Air Intake Issues

[steven kiser]

man. am i seeing issues being caused by inferior air filters. i'm seeing soggy filters because some crap eating sob didn't install the diverter. incorrect air filter installation, inferior filters collapsing allowing debris to pepper the air flow sensor. i've seen k&m filters that haven't been properly serviced contaminating the reader in the sensor with oil. this has been an issue i've seen for years but it seems to have really increased the past 6 or 8 months. i'm even seeing air filter housings that are void of a filter. i had a vehicle in for a check engine light issue and the filter was gone. i called the customer and he told me that his neighbors second cousins, daughters boyfriends, ex girlfriends adopted brother said that removing the filter would increase his mileage. well after replacing the air flow sensor and cleaning the intake i asked him how much money he saved. another issue that i've seen, is locked engines when the diverter is missing, i get 10 or 15 vehicles a year because they've sucked water. out of these there are two or three that would have survived if the diverter was there. i guess the constant rain is making me think of these along with the integrity of our chosen field. i'm having to spend more and more time with customers explaining to them that over inflating their tires, using air filters with holes poked in them, putting magnets on the fuel rail, installing swirl sleeves on their air intake hoses are nothing but snake oil. i have a customer that is a computer geek. i use this in a nice way, he's a pretty good guy and for some reason i can get by the crooked glasses, pocket protector, and shoes untied with mis matched socks. he's made a fortune trading rare coins. well he has a mercedes roadster that came in because it wouldn't pass inspection because of tires. he was a bit upset because the car only had 17k on it and the tires were junk. the inside of each tire was showing cord. after i spoke with him he said that he read on the internet that if you over inflate the tires it would increase the fuel economy. i asked how that worked for him and he said that he got another 20 miles a tankful. well i explained that he saved maybe 5 bucks a tank full and he said that that's close to what he figured. so he saved 250 bucks this year. now he needed four tires at 340.00 each. so with taxes and labor it's going to cost him about 1600.00 bucks. i guess i'm seeing more and more people doing this stuff because of the gas prices. i do have to add that i'm also seeing an increase of people that are starting to understand that quality is the more prudent way to go. sometimes i feel that if i place billboards across the street from lube shacks and price chopping part stores i would triple my business, but then again i would also be increasing the bottom feeder population.

[Tim Martin]

yes but steve, if we could educate the bottom feeders into reality, that class of customer could eventually be eliminated, don't you think?

I admit to seeing similar things with gas prices soaring like they have done. It's posalutely amazing what some folks come up with. Provides for cheap entertainment here in the shop and increased income. The main issue I have is for the costomer to place the same trust in me as they do in some internet site. Where do these folks come up with some of this stuff, is beyond me. And how comes, what they get online is so much more correct than what we see, know, and do?

Regarding air filtering: I strongly tell customers that if they want to install these aftermarket snake oils and filters, please follow directions and maintain them, because my shop does not service these colored filters with the emphasis on DOES NOT. We replace air filters, not service them.

I somehow am getting a gut feeling we ain't seen it all yet.

[fortknoxx]

I was just informed about the benefit of using nitrogen in your tires.....

He told me that since he has been using the nitrogen in his tires, they haven't dry rotted.

[ricmorin]

.....and his mileage went up by 15mpg's !!!!