This kid is a moron...
- Thread starter 79cutlasssalon442
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The thing is, almost EVERY factory vehicle already has a "cold air intake". Most of the time all you're doing when you buy an aftermarket CAI is getting rid of a lot of the extra plumbing and baffles that were put there by the factory to help reduce engine noise.
When I put the GMPP CAI on my truck it still pulled the outside air from the same location. It just replaced all of the baffles, etc. with a fancy powder coated aluminum tube. Did it give any noticeable power increase? Not likely but it did make the engine sound louder. Pretty much the same effect as adding an open element air filter back in the day. They didn't necessarily add any power but they made the engine sound louder.
But I will give you that unless you seal the open element filter to a cowl, ram air, etc. hood then you're not really gaining anything over a factory air cleaner with the snorkel that runs up next to the radiator.
I've found a lot of people even screw up the CAI installs. Installing the plumbing and then leaving the filter exposed to underhood heat. I had a friend once that bought a Dodge ram pickup who the previous owner replaced the factory air box and associated plumbing with some universal CAI crap because it was "shiny" and "racy" looking. But he had the air filter sitting right above the passenger side exhaust manifold. I guarantee that was no better than a stock setup.
When I put the GMPP CAI on my truck it still pulled the outside air from the same location. It just replaced all of the baffles, etc. with a fancy powder coated aluminum tube. Did it give any noticeable power increase? Not likely but it did make the engine sound louder. Pretty much the same effect as adding an open element air filter back in the day. They didn't necessarily add any power but they made the engine sound louder.
But I will give you that unless you seal the open element filter to a cowl, ram air, etc. hood then you're not really gaining anything over a factory air cleaner with the snorkel that runs up next to the radiator.
I've found a lot of people even screw up the CAI installs. Installing the plumbing and then leaving the filter exposed to underhood heat. I had a friend once that bought a Dodge ram pickup who the previous owner replaced the factory air box and associated plumbing with some universal CAI crap because it was "shiny" and "racy" looking. But he had the air filter sitting right above the passenger side exhaust manifold. I guarantee that was no better than a stock setup.
There is no longer the need for high temperature intake air anymore.
Most carb equipped engines had a duct to the exhaust manifold to draw hot air into the air filter, this was to help vaporise the fuel and stop it condensing on the manifold wall.
The British BMC "A" and "B" series engines had the intake manifold siamesed to the exhaust manifold, no worries about fuel condensation, the choke (manual of course) would go in early, and they gave good mileage. other makes of engine had winter and summer settings for the air intake snorkel, pointing at the exhaust manifold for winter, away from it for summer. Others has a water jacket heating the manifold. I'm talking about L4 engines btw.
But with port injected engines fuel condenswation is not a problem anymore, so engines are built for clean running and fuel efficiency without the headaches a carburettor would give the designers.
Modern engines produce unimaginable quantities of reliable horsepower for very little fuel compared to old fashioned American V8s, progress isn't necessarily a bad thing. But I like my lazy engine effortlessly wafting me along, and if I pay for this at the pump, and will get blown into the weeds by some car with a lawn mower size engine then it's a price I don't mind paying.
Roger.
Most carb equipped engines had a duct to the exhaust manifold to draw hot air into the air filter, this was to help vaporise the fuel and stop it condensing on the manifold wall.
The British BMC "A" and "B" series engines had the intake manifold siamesed to the exhaust manifold, no worries about fuel condensation, the choke (manual of course) would go in early, and they gave good mileage. other makes of engine had winter and summer settings for the air intake snorkel, pointing at the exhaust manifold for winter, away from it for summer. Others has a water jacket heating the manifold. I'm talking about L4 engines btw.
But with port injected engines fuel condenswation is not a problem anymore, so engines are built for clean running and fuel efficiency without the headaches a carburettor would give the designers.
Modern engines produce unimaginable quantities of reliable horsepower for very little fuel compared to old fashioned American V8s, progress isn't necessarily a bad thing. But I like my lazy engine effortlessly wafting me along, and if I pay for this at the pump, and will get blown into the weeds by some car with a lawn mower size engine then it's a price I don't mind paying.
Roger.
Many aftermarket CAIs, can cause turbulence that messes up the MAF sensor readings and slow down airflow creating driving problems. The reason for those baffles is to smooth out the airflow and reduce turbulence. There have been many cases where cars and trucks ran better with stock intakes over aftermarket intakes. Dry flow intakes like port injection have hotter intake manifolds that heats the charge air more than older wet flow intakes such as carbs and TBI where the liquid fuel cools the intake manifold. This is why dry flow fuel systems benefits more from CAI than wet flow fuel systems.
Also it is easier for smaller engines to reach or exceed the HP per CI ratio due to physics, however that doesn't mean larger engines can't make more power than smaller engines. It is just the HP per CI ratio is really apples to oranges when comparing small to large CID engines with that ratio, it is meaningless. The ratio that does matter is HP to weight ratio of a car, in which case smaller cars have the advantage of less weight (mass) and less surface area which leads to less aerodynamic drag than with a larger car that has more mass and surface area = more drag.
Also it is easier for smaller engines to reach or exceed the HP per CI ratio due to physics, however that doesn't mean larger engines can't make more power than smaller engines. It is just the HP per CI ratio is really apples to oranges when comparing small to large CID engines with that ratio, it is meaningless. The ratio that does matter is HP to weight ratio of a car, in which case smaller cars have the advantage of less weight (mass) and less surface area which leads to less aerodynamic drag than with a larger car that has more mass and surface area = more drag.
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