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Originally Posted by WVGasGuy
First they say dirty air filters don't affect FE, that it just makes the car more sluggish. Then they say it simply causes the engine to reduce the amount of fuel being used.
I'm not sure these guys are mechanical engineers but it seems like what they are really saying is if one whould clog up their air filter then your auto's computer will decrease the amount of fuel to the engine and increase your FE? I know that's not what they meant, but it sounds like they have conflicting statements?
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There is a missing part of the equation that links the two statements. The driver's gas pedal foot. If restricted airflow results in less fuel being used, most drivers respond by pushing down more on the pedal thus compensating for the reduced air/fuel flow. I think what was meant was "for a given throttle position" a plugged air filter simply results in less air/fuel, but in real world the driver compensates and therefore in the end no real difference occurs (unless the driver spends quite a bit of time with the pedal on the floor.