Some Subaru WRX owner used a furnace filter lying around to “breathe some new life” into his cabin’s filtration system but is it as dumb as the caption on this photo makes it out to be?

Cabin Air Filters are great because they keep arguably the most important part of a car supplied with fresh and clean air, the driver! But, what do you do when you’d rather spend what money you have left on gas and not a fancy cabin air filter? According to low-key one of my favorite Facebook groups on the internet Car Dealership life and their post submitted their way earlier yesterday (Apr. 22, 2019) you use a bit of house furnace filter you’ve got lying around, cut it up to size, and stick it in your cabin air filter box lickety-split.

Here’s the offending photo below.

I have to admit at first glance I really thought it was an engine filter and for sure you don’t want to mess with the delicate balance of filtered air that Subaru engineers have specified for those boxers but according to the comments, this one you stick in the cabin air filter box.

A quick check on Amazon reveals you can get one of these brand new for around $25. At a dealership, prepare to spend around $50. So, it’s kind of understandable to see why someone would want to skip on getting a genuine one.

In-car cabin air filters are a bit more heavy duty when compared to regular house air filters. House filters are presumably a lot more free-flowing as they only have to remove particulate matter from the air of a particular size. Cabin air filters, however, are a bit thicker material and with more pleats. These Subaru ones, “removes millions of microscopic pollutants and dust particles.”

It stands to reason that, in the absence of any filter, something is better than nothing. While this furnace filter won’t suck out pollutants like the genuine Subaru one, if you live in a place with relatively clean air like California beach cities or other coastal places, genuine cabin air filters aren’t probably a priority and you can probably get away with this hack.

But, if you live in a heavily pollluted area like mid-town Manhattan, Fresno, or any place you’re idling in traffic for extended periods of time, it would probably behoove you to buy the real thing.

If it works, it isn’t stupid is what I say

What do all y’all think about this “hack?” Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Car Dealership Life