Installing a cold air intake system is one of the surest ways to improve your car engine power. If you would like the car to run more efficiently, the intake system will deliver that to you.
But how does it work to achieve all these?
In this article, we will discuss how cold air works and some of the benefits you will enjoy by installing it over your car.
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
What Does a Cold Air Intake Do?
A cold air intake is a performance modification that is designed to bring cooler air into the engine. Cooler air is denser and contains more oxygen, which can help to improve engine performance and efficiency. Cold air intakes can be installed on a variety of vehicles to increase horsepower and torque, and may also improve fuel economy.
How A Cold Air Intake Works
The cold air intake has it’s air filter outside the engine compartment. This ensures that the intake only takes the air that is cold from outside into the engine combustion chamber.
Cooler air comes with oxygen, which is denser and is easily supplied when it’s cool. As a result, the cold air intake provides a large percentage of oxygen, which is required in combustion.
The filters of cold air intake are usually placed in an area with cooler air and less hot air from the car engine. Mostly, the filter is placed around the upper wheel area next to the fender. Here there is good access to free-flowing air.
A cold air intake works by reducing the temperature of air supplied to the combustion chamber. The other thing that it does is to supply more oxygen into the combustion chamber.
Benefits Of Cold Air Intake
You might be wondering why it is important to have cold air intake and not just any other air intake for your car. The truth is, cold air intake offers more benefits than the normal air intake.
Whether your car is new or old, you will still get significant improvements when you use a cold air intake.
The following are the major benefits you will get from a cold air intake.
I. Additional Horsepower
Your car horsepower is determined the fuel combustion. If the engine can burn as much fuel as possible, it would give a higher horsepower. The rate of combustion should also be high to facilitate fast combustion.
In short, your engine output is determined by the oxygen supplied to the combustion chamber.
Therefore, having a cold air intake it ensures that there is more air supplied to the combustion chamber. As a result, fuel burns faster and efficiently.
It allows more cold air into the combustion chamber, which is more efficient than having warm air in the combustion chamber.
A cold air intake improves the Horsepower with an extra 5 to 12 HP. This is the amount of horsepower increase that you should expect when you install a cold air intake.
The level of horsepower improvement will also be dependent upon your car’s configuration.
II. Gas Mileage Improvement
This is another amazing benefit that you will get from a cold air intake.
The main thing that a cold air intake does is to improve air supply in the combustion chamber. It might not look obvious, but here is a simple explanation of the process.
A cold air intake supplies the car engine with a cold and continuous air supply. The combustion chamber gets more oxygen.
Oxygen is needed to complete combustion in the engine.
Therefore, if there is sufficient oxygen being supplied in the combustion chamber, the fuel burns efficiently.
An efficient burning reduces wastages. A great percentage of the fuel is used in the engine instead of turning out to be waste.
In short, good air circulation optimizes the combustion cycle, which in turn reduces the amount of fuel your car consumes.
III. Saves On Filter Expenditure
The normal air intake comes with a filter that requires replacement after every 15,000 miles. This is because the filter gets overwhelmed after a short time.
However, with a cold air intake, the filters don’t regularly need replacements. Most cold air intakes come with filters that need cleaning after using them for about 40,000 miles. You just clean the filter and return it to the intake chamber.
When your cold air filter gets saturated, you only need to use soapy water and rinse it thoroughly with clean water. This will clean the filter and restore it to its original form.
As a result, you will have saved much on the cost of buying new filters for your exhaust system.
IV. Improves Engine Sound
The cold air intake works by improving your engine performance. As the engine performance improves, you get a better sound coming through the exhaust system.
An effective cold air intake system makes the system quiet.
For people who love certain growl or roar from the engine, cold air intake is a perfect choice. In the market, you will find different air intake systems that deliver different sound pitches. So, you can easily choose what feels good with you.
The change in sound is a result of intense airflow that comes with improved exhaust system performance.
Types of Cold Air Intake
You also need to think about the style of design on which your cold air intake works. Basically, you will get it in three types – True cold air intake system, short ram system, and ram air intake.
True Cold Air Intake: This is a design that puts more emphasis on keeping the air filter furthest. As a result, it draws air from the outside engine and gives a denser and cooler air. The true cold air intake system produces more cold airflow than any other design. This design is usually the most expensive and difficult to install due to its more piping. However, it gives the best performance over the other systems.
Short Ram System: This is a system that comes with a new smooth pipe equipped with an open-element air filter. It gives a short and smooth path of air to your engine. The system is cheaper and easy to install than the truly cold air intake. However, it’s designed requires fabrication work to install. It also gives less torque and Horsepower as compared to the cold air intake.
Ram Air Intake: The Ram air intake functions almost the same with a cold air intake system. The only difference is that the air filter is at the back of the system and has longer tubes. These two factors are helpful when on high speed – it draws large air volume, which improves engine power.
Best Cold Air Intake Systems To Buy Today
S&B Filters 75-5094 Cold Air Intake
- Provides 42% more airflow
- Custom heat shield
- Durable
- Increases Horsepower
- A free-flowing high-density polyethylene tube
- Easy to Install
- Improves Horsepower
- Durable with high quality polished aluminum tubes
- Easy to install
- Great cooling effects
- Durable
- Accommodate engine movements
aFe Stage 2 Pro-5R Cold Air Intake System
- Increase airflow by 105%
- Solid heat shield
- High-temperature silicone couplings
Do cold air intakes really make a difference?
Yes, cold air intakes can enhance engine performance by supplying cooler, denser air, leading to increased horsepower and improved fuel efficiency.
What are the benefits of cold air intake?
Cold air intake benefits include better engine performance, increased horsepower, enhanced throttle response, and improved fuel economy.
Is it worth putting in a cold air intake?
Installing a cold air intake is worth it for the performance improvements, increased horsepower, and fuel efficiency gains it provides.
Does cold air intake increase HP?
Cold air intakes can boost horsepower by delivering denser, cooler air to the engine, enhancing its combustion process.
Parting Shot
A cold air intake will improve the overall performance of your car. So, if you have been debating whether to buy it or not, now everything should be clear. Buy a cold air intake that fits on your car engine and enjoy the car improvement.
