AIR FILTERS

Air filters, one of the most essential parts needed for the smooth running of your beloved engine. How would you describe an air filter? 

An air filter is just like your nose. 

It filters out all the unwanted particles in the air before it enters the engine, allowing only clean and pure air inside for better combustion, which results in better efficiency and smooth power delivery. The air filter filters the dust and many more harmful particles from entering into the combustion chamber of an engine. That is the main function. The secondary function would be regarding the smoothness of the engine as cleaner the burning smoother the engine and also less harsh the sound. 

The work of an ideal filter is to extricate all harmful particles while posing no threat to the flow which is not an easy feat to conquer. Hence most of the air filters in the market have a balance between filtering capacity and air resistance. These filters are manufactured from pleated paper or fibrous material which has small holes and traps dust particles. 

Due to high pollution levels in places like Delhi or Mumbai, air filters tend to get choked with particulate matter and it is recommended to either clean or replace an air filter at every general service of your motorbike.

The air filter has a direct impact on the amount of clean air being supplied to the engine. If the pores are too tiny, it may have better filtration qualities but effectively restricts airflow. Also if the filter is choked with particles over a period of time, then less amount of air and hence oxygen are supplied to the engine. For example – an air filter manufactured from a stock paper based material will have its surface loaded with dust after sometime, and as performance bikes have a high compression ratio, it makes a huge difference in terms of combustion. 

What happens when we don’t have an air filter? 

• Dust enters the combustion chamber. It gets mixed up with the fuel which leads to upsetting the air-fuel mixture and that leads to incomplete combustion.
• The dust getting burned will lead to some poisonous gases
• The dust will create scratches on the piston head and piston rings, which leads to reduced fuel efficiency, engine seizure, increased wear of the engine components
• Increased harsh sounds
• Reduced engine smoothness.

Now let’s see how an aftermarket air filter comes in handy. 

Let us consider brands like K&N and BMC

Differently to OEM filters, a K&N one has layers of cotton gauze holding a specially designed oil and aluminum wire mesh, and this combination together creates a much powerful filtering system by capturing the smallest dust particles. BMC uses similar tech for their filters but with their design and formula. 

K&N High-Flow Air Filter was the brainchild of two passionate racers Ken Johnson and Norm McDonald who in the early 1960s stumbled upon an idea for air filters that could work efficiently in the dirtiest of the off-roading environments. 

They used a similar oil dipped cotton design and realized that it  not only captures contaminants but can also be washed and reused and since then K&N has been at the top of their form by generating innovative technology for air filters that protects several vehicles.

So yay to filters. 

This Graph is also courtesy of Quora.com. (https://www.quora.com/What-is-use-of-air-filter-in-bike)

K&N Websites state that the air flow in a K&N filter is 50% more than a regular oem filter. The manufacturer claims that it is designed to achieve high. The dirt particles collected on the surface of the fiber in a K&N element apparently do not affect the airflow because there are no holes to clog. As in case of the regular OEM paper filter the pores get clogged over a due course of time which leads to restricted air flow and hence you have to change the filter. The Advantage of a K&N filter is you can just clean it and put it back again so it saves the cost of changing the filter at regular durations. 

But remember K&N never claims to increase efficiency. More cleaner and linear burning may make you feel like you have added power but that is yet to be tested and proved. The thing to remember is that an aftermarket filter makes your vehicle breathe better and we all know it is important for you as well your engine. Head to our website for some filters. 

What we are loving is in the due course of time to get you the information we too are experiencing a huge learning curve, so cheers to that 

Ride hard Ride safe and Stay alive