Yes, You Do Have A Choice In Automotive Air Filters

Just how often do you usually replace your car’s air filter? Six thousand miles? Ten thousand? Maybe more?

During the course of owning your car, that is making the assumption you plan on keeping your vehicle for many years, it isn't difficult to go through 6-12 air filters, even more. Of course, that is if you choose to purchase disposable air filters every time you shop for one. What you might not know is that you have another choice -- a reusable air filter – a product which costs a bit more than the paper variety, but one which will likely outlast your car. Let's take a look at two types of air filters available for your ride.

If you maintain your own vehicle, you probably make regular visits to your auto parts store for engine oil, air filters, windshield wipers, and more. Regarding your air filter, your brand choices include Fram, ACDelco, Bosch, and Purolator air filters, all very well known and trusted products. You are not likely to pay a whole lot for one -- $7 and $15 -- depending on your vehicle make, model, model year, and engine. For many consumers purchasing an air filter annually is an easy task: they see which one is on sale, buy it, throw away the old one, and insert the new one.

Now, drivers are discovering an option to disposable air filters, one that race car owners have known about for years: reusable air filters. Yes, that’s right: instead of using paper air filters that must be changed regularly and can contribute to landfill overflow, drivers can now buy reusable air filters made of cotton gauze and aluminum wire mesh. These higher quality air flow filters provide excellent filtration and are designed to step-up horsepower and acceleration. K&N, for example, sells a line of air filters that are guaranteed to last one million miles, can be cleaned just once every 50 thousand miles, and are emissions legal in all fifty US states. Prices for reusable air filters range from a $30 to approximately $60 or more, depending on the product and your vehicle.

Besides the apparent environmental and performance benefits, a reusable air filter will save you a lot of money down the road. For the owner of a car who keeps his vehicle for 200,000 more that can yield big savings. Specifically, if he pays $12 per air filter – which is an average price for a paper air filter – his expenditure is $144 for the life of the car. A $50 reusable air filter is a one shot charge and can be recouped within the first few years of owning the car.

Most certainly, you have real choices when it comes to choosing an air filter for your ride. Purchasing a reusable air filter is an environmentally prudent, cost efficient, and power enhancing determination that you will be happy you made.