Archive for September 27th, 2007

Recently, i made friends with a top class mechanic from Australia.

Craig Wilson has ten years experience repairing and maintaining all types of vehicles, 4 years of those as owner of his own workshop.

Today he has agreed to give you, dear reader, priceless advice on what to look for when choosing a cold air intake system.

Remember, this advice is PRICELESS and you’ll have to thank Craig for that!

Take it away, mate.

 The Cold Air Intake…what you need to know to get 110% out of it!

By Craig Wilson 

To understand how a cold air intake is beneficial to engine output we first have to understand the theory behind them. Basically the cooler the air the more dense it becomes and the more oxygen it carries.

A fuel/air mix that is rich in cool, dense air is burnt faster and cleaner which produces more power which in turn produces more fun for you!

Combine a cold air intake with a free-flowing air filter and the results can be even more surprising.

There are however several things to keep in mind when looking at intake mods for your car. The good ‘ol pod filter is a popular choice to replace your factory air filter and although they do have their benefits, my opinion is that without a heat shield or cold air duct they can rob you of some horsepower.

Let me explain that a bit before you go telling all your mates that this guy on the internet says that pod filters are crap!

The majority of factory air boxes have an intake that is positioned at or close to the front of the car. This allows the engine to breathe relatively cool air that is around the front of the car.

Ripping out the airbox and replacing it with a pod filter does two things. Yes it will increase your airflow above and beyond what the original air filter could allow but it also places the filter further back in the engine bay which, you guessed it, has higher air temperatures than at the front of the car.

Many people will argue that the temperature increase is minimal and the increased airflow is enough to keep them happy. The ultimate set-up in this case would be a pod filter that is separated from the rest of the engine bay in it’s own heat resistant box and fed air from a cold air intake.

Another common mistake that I see is people fitting the ‘mouth’ of the cold air intake low down on the car, say behind a vent in the front bar. This is great if you plan on never driving through any puddles or if like me you live in Australia and there is no rain anyway, but in the real world this needs to be taken into consideration when searching for the right intake for your car.

If too much water is sucked into the air intake that expensive engine can end up a pile of junk. Water is not able to be compressed and when the piston comes up on it’s compression stroke something has to give and it is usually a conrod or piston that cries ‘enough!’

Although the designers of modern vehicles are cottoning on to the benefits of cold air induction they still have a long way to go to match the performance that an aftermarket system can provide.

The designers of the aftermarket units know where to find the coolest air and with the use of ABS plastic they can design a system that is easy to fit.

With a little bit of ingenuity and planning it is possible to manufacture your own cold air intake from scratch, however there are plenty of companies offering excellent kits to suit just about any vehicle.

K&N has a good range of replacement, free-flowing filters and complete cold air intake systems that can be fitted by anyone with basic mechanical skills. Having had fitted many of these systems over the years I can honestly say that you will be surprised at the results from such a simple modification.

Cheers,

Craig