Your RC car needs to run smoothly so it can be the king of the race track. An air filter is an extremely important component of a nitro engine, as your RC car requires a mixture of clean air and fuel so it can provide power to your RC car.
Your engine requires a steady and constant flow of clean air for smooth running, so the air filter is practically a line of defense which protects the engine and makes sure that it functions optimally.
Basically, an air filter keeps the dirt away or other debris from entering into the engine. They can seriously harm your engine and alter your car’s performance. That’s why it is extremely important to keep your air filter safe and clean. You should clean your air filter regularly, but it is also recommended to replace it entirely once in a while if it is highly used. Moreover, it’s also important to apply oil in the air filter in the right manner. Another important factor which influences your engine’s performance has to do with the right filter for your car. Choosing the best model suited for your RC car will highly improve your engine’s performance.
There are three types of air filter available on the market. The most common type is the foam air filter, which uses foam filter oil. These ones should not contain solvents as filters, because they tend to disintegrate if you use filter oils with solvents on them. There are also two types of foam filters, the single-stage ones, and the dual-stage filters. The single ones contain a single core used to filter dust, dirt or other debris. The dual-stage filters have two layers of protection, with the extra one being thick so it can block smaller particles.
The second type of air filters are the cotton air filter, which are the most common replacements to foam air filters, but they have less air resistance. The paper air filters are the third type of air filters available on the market, but they are not recommended for off-road nitro RC cars. Though they are favored by some RC cars with extra airflow.
So, how do you clean your air filter? Since it is an extremely important part of your RC car, you should be very thorough when performing the cleaning operation. A little cleaning effort and your RC car will be at optimal performance. For this operation, you will need a bowl of soapy water, some paper towels, compressed air, and air filter oil.
First, you need to remove the air filter from your engine’s carburetor. It’s easy: you just twist it slightly and pull it off. Just be careful not to damage the inlet to the carburetor. Next, you should disassemble the filter, by separating all the part, including the foam insert, which is the part that captures the most dirt and dust.
The next step is washing all the pars thoroughly with the soapy water, including the exterior part of the filter which has a screen that helps the filter catch most of the debris. After you washed all the parts, you need to rinse them so you remove all the soap from the foam insert. You should also squeeze all the excess water. Dry out all the parts and if you want to speed up the process, you should use some compressed air.
The next step is putting oil into the air filter. Apply 40 drops of air filter oil on the foam insert and make sure that the foam is coated before you insert it back into the air filter with the coated side up. The foam insert has to make contact with the filter’s screen. You’re just about done: you just need to reassemble all the parts together before placing the air filter in its place.
As you can see, cleaning an air filter is very simple to do. It can even save you the money you would spend on replacing an air filter. It’s great that they are not really expensive, but if maintenance is required too often, you should choose to buy a new one.
