When the unburnt fuel tries to leave the combustion chamber it turned into a soot-like substance. This substance can coat your spark plugs and it leaves a sticky black residue due to the heat of the combustion chamber. This residue “smothers” the spark plugs and makes it more difficult for them to ignite the fuel-air mix.

You’ll experience rough idling, and may also hear strange coughing sounds from the chamber. These sounds are made by the spark plugs trying to ignite in the fuel-rich atmosphere.

A blocked air filter will increase your car’s costs. You not only have to spend more on fuel, but the worn filter can cause damage to your spark plugs and other components. If you’re having filter-related problems, contact our service department at Fairway Auto Center. Our highly-trained auto technicians will replace your air filter and fix any other problems.

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