Changing the oil, washing your car, and making sure your tires are in good working order are all part of routine maintenance when you own a vehicle. Changing your car's engine air filter is critical, too. But before you start poking at things under the hood, it's important to understand that your car actually has two air filters: A cabin air filter and an engine air filter (a.k.a. “vehicle air filter”).
The cabin air filter ensures that passengers inside your car have clean air to breathe. This is an especially important component for city dwellers or anyone who lives in an area with poor air quality. The engine air filter, on the other hand, keeps the air your engine “breathes” clean and free of dirt, dust, and other particles — all of which can affect how efficiently your car runs. A dirty air filter can result in ignition problems, lower gas mileage, and, if neglected over the long-term, shortened engine life. Hitachi Air Filter
New engine air filter (varies by vehicle year, make, and model)
Screwdriver, pliers, or socket set (optional, depending on the vehicle make and model)
Every modern vehicle engine is a little different, but all require a steady mix of fuel and oxygen to run properly. Imagine trying to breathe through a face mask caked in dirt, dust, and other environmental contaminants. That’s what it’s like for your engine to run with a dirty engine air filter. Thankfully, changing the filter is one of the simplest and cheapest routine maintenance items to tackle. (Even easier than changing your oil!) Modern engine air filters are easy to access and typically require few or no household or garage tools to replace. Here’s the lowdown on how often do you change the engine air filter in your vehicle and how you can do it yourself in less than five minutes.
Step 1: Open your vehicle’s hood. To locate the engine air filter housing, look for a large, usually black, plastic box sitting atop or to the side of the engine. There should be a large hose coming out of one side.
Step 2: Note how the filter housing is secured. In most cases, two hands and some elbow grease are all that’s required to open it. Some manufacturers, however, use clamps, clips, screws, wing nuts, or a combination of these, in which case you’ll need an appropriate tool.
Step 3: Open the top of the housing. Remove and discard the old air filter. Wipe any remaining debris from inside the housing with a clean shop rag.
Step 4: Note how the existing air filter is installed. Install the new engine air filter by placing it inside the housing with the rubber rim facing up. Ensure it’s seated properly and snugly inside the housing.
Step 5: Close the filter housing and replace any fasteners (screws, clips, etc.) removed in Step Two. Close the hood, and pat yourself on the back for a job well done (and a bit of beer money saved too). That’s it!
All air filters, including engine air filters, should be replaced regularly. The short answer for exactly when to replace yours is: It depends. Your vehicle’s year, make, and model, how you drive, and even where you drive — if it happens to be in an area that’s hotter or more polluted than normal — can all affect the filter-changing schedule. The easiest way to know for sure how often to change the engine air filter is to check the maintenance section of your owner’s manual or simply Google to find the manufacturer’s recommended service interval. This can vary widely from 15,000 miles in severe driving conditions to as much as 45,000 miles.
A visual inspection is usually enough to provide a “status check.” New filters are stark white or off-white. A dirty engine air filter will usually look dirty with visible dirt, dust, or stains inside the pleats. If in doubt, any reputable car mechanic in your area will be able to tell you for sure. As a rule of thumb, most average drivers should be able to go one to two years before needing a new air filter. A word of warning: Any mechanic who recommends a new engine air filter every time you bring your vehicle in for an oil change (i.e., every 3,000-5,000 miles) is a red flag.
Like vehicle air filters, cabin air filters should also be changed regularly as part of your vehicle’s routine maintenance. Most manufacturers recommend scheduled intervals between 15,000 to as high as 45,000 miles. To simplify things, consider changing both of your car’s filters at the same time. The good news is that replacing the cabin air filter in your car is even easier and cheaper than changing the engine air filter. It’s something anyone can do in less than five minutes with few or no tools required. New cabin air filters are readily available on Amazon and at most typical automotive retailers, typically for less than $20.
While changing the engine air filter is one of the easier pieces of maintenance a car owner can do, an air filter is an important part of your car's engine. It keeps contaminants, big and small, out of the engine to ensure it has clean air to keep it running. There's a small chance that a dirty air filter will allow dirt and small pieces of debris to get into your engine. A dirty air filter will also sap performance and reduce fuel economy.
Regularly changing your car's air filter will prolong the life of the engine, reduce emissions, improve fuel economy, and, depending on what kind of filter you use, could even bring some extra performance. The benefits far outweigh the small amount of time and effort it takes to complete the job.
There are a number of warning signs that your engine's air filter needs to be replaced. All are fairly obvious, and if you notice your vehicle exhibiting one or more of these, it's a good idea to check the filter before calling a mechanic:
Modern vehicles are far more complex than their predecessors. That means most maintenance tasks require a professional — a mechanic with proper training, tools, and specialized hardware — to tackle. Thankfully, changing your car's air filters isn't one of those tasks. Armed with the easy-to-follow directions above, a little determination, and a new air filter, you can easily swap out your vehicle's air filters on your own with little to no tools necessary.
When it comes to what's considered a "modern" Corvette, most fans of the Crossed Flags will agree that it was the C5 Corvette that ushered Chevy's halo car into the future. When the fifth generation Corvette debuted in 1997, or C5 as it is known, it brought not only a brand-new chassis that had a rear-mounted transmission for better weight distribution, but it also introduced hydro-formed rails for a more robust yet lighter frame. It also brought a brand-new, all-aluminum, small-block V-8 with a code name: the LS1.
Although the LS1 was an incredibly potent engine, and the base C5 was worlds better than the C4 it replaced, Dodge's Viper terrorized everything and anything on the street. Even the newest 345-horsepower Corvette was powerless to stop it. So, in 2001, General Motors decided to send its esteemed prize fighter back to the gym for a little more muscle, and the result was the C5 Corvette Z06.
You can learn a lot about your car by looking at your tire wear patterns. Reading tread depth with a quarter or a penny is helpful for knowing when you have to change your tires. Likewise, learning what the numbers on the sidewall mean is a crucial part of car ownership, but there’s a lot more you can learn from your car’s tires to keep them well-maintained. Instead of looking at the side of your tire, you’ll want to check out the actual tread from the front or top of the tire. Obviously, this is a lot easier when the tire is off the car. Once you take a closer look at the tread wear, you can see if your car is out of balance, if your tire is under or overinflated, if the suspension is worn out, or if your car is in need of alignment. This isn’t black magic, and you don’t have to go to school for it. All you have to do is look at pictures online from BFGoodrich and then match them to your tire. It couldn’t be easier. If you want, you could also visit this YouTube channel that outlines the different types of tire wear patterns and their causes.
Types of wear patterns Tire wear patterns refer to the specific patterns that develop on a tire's surface over time due to different driving styles over various terrain. These patterns can provide valuable insight into the condition of the tire and can help identify underlying issues with your vehicle's suspension, alignment, or tire maintenance. Armed with the information gleaned from tire wear patterns, mechanics and car owners can make informed decisions regarding tire replacement or necessary repairs. In addition, there are many irregular wear patterns that you should look out for on your tires: one-sided wear, shoulder step wear, erosion or river wear, depression wear (center, intermediate, and shoulder), diagonal wear, radial feather wear, and multiple flat spotting wear. We’ll cover some of the more common tire pattern wear types below for you to explore. Yet, before casting your eye below, note that many of these wear patterns are caused by your tire alignment, which is made up of camber, toe, and caster. Camber is the inward or outward tilt of the tires as viewed from the front, which makes them look like leaning buildings. Toe is the side-to-side difference between the front tires, which makes them look like they’re bowed. Caster refers to the slope of the steering axis. Now that the explanation is out of the way, let's take a look. One-sided wear This one is easy to spot. One side of your tire will be more worn out than the other. Pretty simple, right? If you find that your tire is suffering from one-sided wear on the outer edge, it means that your car’s positive camber, caster, or toe is out of whack. If it’s happening to the inside of the tire, you’ll have to get your car’s negative toe, and camber checked.
If you’re an automotive enthusiast, you know that it's a good idea to regularly wash your car (in addition to oil changes, changing your engine air filter, and other general maintenance). Keeping your car clean helps it shine, marginally improves fuel economy, and it also helps extend the life of your car’s paint job. Things like bird droppings, bugs, tree sap, and road salt (if you live in an area that sees a decent amount of snow) can slowly degrade your car’s paint job over time. Washing your vehicle with a good car soap gets rid of these harmful contaminants and can even make it easier to wash them off in the future.
When it comes to keeping your car clean, we recommend washing it yourself. While going to an automated car wash is certainly much easier and quicker, the massive brushes that scrub soap all over your vehicle rarely get cleaned themselves. They’re also incredibly aggressive, which could result in your car getting scratches or hard-to-remove swirl marks. That's why, if you have the time, it’s best to wash your car by hand. If you’re looking to do just that, you’ll want to grab one of these products — the best car soaps available in 2023.
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