Have you ever noticed that in the Fall when the temperatures are cooler, that your car has more get up and go? From a stop light your car just accelerates so much smoother and quicker. You like it don’t you? It puts a big smile on your face every time. The reason for this is that your engine performs better with cooler air. Now here is a question for you. Wouldn’t it be nice to have this kind of performance year round? Absolutely! This can be achieved with Cold Air Induction, and you don’t have to be a gear head with lots of experience working on motors to see performance increases of 10 – 20 horsepower at the rear wheels, as well as, an increase in torque.

Let’s go over some basics. Your engine is basically a big air pump. The easier it can breathe in and exhale out, the better the vehicle will perform. For this article, we are going to focus on the breathing in part of the equation. The exhaling part is your exhaust system which we will cover in a separate article.

There are two basic stages to Cold Air Induction. First is increasing the volume of air and second is lowering the temperature of the inducted air.

STAGE ONE: Increasing the Volume of Air

The Filter:

If you open the hood of your vehicle and open the air filter housing, you will more than likely find a paper filter. This is a standard OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) air filter. They are inexpensive for the car manufacture’s to purchase and install. If you go to any aftermarket auto parts store you will find these in ready supply. A much better product is a filter constructed of cotton. A cotton filter traps smaller contaminates than a paper filter and also allows a higher volume of air to pass thru, which lets your engine to breathe easier and therefore perform much better. Also, you don’t have to replace the filter like you do a normal paper filter. Just take it out and clean it periodically when you see it is dirty. There are a number of companies that specialize in these types of filters such as K&N, AEM, and Injen. Most of these suppliers suggest oiling the filter before installation. Now this is not engine oil I am referring to, but a special oil that the suppliers sell. This oil helps trap even finer particles without impeding air volume induction. Don’t get concerned about the oil being expensive. It’s not. K&N sells an Air Filter Service Kit for around $20. It will last you for quite a long time. The kit includes the oil spray, and a cleaning solution. Whenever you take the filter out to be cleaned, just spray the cleaning solution on the filter before rinsing. It helps remove trapped dirt particles from the fine filter element.

Installation:

The filter installation is simple and an easy do-it-yourself project. It is no different than replacing the standard paper air filter.

Step 1: Locate the air filter assembly under the hood.

Step 2: The housing is held together typically by 2 or 3 metal clamps. Open/release the clamps.

Step 3: With the clamps open, pull the housing apart. Be gentle! Some vehicles have the MAF (Mass Air Flow Sensor) attached to the downstream duct coming off the housing. It’s not an overly delicate sensor but you don’t want to be brutal with it. If you are not familiar with what a MAF looks like, you can’t miss it. It has wires coming off it that run from the MAF to the vehicle’s computer. The MAF measures the volume and the temperature of the air that is coming into the motor, and it then adjust fuel mixture to optimize fuel efficiency.

Step 4: Remove the old paper air filter and install the new “oiled” cotton filter.

Step 5: Reattach the Air Filter Housing clamps.

STAGE TWO: Lower the Temperature (a.k.a. Cold Air Induction)

The cotton filters mentioned above are an excellent performance enhancer for your vehicle, but to take it a step further and see even better results you probably will want to replace the Air Filter Housing with a unit that moves the air filter further away from the engine. These assemblies usually will move the filter into the front wheel housing or in the front of the vehicle near the front air dam. Either option will be drawing cooler air from outside the vehicle as compared to pulling hot air from the engine that is trapped under the hood. K&N is a leader in this segment of the market, but if you want to compare pricing, check the internet and I am sure there are others also. K&N has an in-house engineering group that tests all their own products to insure that the products they sell will meet or exceed expectations. The other good thing about a company like K&N is that you can buy the whole system, the filter and the filter housing assembly as a kit. The kit will come with installation instructions that are easy to follow, but to put your mind at ease I will give you a few quick easy steps.

Step 1: Disconnect the air duct from the throttle body on the engine. This is usually a metal retainer clamp that can be unscrewed. The MAF housing may sit sandwiched in between the air duct and throttle body and have its own retainer clamp also. Just unscrew the retainer clamp and remove the MAF. Pay close attention to which side of the MAF faced the throttle body. Air flows in one side of the MAF and out the other. The MAF will need to be installed in the same direction at completion. Set the MAF aside in a safe place for now.

Step 2: Disconnect the air duct from the Air Filter Housing. If you did not already encounter the MAF, you will now. Just follow the MAF removal instruction above. There may also be an air vacuum hose attached. Just pull this apart gently, leaving the hose attached to the engine. Now remove the air duct completely and set it aside.

Step 3: Disconnect the Air Filter Housing from the engine compartment. This is not difficult. Typically there are two to four places where the housing is attached in the engine bay to keep it from moving around. Once you have removed all the screws, remove the Housing unit.

Step 4: Attach the new air duct to the throttle body. Check the new housing instruction for location of the MAF. If it calls for the MAF to be installed between the air duct and throttle body, then install the MAF first to the throttle body, and then the air duct will attach to the MAF. It may call for the air duct to attach directly to the throttle body and for the MAF to attach to the end of the air duct that attaches to the air filter housing. If this is the case then go ahead and attach the air duct to the throttle body then attach the MAF to the air duct.

The new air duct will have a different configuration than your original OEM duct since it is now relocating where the air filter is going to be located.

Step 5: Install the new Air Filter Housing in the location as outlined by the supplier. This may be in the front air dam area or in the fender well. Typically it is in close proximity to the original air filter housing location so that attachment points can still be utilized.

Step 6: Once the Air Filter Housing is firmly attached to the engine compartment, attach the air duct to the housing using the clamps provided.

Step 6: Reattach the vacuum hose to the air duct if your car has one. Also attach the MAF wiring to the MAF.

Step 7: Check all the clamps and make sure they are nice and tight.

Step 8: Start your vehicle. Let it idle a couple of minutes. The engines computer will be recalibrating based on the new air volume. Next, take a short test drive. You should immediately see a noticeable improvement in the vehicles performance. After your test drive, check all the clamps and connections to ensure everything is tight.

If you have ever suffered from seasonal allergies or breathing related disorders such as asthma, or chronic sinusitis, you have undoubtedly heard of the necessity for better air filtration than what is provided standard in homes by air conditioning contractors. Understand that air-conditioning contractors are interested in promoting clean indoor air, but are very limited by people who sometimes consider better air filtration to be an unnecessary expense, or builders who desire their new home to have better fixtures and appliances than clean air.

A flood of air cleaners is available today in the market spanning from high technology that is proven to lower airborne particulates and technology that is simply mass marketed to the public. What filter is best? Is my iconic breeze really suitable for my allergies? Is my investing in a high-end electronic air cleaner, or a true HEPA air cleaner, or simply better filters such as electrostatic filters or pleated filters, going to improve substantially the air quality in my home?

While all of the above mentioned air cleaners can have an impact in improving air quality they vary tremendously in the degree of efficiency. For many years electronic air cleaners led the forefront as being cutting edge for their removal of small particulates from the air stream including even particles as small as pollen and micro particles less than .3 microns (µ) in size. What was not well discussed about these forms of air cleaners is although they had a 99% or greater initial efficiency rating within 30 days their rating plummeted because it was extremely important to keep the collectors cells clean for them to continue with a high efficiency. The same holds true today for any type of air cleaner that requires electrostatic charging of particles.

The vast majority of homes built today still feature what the air-conditioning industry humorously calls “boulder catchers” for filters. These blue disposable filters are good at best for the removal of large chunks of air debris such as pet dander, hair, or carpet fibers, and only increase in their overall efficiency when they become thoroughly clogged creating a resistance for smaller particles but at a sacrifice of the operating efficiency of the cooling system.

So the question is what air cleaning system should I use? The answer is complex and is really based on what you want to remove from the air. Pollens because of their light airborne nature have a tendency to stay suspended in air longer and thus are more effectively removed by air cleaners than particles of dust that may be of larger size and heavy enough to fall from the air without ever even reaching any type of air cleaner. This is one reason why room air cleaners such as stand alone HEPA filters are much more effective in homes with allergy sufferers because the removal of heavier particles from the air can be concentrated in an area before the particles fall to the ground and are no longer able to reach the return air grill of the heating and cooling system.

One of the concerns with the quality of indoor air is can the pollutant even be removed by an air cleaner? If you are allergic to certain types of molds than the probable culprit is not the mold itself but what the mold gives off as part of its lifecycle which are called mycotoxins. These off gassings of mold are not typically caught by indoor air cleaners and as a result can be a source of irritation even though you may invest in one of the highest quality air cleaners in the market. If you have mold related allergies other strategies are needed other than just air filtration.

When investing in any type of air cleaning system that is attached to the air-conditioning or heating system is imperative that your contractor designed the system for the additional reduction of airflow. As the filter while being efficient at the removal of airborne particulates in the airflow they can because of their greater resistance to airflow reduce the overall efficiency of an air conditioner if they are not accounted for in the initial design. Electrostatic air filters can also dramatically reduce the airflow in an air-conditioning system if they are used in multiple return air grills in a home without consideration in the initial design. This means that the average homeowner can not go to the home repair retail store and buy higher efficiency air filtration and simply stick it in their home without it having future ramifications.

So the answer to the question what air filter is best for me depends on what type of particulate you are trying to remove from the air. Are you allergic to molds, grass or tree pollens, pet dander, dust mites, or other forms of airborne irritants? Many off-the-shelf filtration systems that standalone may lend some relief to typical allergy user who suffers from pollens that stay airborne longer, but for truly cleaner air consult with your air conditioning and heating specialist. Make sure that they have additional training in the area of indoor air quality (IAQ) as it is not a required subject for heating and air conditioning contractors to study. Many contractors have obtained certification as C.I.E.s which means certified indoor environmentalists and are much better qualified to assist you in making the proper selection for clean indoor air.

Simply investing in whatever air cleaner is on the market today will probably be a waste of your money if it is not suitable for the type of material you need removed from your air. Making the air in your home comfortable for you if you suffer from allergies or asthma really requires consultation with an expert in this field. Spend time researching on the Internet, asking questions of your doctor, who may or may not have the proper answer, and consult with a properly trained air conditioning specialist for advice on what is the best way to approach the problem you have. Oh and one more thing, throw away your indoor vacuum cleaner. They are a major source of airborne irritants. If you can afford it and it is feasible install a vacuum system where the actual vacuum cleaner resides in the garage or outside. This one step alone can dramatically reduce the amount of airborne irritants even if you do not have carpet throughout your house in an attempt to reduce allergens.

Air conditioners often fail at the worst possible times. When it is extremely hot, you don’t want your air conditioner to suddenly stop working. But if it does, there are some simple steps you can take to try to fix the problem yourself. Below is a list of the 4 most common air conditioning problems encountered, with some advice on how to fix them yourself rather than paying for the expensive air conditioning repairman.

1. Check The Controller – If the controller has been incorrectly used, the air conditioner will not function. HVAC systems have different settings for cooling and heating, and your air conditioner will not function if the wrong setting is used. If you are still struggling, try looking in your operation manual or ask the contractor who sold you the system for advice. If still no luck, have a look on the internet for some handy tips.

2. Clean The Filters – So many air conditioners struggle because the owners do not clean the filters. Cleaning the filter is ongoing maintenance that you should be performing at least once every few months. Cleaning your air conditioners filters can often fix a problem straight away.

3. Examine The Compressor – If your compressor fails your whole air conditioning system will fail. Check around the compressor for any signs of damage or wear and tare. Listen to the compressor for any irregular noises. Look around the compressor for ice build up as well. If you notice any of these things, it may be a sign of a more serious problem and you should call in an air conditioning contractor to inspect the system.

4. Reset The Power – Just like computers, a simple reset can often fix a hvac system. All you need to do is go to the meter box and turn the unit off. If fitted, there may also be an isolator switch at the compressor you can also turn off. Turn both these switches off for a few minutes before turning back on. It is a simple thing to try but it works quite a lot of the time.

If you have tried all of these points, hopefully you have has some success and your air conditioner is now working. If not, it is time to call in the air conditioning contractor.