18 months on cabin AF

[barkingspider]

06 Matrix
Out: Bosch
Inlet side

Outlet

IN:
Zezut hepa+charcoal from Amazon, gimmicky but only $10 and it fit tighter than the Bosch
Inlet side

Outlet

 

[Rand]

good luck with the hepa I had one and it choked airflow about 50%.

Also thats not too bad for a cabin air filter.. I've seen worse with 1 year on em.. let alone the "forgotten" ones.

 

[Kestas]

How many miles is 18 months?

 

[fantastic]

Looks okay. That Hepa looks nice

 

[ecotourist]

That filter looks pretty good to me. I wouldn't be changing it.

Cabin filters are a fairly recent innovation. We used to just let outside air into the vehicle. My 2000 BMW had cabin filters. I don't believe my 2000 Solara had them.

Come to that I breath unfiltered outside air most of the time. We even sleep with a window open for most of the year.

 

[barkingspider]

How many miles is 18 months?

30k miles. I believed I tapped of the surface dirt a couple of times during

 

[RooflessVW]

That filter looks pretty good to me. I wouldn't be changing it.

Cabin filters are a fairly recent innovation. We used to just let outside air into the vehicle. My 2000 BMW had cabin filters. I don't believe my 2000 Solara had them.

Come to that I breath unfiltered outside air most of the time. We even sleep with a window open for most of the year.

You should've seen the evaporator I pulled out of the Trooper.

Cabin air filters are a good thing.

 

[ecotourist]

You should've seen the evaporator I pulled out of the Trooper.

Cabin air filters are a good thing.

I agree. But there's no need to overdo it.

One of my wife's cousins didn't know that the AC in her Honda had a cabin air filter. Fortunately replacing it was somewhat similar to our Accord on which I've replaced the cabin filter a number of times. That filter was packed solid. The AC worked much better when we replaced it.

 

[Kira]

Come to that I breath unfiltered outside air most of the time. We even sleep with a window open for most of the year.

OK, One more time.......
The CAF was crafted into vehicles to protect the evaporator. I believe we're all smart enough and jaded enough to assume the manufacturers have already experimented with cheapening the evaporators since they are now protected a bit.

Please dispense with the "We played football with no helmets on fields of broken glass and it didn't hurt us" posts.

ps. I love the blue, wrap-around "inlet side/outlet side" sticker
Oh..I forgot...When we were young, we had little, unmarked arrows on our filters. You had to have quick wits to figure it meant 'air flow'.

 

[BISCUT]

If I notice AC not what it should be the cabin filter is the first thing I check. Some are nice and easy while others are simply, puzzling. I recently checked the cabin filter on the 14 X3 and it was in need of replacement. We all know many German vehicles have some designed that make you 14 X3 cabin filter is on the passenger side by the wiper cowl. I like the location. The arrangement is, pure BMW. Three pieces that make a non-mechanic go HUGH? Two (2) horizontally stacked filters as well. All I could ask myself was why?

Same token, I expected the first filter to be dirtier than the second but they were visually similar. I'm glad I won't need to mess with this for a little while now.

 

[Patman]

I’m at 7 YEARS and still haven’t done the cabin filter in my Corvette yet

 

[rszappa1]

Just like your HVAC in the house you dont want a filter that restricts the air flow too much.. It is hard on the blower motor... I use a MERV 6 or less...Cabin air filter I just use the basic type nothing fancy or HEPA...

 

[f355spider]

That filter looks pretty good to me. I wouldn't be changing it.

Cabin filters are a fairly recent innovation. We used to just let outside air into the vehicle. My 2000 BMW had cabin filters. I don't believe my 2000 Solara had them.

Come to that I breath unfiltered outside air most of the time. We even sleep with a window open for most of the year.

The difference is a car is on a roadway. Ever stand near an arterial or freeway? Lots of dust stirred up and exhaust fumes as cars fly by. Depending on where you drive, you can be subject to quite a bit of dust and dirt. Both my GF and I have a lot of freeway driving in our routines. She drives about 26k miles per year and I change her cabin filter (single) two to three times per year and it is absolutely filthy with crap. I change on my BMW at roughly once per year and not quite as bad as her car...but only 15k miles and split between two filters, one per side...E39 like your previous BMW.

 

[ecotourist]

The difference is a car is on a roadway. Ever stand near an arterial or freeway? Lots of dust stirred up and exhaust fumes as cars fly by. Depending on where you drive, you can be subject to quite a bit of dust and dirt. Both my GF and I have a lot of freeway driving in our routines. She drives about 26k miles per year and I change her cabin filter (single) two to three times per year and it is absolutely filthy with crap. I change on my BMW at roughly once per year and not quite as bad as her car...but only 15k miles and split between two filters, one per side...E39 like your previous BMW.

Good points. Crowded roadways do have unhealthy amounts of ultrafine particulate.

Did you know that the health of people who live near busy roadways is on average less good than people who live elsewhere. Why would that be? At least two possibilities: (1) people who live near busy roadways are typically less well off that people who live elsewhere, and lower socioeconomic status is on average associated with poorer health outcomes, or (2) people who live near busy roadways inhale unhealthy amounts of ultrafine particulate. Or maybe both.

 

[KevinMalone]

I'd rather keep that Bosch filter than some no name China one. The effectiveness of aftermarket filters are mostly terrible:

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog...-lose-effectiveness-just-minutes-study-finds/

Personally I've given up on replacing cabin filters frequently. The activated charcoal doesn't last very long regardless so I only replace when the filter is very dirty. The air is generally quite clean here with minimal VOCs and exhaust fumes.

 

[f355spider]

I'd rather keep that Bosch filter than some no name China one. The effectiveness of aftermarket filters are mostly terrible:

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog...-lose-effectiveness-just-minutes-study-finds/

Personally I've given up on replacing cabin filters frequently. The activated charcoal doesn't last very long regardless so I only replace when the filter is very dirty. The air is generally quite clean here with minimal VOCs and exhaust fumes.

The problem is there is no standardized method to compare various brands of filters and their charcoal content and capabilities. How do you know the Bosch ones are any better? The details of the study showed that they tested six oem and nine aftermarket filters. Eleven of the fifteen total satisfied standards for particulate matter filtration, but "only one ACAF satisfied the standard guidelines for gas removal performance of both n-butane and toluene." So even OEM may not be any better at odor removal.

The reason they fail, is that logically the charcoal become saturated with pollutants and cannot absorb any further.

I sell activated charcoal filters with our medical equipment to absorb chemical vapors. Our filters have four inch pleats and we have studies to verify their effectiveness. We recommend 6 month change intervals and they cost $180 each...they are about 18"x 30"x 4".

 

[f355spider]

Good points. Crowded roadways do have unhealthy amounts of ultrafine particulate.

Did you know that the health of people who live near busy roadways is on average less good than people who live elsewhere. Why would that be? At least two possibilities: (1) people who live near busy roadways are typically less well off that people who live elsewhere, and lower socioeconomic status is on average associated with poorer health outcomes, or (2) people who live near busy roadways inhale unhealthy amounts of ultrafine particulate. Or maybe both.

Yes, this is discussed in Seattle...it has gone so far (claimed inequities) that there is a push by some to remove Washington State Route 599, a four lane highway constructed in the 1960s and carries 44,000 cars daily in the southern limits of the city. Doubtful it will happen...it is a major route for trucks moving containers from the Port of Seattle, as well as commuter traffic.

I do find it facinating that Vancouver made the conscious decision not to build a freeway through the heart of the city north/south and the freeways simply end into arterials. That end of 99 onto Oak St is always striking. Takes forever to get to West Van...but I'm patient...

 

[KevinMalone]

The problem is there is no standardized method to compare various brands of filters and their charcoal content and capabilities. How do you know the Bosch ones are any better? The details of the study showed that they tested six oem and nine aftermarket filters. Eleven of the fifteen total satisfied standards for particulate matter filtration, but "only one ACAF satisfied the standard guidelines for gas removal performance of both n-butane and toluene." So even OEM may not be any better at odor removal.

The reason they fail, is that logically the charcoal become saturated with pollutants and cannot absorb any further.

I sell activated charcoal filters with our medical equipment to absorb chemical vapors. Our filters have four inch pleats and we have studies to verify their effectiveness. We recommend 6 month change intervals and they cost $180 each...they are about 18"x 30"x 4".

You're right, I just assumed that the Bosch would more than likely be better than a no name filter but charcoal filters in this application seem mostly useless.

I don't even bother using charcoal filters on our home air purifiers - not a lot of VOCs in your average home, they can reduce the purifier's CADR and I'm not even sure how effective they would be.