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Air Filters and MPG......

Discussion in 'Technical Chat' started by chris4x4, Jan 1, 2012.

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  1. Jan 1, 2012 at 9:42 AM
    #1
    chris4x4

    #1
    chris4x4 [OP] With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    Most people seem to think that on a modern vehicle, the air filter greatly affects performance, and MPG. They buy into the advertising of companies claiming "Increased MPG" if you buy their filter. Some people even think they are seeing an improvement. The fact is, even when an air filter is "clogged" to the point of failure, MPG is only affected by 1 or 2%......if that. Air filter companies like, K&N, have been claiming gains in economy, power, etc., for decades. Fine print in their adds say things like "Up to....", and that is what allows them to make these claims. What does "Up To" mean? Well....If you have a 1970 Dodge charger, then you might see that 15% increase. Carb'ed engines are affected more than modern fuel injected engines. Modern engines have air filters that can flow over 40% more than what the engine can take in at wide open throttle. They have more surface area, and can hold more contaminants. Not only that, but if they get dirty to the point of actually impeding air flow, the engine control unit compensates for the fuel, thus keeping mpg close to the same. Even performance doesn't fall off like you would think. In some 0-60 mph tests, time to speed increased from .6 seconds, to 1.3 seconds, depending on the vehicle tested. hardly enough to be able to feel in day to day driving. In 2009, the Department of Energy tested a few vehicles to see how air filters affected performance, and mpg. Even when the filters were blocked to the point they were ripped from their housings, MPG changed only 1 to 2%.
     
    chris4x4, Jan 1, 2012
    #1
  2. Jan 1, 2012 at 9:46 AM
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    OZ-T

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    OZ-T I hate my neighbour

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    Forget Mythbusters , we got Chrisbusters
     
    OZ-T, Jan 1, 2012
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  3. Jan 1, 2012 at 9:47 AM
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    TACK

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    TACK Well-Known Member

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    Good to know! :thumbsup:
     
    TACK, Jan 1, 2012
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  4. Jan 1, 2012 at 9:50 AM
    #4
    chris4x4

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    chris4x4 [OP] With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    I prefer to keep my grammer unchanged, as I think it helps to convey my personality. :)
     
    chris4x4, Jan 1, 2012
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  5. Jan 1, 2012 at 9:52 AM
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    TexasTacoma37

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    TexasTacoma37 Well-Known Member

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    So what about "cold" air intakes then?

    :stirthepot:
     
    TexasTacoma37, Jan 1, 2012
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  6. Jan 1, 2012 at 9:54 AM
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    chris4x4

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    chris4x4 [OP] With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    The main restriction is still teh throttle body. Gadget has tested and found the air box to be a restriction. The dyno's I have done have shown no real gains to be had, accept on the TRD and URD intakes.. And the TRD didnt give a gain anywhere close to what they claimed. IIRC, they claimed 20 hp, and I saw about 5 or 6. Regardless, MPG is affected by the speed at which you drive. A "CAI" only gives a gain at WOT.
     
    chris4x4, Jan 1, 2012
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  7. Jan 6, 2012 at 9:03 PM
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    tacoma guy

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    tacoma guy Well-Known Member

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    Graet write up chris!! Awesome info. I have tryed K&N CAI. Just the K&N drop in filters and the AFE prodry drop in and got 0 mpg & very little power gaines!! your the man chris thanks for all the write ups you do. Keep them coming .:)
     
    tacoma guy, Jan 6, 2012
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  8. Jan 6, 2012 at 9:08 PM
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    tacoma guy

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    tacoma guy Well-Known Member

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    How about the deck plate mod, do you gain any mpg with that mod? and if so is that with the oem toyota filter?
     
    tacoma guy, Jan 6, 2012
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  9. Jan 6, 2012 at 9:13 PM
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    toyotatacomaTRD

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    toyotatacomaTRD Senior Member

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    The first and only time I have had a CEL on any vehicle I have owned was within 300 miles of installing a k and n filter.... it came out shortly after. No problems since.
     
    toyotatacomaTRD, Jan 6, 2012
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  10. Jan 6, 2012 at 9:19 PM
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    chris4x4

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    chris4x4 [OP] With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    The Deck plate mod DOES give a gain, though I havent seen any difference when used with a K&N type filter, or OEM filter with the deck plate.
     
    chris4x4, Jan 6, 2012
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  11. Jan 6, 2012 at 9:33 PM
    #11
    worthywads

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    worthywads Well-Known Member

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    I have a 70 Dodge Challenger convertible, that gets a new air filter more often than my tacoma.

    After reading that article previously I've decided every 60K for the tacoma is plenty.
     
    worthywads, Jan 6, 2012
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  12. Jan 7, 2012 at 5:56 AM
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    tacoma guy

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    tacoma guy Well-Known Member

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    Thanks once again Chris. Now I have to make up my mind if I wont to do the deck plate mod. I do 85-90% city driving. Dont know if it would help me much with that type of driving. :confused:
     
    tacoma guy, Jan 7, 2012
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  13. Jan 7, 2012 at 6:19 AM
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    iroh

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    iroh Well-Known Member

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    It's pretty simple - at speed, you have the restriction of the throttle plate and the restriction of the air filter. For a certain power output the engine is gonna take a fixed amount of air and doesn't really care where on the intake tract it's being held back.

    There can actually be a mild increase in mileage from an air filter obstruction because instead of one area of very low pressure (the plenum behind the TB) there will be two, and the energy needed to sustain the resulting slightly higher pressure in the plenum is less because the difference from ambient pressure is less. It's a very small difference, you'd likely never notice it.
     
    iroh, Jan 7, 2012
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  14. Jan 7, 2012 at 6:42 AM
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    tacoma guy

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    tacoma guy Well-Known Member

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    So, if Iam understanding this correctly what your saying is that the deck plate mod will do very little for mpg on city driving.
     
    tacoma guy, Jan 7, 2012
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  15. Jan 7, 2012 at 6:43 AM
    #15
    chris4x4

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    chris4x4 [OP] With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    MPG is dictated by driving style. The deck plate will give about 5-8 hp gain.
     
    chris4x4, Jan 7, 2012
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  16. Jan 7, 2012 at 6:55 AM
    #16
    xwillx93

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    xwillx93 Well-Known Member

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    what is the deck plate mod? :spy:
    And i have a Volant for my manual 4 banger. Before, my friends souped up geo metro could kick my ass off the line but id eventually catch up around 50-60 MPH. After the Volant intake, i beat him off the line AND high speed. Plus it sounds cool :taco:
     
    xwillx93, Jan 7, 2012
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  17. Jan 7, 2012 at 7:17 AM
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    tacoma guy

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    tacoma guy Well-Known Member

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    5-8 hp gain thats awesome. Is that city driving or any type of driving?
     
    tacoma guy, Jan 7, 2012
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  18. Jan 7, 2012 at 7:31 AM
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    worthywads

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    worthywads Well-Known Member

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    ???

    That's at high rpm.
     
    worthywads, Jan 7, 2012
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  19. Jan 7, 2012 at 7:48 AM
    #19
    chris4x4

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    chris4x4 [OP] With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    This ^^^....Kinda.

    I dyno'ed at Wide Open Throttle. IIRC, The best gain was around 5100 rpm.
     
    chris4x4, Jan 7, 2012
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  20. Jan 7, 2012 at 7:48 AM
    #20
    tacoma guy

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    tacoma guy Well-Known Member

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    Awesome good to know! Thanks. Gives me somthing to think about.
     
    tacoma guy, Jan 7, 2012
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