A cold air intake system draws cold air from outside the engine compartment, generating more power with minimal cost. Aftermarket systems use a free breathing air filter and a better location for the flow of cooler air. The factory offers a cold air intake kit for vehicle owners to improve performance.
A cold air intake is an air intake system that takes the intake air charge from outside the engine compartment. Most factory air intake breathers are placed within the confines of the engine compartment where the intake air charge consists of hot air. By installing a cold air intake on a vehicle and drawing cold air from outside the engine compartment, a vehicle can pick up power and have a noticeable feeling of added power and throttle response. Typical cold air intake is directed under the vehicle near the bottom of the front bumper or into the front fender near the wheel well.
The colder the intake air charge, the more power the engine will make. Cold air intake systems use this fact to generate more power with a minimal amount of work and cost to the vehicle owner. The factory air box and intake tube are restrictive and ineffective when it comes to performance. Many aftermarket cold air intakes use a part of the factory intake system and add a section that is redirected to a better location in the flow of cooler air. Others use a completely recreated system with as few twists and turns as possible. Both types of cold air intakes typically use a different free breathing air filter.
The free breathing air filter is often worth several power units on its own. The factory air breather and air filter often have a small, flat design that hinders airflow and creates blockage of the intake air charge. This intake air charge acts much like the ram air systems of the 1960s, where cold air was actually drawn into the engine by placing the cold air intake tube at the front of the vehicle. As the vehicle was driven, the forward-facing intake openings would collect air and force it into the engine. The ram air system was perhaps the first cold air intake system.
Other early attempts to force cold air into an engine were found in the use of hood scoops. An extractor hood has a forward opening and allows air to enter the engine while the vehicle is being driven. The deterioration of the volume and visibility of the hood scoop forced the development of the internal cold air intake system, popular in vehicles around the world today. In most cases, the factory offers a cold air intake kit for the vehicle owner to add to their vehicle and improve performance themselves.
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