removed air filter to see if it needed a new one...how much longer can i go on this? do i need to replace now?

 

shine a flashlight through it. if you can see light your still good. but looking at the picture i'd your still good for a while.

 

Does not look dirty at all.

 

Several years depending on your conditions. That looks like a month's worth of driving around here. I change mine every 3 years.

The stock airfilter when new can fail the light test. I live in a very dusty area and I get at least 30,000 miles out of it.

 

Or a month's worth of driving in New York City!

I still change mine once a year.
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My normal MPG has been 29 +/- 2or 3 tenths. It dropped to 27 a few months ago, changed the filter & 1st tank went right back to 29.

 

The air filter makes no difference in mpg. It's impossible. A dirty filter can only affect power at full throttle and it would have to be extremely dirty before it hurts power.

 

What ever,,, but the proof is in the pudding.

 

It's the testing that's flawed. It's not just my opinion, I can send you a link to a government study saying the same. Dirty air filters killed mpg in carbureted cars. Not so in fuel injected cars.

 

And on top of that its near impossible to quantify 2 MPG difference .. driving conditions, temp, humidity, atmospheric pressure etc etc etc... never mind the "whatever" .