I read a post on NICO Club that replacing your engine air filter too often or too early can harm the engine. The person said that the clean air filter would allow more particles to go through than a dirty one.

My intuition tells me that it can't possibly hurt the engine to replace the engine air filter frequently but, since I am not really an expert, I wanted to see what people had to say on this forum. I'm replacing my filters every 12k miles since I live in ABQ, NM and it is very dusty here.

Thanks!

 

That logic is completely flawed. That is absolutely 100% not true. Put a new one in every day if you like, it won't hurt anything.

 

LoL. I can't imagine someone going to the dealership and ask why my brand new car got clean filters instead of used and clogged dirty filters.

 

I think that flawed logic came from a marketing spin K&N put on their oiled foam filters, that being that the as the filter trapped more dirt, the more effective it was. Up to a point. Simply a marketing thing that has been misinterpreted

 

of course it can hurt...your wallet I crack myself up sometimes.

Seriously though what everyone else said. Sure the more dirt trapped in it the better its going to filter, but thats the job of the filter...to stop the dirt. You change it out to get rid of the dirty one because that dirt also is restricting air flow and killing your mpgs. If you want to keep spending money to constantly change it then by all means do so.

Now there may be something to be said if we're talking about a k&n type filter where constant cleaning could allow more dirt to pass. However even if you clean it every day and then properly oil it its the same deal as the paper filter.

 

Replace as often as you'd like - it's really up to you with how much you want to spend on the car. I just cleaned my AFE dry flow filters after about 10,000 miles and bunch of junk came out of them. Your engine will appreciate it!

 

Awesome thanks everyone for the confirmation! I didn't think it would be an issue but it's good to know for sure.

 

I check mine after about 8k miles and replace them between 8-10k miles depending on how dirty they are.



Telcoman

 

I mean you could make your car become a brat, spoiled i should say to where she wants a new filter every week. That's a good way to empty your wallet. Lmao