Cold Air Makes for a Hot Ride
Ask any gearhead and they will tell you that one of the main keys to better engine performance is efficiency. In this article we'll run you through the basics. Why does an aftermarket performance air intake make sense? In a nutshell, an engine breathes in air and adds gasoline, compresses the air/fuel mixture, produces an explosion, and expels the exhaust. For this segment it's all about the first of these steps. If you were paying attention during physics class, you'd remember that gases expand as they warm up, and get denser as they cool. In essence, this principle is what drives your engine: the denser the initial breath of air is the larger the explosion in the combustion chamber leading to, you guessed it, more power!
Now, you've hopefully taken a look at your stock airbox, which leaves a lot of room for improvement... Its big, its ugly, it harnesses the all mightyness of a paper air filter, and worst of all restricts you from hearing the sweet symphony produced by your factory equipped under hood sound system. Now that we've flattered your airbox let's look at the possible replacements.
Taking the step of removing your factory air intake system has an excellent value for money ratio and as a result is often the first modification enthusiasts do to their new projects. Your new intake will allow colder air in larger amounts into your engine. For reference think of drinking soda with a stir straw vs. a regular straw, larger diameter equals more flow. Depending on your budget there are 2 routes you can take: Short Ram Intake or Cold Air Intake.
A Short Ram Intake which is often referred to as a warm air intake, positions the filter inside the engine bay, but at a point as far away from the warm engine as room allows. Although this setup still takes in hot air, a short ram intake has less restrictions and uses a higher flowing filter allowing air to flow much more freely into your engine. The result? Depending on what you buy, about a 4-8 peak hp gain depending on car and other modifications. It may not sound like much but take into account that you will be gaining power from 2000 rpm until redline, meaning your car will be quicker everywhere in the powerband.
A cold air intake (aka CAI) typically has a longer pipe and its filter is positioned low in the engine bay, close to the ground where it can suck in the rushing air that has not been heated by underhood operating temps. Cold air intakes provide significantly larger gains then a short ram, on some applications gains of up to 15 peak hp have been recorded although this won't be the case for every car out there.
So how hard is it to install? This is a relatively easy do-it-yourself job. The vast majority are plug and play so don't worry about having to modify your engine bay any more then swapping intakes.
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