Back to all

Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Plainfield: Why Replace Your Engine Air Filter?

May 15, 2016

Just as our bodies need clean air to function properly, your vehicle engine needs clean air to operate efficiently. Let's go egghead for a minute. For every gallon of gas we burn driving on Plainfield streets, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide comes out the tailpipe. Question: how can a gallon of gas that weighs a little over six pounds produce 20 pounds of carbon dioxide?

The answer is that the carbon comes from the gasoline, but the oxygen comes from the air. You see, it takes about 12,000 gallons of air to burn a gallon of gas in your engine. Clearly, your vehicle needs a lot of air to keep going in Plainfield. A lot of clean air is best.

drive

You've seen the pictures of people in Japan wearing face masks. They want some kind of filter to keep unwanted pollution and germs out of their lungs. Well, your vehicle also works better when its internals are clean. When your vehicle air filter is dirty, it simply can't trap any more dirt, so the pollutants just pass through into your air intake system. From there it can clog your fuel injectors and even get into the motor itself. Not surprisingly, burning dust and pollen in your vehicle engine does you no good.

Replacing a dirty air filter at Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Plainfield in Plainfield can improve your fuel economy by up to 10 percent. At today's Plainfield fuel prices, you should be able to pay for a new air filter before your next oil change.

The verdict: When your vehicle engine air filter needs to be replaced; it needs to be replaced. How often depends entirely on the level of air pollution where you drive in Illinois. A simple visual inspection at Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Plainfield in Plainfield will tell you when you need a new engine air filter.

Tuffy Tire & Auto Service Plainfield
23846 W 135th St
Plainfield, Illinois 60544
815-436-1337


More articles from Tuffy Plainfield

Don't Start with That (Bad Starter Motor)

March 8, 2026

We've all heard that expression, "That's a non starter." When it comes to your vehicle, that's not music to a driver's ears. That sickening sound when you start the ignition and instead of hearing the engine crank, you hear it slowly turn over and your dash lights go dim. There can be many reaso... More

Losing Your Cool (AC Condenser Replacement)

March 1, 2026

Its always more comfortable in your vehicle when you can control temperature and humidity in the cabin. Air conditioning, which is standard on most newer vehicles, is a vital part of that comfort, and a key component of that system is the condenser. The condenser converts the refrigerant gas into... More

T for Transmission, T for Trouble (Automatic Transmission Trouble Signs)

February 22, 2026

One of the hardest working components of your vehicle is its transmission, shifting gears up and down when you need it to. The transmission is vital to your vehicle driving properly, and if you start to see signs of problems in it, its best to have them fixed earlier rather than later. (Since ne... More