When it comes to improving the performance of your car, one of the most cost-effective and easiest ways to do so is by upgrading your air filter. Aftermarket air filters are designed to increase airflow and provide a larger volume of oxygen-rich air to the engine, allowing it to burn fuel more efficiently during combustion and increase power. But do air filters really increase horsepower?The answer is yes. A high flow air filter can increase your horsepower by about 3 to 5 HP and also increase your torque.
At the same time, this can lead to greater fuel efficiency. Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained tested these claims, and it turns out that yes, high-performance air filters actually produce more power. The aftermarket CarQuest filter was truly surprising, as it performed better than the clean OEM filter even though it cost less. The differences between clean and dirty OEM filters were negligible, but the cheap aftermarket filter improved acceleration times by approximately 1.2 percent. The K&N filter fared better, as acceleration times improved by an average of 2.74 percent.
In effect, this means that 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. Cold air is denser than hot air because it contains additional oxygen molecules that allow cylinders to facilitate combustion more efficiently. This allows a K&N air filter to capture contaminant particles that are much smaller than the openings within the filter media. When you choose between names like K&N air filters, AEM filters and Volant air filters, you can be sure that you get a product that has proven its effectiveness. All K&N high-performance air intake systems are designed to increase airflow through an aerodynamic path that reduces turbulence, and filter designs that provide an increase in the volume of air reaching the engine. To improve the performance of your air filter even further, you can add an Injen Hydroshield which sits on top of the high-performance air filter and prevents water and microscopic particles from entering the engine. So while you may not feel the extra power when you hit the accelerator, aftermarket air filters do work and can increase your horsepower by 3 to 5 HP as well as improve your fuel efficiency.
Don't expect a bunch of extra ponies to suddenly appear when you hit the accelerator, but do expect small gains in performance.
