Cold Air Intakes - The Benefits

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Cold Air Intakes - The Benefits

Cold air intakes increase airflow into the combustion chamber.

Since the 1970s, vehicle manufacturers have been providing air intake systems with thermostats that help deliver warm air to cold engines and cold air to overheating engines. However, aftermarket manufacturers have been working on upgrades for the basic stock systems.

One of the best ways that truck owners can provide an aftermarket upgrade is with an aftermarket cold air intake.

There are two reasons that drivers add these aftermarket cold air intakes. The first reason is a cold air intake increases the power of a truck’s internal combustion engine. The second reason is a cold air intake bolsters the look of an engine bay.

Increased Power
As you could probably guess, cold air intakes are designed to give your engine cooler air. This is important because most vehicles have internal combustion engines that mix fuel and air in the combustion chamber to generate power. Now, if you can get more oxygen into this combustion chamber, there will be an increase in combustion and power. The best way to get more oxygen in there is by providing cooler air. Cooler air is denser and has a higher amount of pure oxygen, which means more of it will be packed in and more power will be produced for the engine.

Cold air intakes come in a variety of styles.

Different Styles
There are different styles of cold air intakes, but the most popular cold air intakes replace the stock air box with a short metal (or plastic) tube that leads to a conical air filter. This is often referred to as a Short Ram air intake. This system will increase air flow, but its power varies depending on how restrictive the factory air box is. Some other strategies used in designing a cold air intake include:

Increasing the diameter of the air intake, which leads to increased airflow

A smoother interior to reduce air resistance

A more direct route to the air intake. Many stock air intake systems provide winding intake tubes that reduce airflow.

Altering air intakes so maximum airflow is given at the most opportune RPM moments.

Better designed intakes utilize heat shields to keep the air filter isolated. This helps to keep the air (which is usually being directed from the front and side of the engine bay) cooler.

Another strategy that some manufacturers use is a carbon fiber piping instead of a metal piping because it lowers the weight and can be a better insulator.

Air intake systems can be composed from plastic, metal, rubber, fiberglass, carbon fiber, or Kevlar. All of these different styles are designed to improve the power of a truck while bringing a little extra style and nuance under the hood. For anybody looking to upgrade their vehicle, a cold air intake system is a good place to start. For more information on Cold Air Intakes and More visit us at 4WheelOnline.

By: Tim Snyder
Posted on October 3rd, 2013

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