The saying “ignorance is bliss” can often be applied to a variety of things in modern life, such as dust mites, the inner workings of salt mines, and sewage systems. However, the saying definitely doesn’t apply when it comes to a variety of systems in your vehicle. Take your cold air intake system as an example. The different parts of the air intake system are responsible for giving you a car, truck, or SUV that is powerful and fuel efficient; this is done by making the delivery of air more streamlined and efficient as it travels to your engine. There are a number of different upgrades and performance enhancements you can perform with your vehicle, but perhaps the one that will provide the most noticeable increase in power is the addition of a cold air intake system. If you are looking to get the most performance and efficiency from your vehicle, whether it is a car, an SUV, or a truck, you will need to know more than this about these systems.
The first thing to keep in mind is the intake manifold. This device is responsible for supplying the correct mixture of fuel and air to the cylinders inside your engine. It is essential for this mixture to be distributed evenly to each of the intake ports located in the heads of the cylinders; this is because this mixture is what combusts inside the engine and results in the power your engine delivers to your crankshaft to move your vehicle. An air intake helps you streamline this process several times over, and results in an increase of horsepower (the energy your engine has available to power the vehicle) and the overall efficiency of your engine (which will typically be an internal combustion engine). This is done by drawing in cool air.
Now that you have an idea of the process that goes into powering an engine and the advantages that a cold air intake system can offer, it’s time to go into more detail about the differences you can expect between stock systems and the counterparts you can purchase and install afterward. The stock system that came with your vehicle was designed primarily to reduce the noise that resulted from the engine. As a result, they tend to be restrictive when it comes to performance, as they are not designed with performance in mind. They are made with a series of twists and turns and chambers that are designed to muffle sound and noise, which is good, but in the process, they tend to restrict airflow, which results in decreases in available power. Cold air intake systems, in contrast, are designed to increase the amount of oxygen your engine has available to mix with fuel for combustion. This is similar to how your body consumes more oxygen when you are exerting it through exercise. If you think of your vehicle’s engine as a mechanical equivalent of your lungs and your heart, the analogy becomes clearer. The more air you put into the body, the higher the level of performance you can expect from the vehicle.
There are a wide variety of shapes, styles, and sizes for cold air intake systems on the market today, and most intake systems are relatively easy to install compared to a number of other performance upgrades. When you install a cold air intake system, your stock components will be completely replaced, and you can expect a boost in horsepower within the range of 5 to 11 additional horses. Additionally, you can couple a cold air intake system with a number of throttle body spacers, resulting in even greater levels of performance. This is done by spinning the air that enters the engine at significantly higher speeds, which results in turn in more optimal air to fuel ratios. Finally, while the process of installation will naturally vary from one vehicle to another, you can typically complete an installation in an hour and in some cases in as little as 15 minutes.