How to distinguish fake air filters

Failure case

A few days ago, the engine was shaken at the repair shop for inspection. The repair shop said that the throttle was dirty and needed cleaning. But the last time I cleaned the throttle, I ran more than 5,000 kilometers, why was it dirty again? The repair shop said it may be that the air filter I bought online didn’t filter well. Could this be the reason that the throttle is easily dirty?

First of all, it is certain that if the air filter does not filter well, the throttle valve will be easily dirty. Some car owners believe that after the vehicle’s warranty period, just find a small repair shop for maintenance, and some small partners with strong hands-on ability, buy DIY accessories online. Of course, for example, simple operations such as replacing the air filter and wiper blade, there is no problem to do it yourself, but complex maintenance items should be done by professional maintenance personnel as much as possible! Owners can buy some parts by themselves, of course, it can save some costs, but it is difficult for ordinary car owners to distinguish the authenticity of the parts, which gives the opportunity for fake and inferior parts. In the following, we will use air filters commonly used in vehicle maintenance as examples to introduce the hazards of counterfeit and inferior parts and the differences from genuine products.
Hazards of poor air filters When the engine is operating, the sucked air first passes through the air filter, and the impurities such as grit and dust in the air are adsorbed on the surface of the filter element, thereby avoiding the wear of the mechanical parts when entering the engine.

◆ Poor air filter filter paper pores are usually too large, resulting in poor filtration results. The sealing effect between the filter frame and the filter housing is not good, causing air to enter the cylinder without filtering, exacerbating the wear between the cylinder and the piston, and causing irreversible damage to the engine.

◆ If the porosity of the air cleaner filter paper is too small, it will cause the engine air intake to decrease, which will affect the engine’s power and cause problems such as poor acceleration, increased fuel consumption, and excessive exhaust emissions.

The difference between real and fake air filters
The distinction between true and false air filters is mainly based on the fineness of the filter paper and the strength and toughness of the rubber edges. Poor quality air filter's filter paper has poor strength and can be torn with a little force, and the rubber edge has poor toughness and is easy to break.
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Pay attention to brand selection. When buying an air filter, you should choose a big brand with a certain reputation, and try to buy it from a brand authorized dealer or a brand flagship store. Don't try to buy Sanwu products cheaply.
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Pay attention to the inner and outer packaging: check the outer packaging and inner packaging of the air filter, if there is obvious and clear product related information, including production date, product number, brand, etc. Inferior products often lack this information, or their writing is illegible.
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Pay attention to the material structure: Compared with genuine air filters, inferior products often have less number of folds, larger gaps, poor hardness, and rougher workmanship. The shape is easy to twist and loose, and the thickness is uneven.
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Pay attention to the sealing strip: The sealing strip of the air filter is relatively regular. The quality of the rubber used is good, the elasticity is also good, and it is not easy to be damaged. The sealing tape used for fakes is relatively inferior and smells of acrid rubber.

In short, the judgment of the authenticity of the air filter is relatively simple, and it can be started from the workmanship. Of course, everyone knows the price of a penny. If you buy accessories that are significantly lower than the genuine price, there will usually be problems. Clean intake air is an important condition for exerting engine power and achieving high engine torque, low fuel consumption and low pollution emissions.