Air Filters - how do you buy them?

[Rocky]

Bought all of the filters from Supercheap On-line as that is the only way to get the Sakuras.
Site said 10 to 14 days for delivery but arrived in 6.
Opted for the Sakura brand. Got all three for $80. total.
All dropped into the filter-boxes fairly easily - little bit of persuasion on the Mazda 6.
May not be quite as good quality as the OE but lots cheaper and I will replace them again in 20,000 klms as none of the cars do any dusty travel.
(All of the ones I replaced had done a LOT more than 20,000K.)

[hks_kansei]

20,000 seems low, what's the service interval from the manual say?

[Rocky]

You are right of course, the Manual recommends a check at 30,000 klms and a replace at 60,000 but being a bit anal about this stuff, and using a cheaper non-OE part, I will feel better replacing them sooner rather than later. The OE ones that came out just seemed a bit better made overall than the Sakuras.
None of our cars does any dusty travel as they are not allowed to go on dirt or gravel roads but it is a very dry part of the country and at times there is a lot of dust in the air.

[project.r.racing]

that is a long time between checks. would've though it would be 10,000km at every service.

[JBT]

There is a note in my Mazda6 and MX-5 scheduled maintenance that advises to check/replace more regularly if the car is operated in very dusty or sandy areas.

I remember replacing the MX-5 air filter the day after we got caught in this really bad dust storm 8 years ago.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=brisbane+dust+storm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwy6Wjnd7WAhUDU7wKHcrtAFgQsAQIJw&biw=1920&bih=963#imgrc=ZQEII3wbCi4aFM:

[hks_kansei]

Wow, I just take the filter out every second service or so and just knock/blow the dust out.

Replace it maybe every couple of years.

[Rocky]

PRR - Yeah - me too!

JB - Yep - you'd want to check them more often in particularly dusty conditions (if you lived in Charleville QLD)

Kansei - There would be no "blowing the dust out/knocking the dust out" with these. It was the first thing I tried as that was the 'conventional wisdom' when I was a young bloke. If you look at the photo below, compare the colour you are seeing with a completely white filter. They don't look hugely dirty in the photo, but they are.
That 'grey' colour doesn't knock, blow or brush out. It's there for keeps.
The filters are - L to R: MX5, Mazda 3, Mazda 6. By my reckoning, they have done 65K, 65K and 45K respectively.

[project.r.racing]

All been installed too long. That is how damage occurs.

[Rocky]

Yes I agree, and that's why I will be replacing them again in about 20,000 klms regardless of what the Manual says.

[Apu]

Mark Pakula wrote an article about 10 years ago in Autosalon magazine - I’ve posted about this before. The mega buck air filters (HKS for example) were outperformed by cheaper filters. In that particular article, Simota...which also provided better bang for buck than K&N.

[93_Clubman]

The article in PDF for anyone interested: http://www.3aracing.com.au/HTML%20Folde ... otOut.html

[Mr Morlock]

Service manuals i.e. OEM Manufacturers recommendations are traditionally very conservative - if you follow the recommendations - its not a problem. I dont see anything wrong with HKS" approach.

[project.r.racing]

When I check mine every service, I bang the against a wall or similar to remove of the bigger particulates that have been caught in the filter. A little dust floats of sometimes.

[hks_kansei]

^ same.

Or if the compressor is fired up I'll blow it out (or use the garage vaccum)

[manga_blue]

The article in PDF for anyone interested: http://www.3aracing.com.au/HTML%20Folde ... otOut.html

Thanks Paul. This looks pretty similar to the oil filter testing I saw. There's no correlation between price and performance. Some of the sub-$30 ones work better than the $120+ ones.

Marketing spin + brand management > reality