Whether we’re talking about a street car, a racecar or even a tow vehicle, one of the easiest-to-install and most cost-effective performance parts we can add to it is a cold-air intake. They have become so ubiquitous because they work well enough that we don’t even ask why or how.
We wanted to know more, so we asked a lot of how and why questions, and what we learned was eye-opening. We spoke with engineers from K&N and Corsa Performance, two industry leaders in the air intake business, and we learned a lot. Read on and you will, too.
Cold air intakes have been around a long time. Think muscle cars with hood scoops. A lot has changed since then, specifically emissions regulations and more precise fuel-delivery systems, but the best intake systems are based on the same principles, and the math and science behind them is as fascinating as it is instructional.
Temperature
The whole point of a cold air intake is to get colder air, which is denser, and holds more oxygen for a given volume. The colder, the better. But there is no formula or rule of thumb that will tell us how much of a power increase to expect with a given decrease in temperature. There are many variables.
“There’s not one standard scale that we use that will show that if you have a decrease in temperature by X amount, you’ll gain Y amount in horsepower,” said Jonathan Fiello, vice president of product development and engineering for K&N Engineering in Riverside, Calif. “You’re going to see significant gains down low and then you’re going to see significant losses up high in terms of temperature, but the displacement of the engine has a big impact on it, and also the fuel being burned, the type of induction, whether it’s forced induction or naturally aspirated.”
Power gains are mapped by a dynamic curve, which is true about nearly everything in engine and intake arithmetic. It’s not a linear scale. The math is a bit involved, but it helps explain a lot of the weird science behind systems we sometimes take for granted.
According to Daniel Marty, engineering manager for TMG Performance Products, parent company for Corsa Performance and Volant Performance in Berea, Ohio, to begin to calculate a prospective power gain, you take the initial temperature and divide by the colder temperature, then take the square root of that.
However, you must do it in the Rankine scale, not Fahrenheit, so you add 460 degrees to the Fahrenheit temperatures to get Rankine. Say, for example, you’re talking about the difference between 100-degree air and 70-degree air, once you did all the math, you get a 2.8 percent increase in power for that 30-degree difference. Easy, right? Not exactly.
“Not every 30-degree temperature change produces 2.8 percent, because it’s the ratio of the absolute temperatures. So, if you were to slide up the scale and say the difference between 250 and 220 degrees (Fahrenheit), it’s going to be a smaller improvement, because you’re dividing that same difference by a larger number,” Marty said. “And then square rooting that, so the colder you get it, the more that temperature matters. So, it’s not based on temperature difference. It’s based on temperature ratio and the square root of that ratio. And that’s just not very intuitive. The simplest thing, of course, is to think colder is better.”
If you consider the environment of a racecar on a track, the temperatures are not likely to be what you would consider “cold,” and they might not be that far apart, diminishing expected performance gains as outlined in the examples above.
Say the under-hood temperature of a racecar at speed is 180 degrees. Air from the outside is considerably cooler, but we race in the summer, when ambient temperatures are still pretty hot. Say it’s 90 degrees. So, the ambient temperatures are still hot enough that the incoming air isn’t cold at all. Eighty degrees is better than 180 degrees, but after you do the math, the power increase is roughly 4 percent, best case scenario. Not a lot, but you’ll take it.
But there is another critical element to cold air intakes for making power, and that comes in the form of increased and improved air flow.
Air Flow
A cold-air intake that restricts air flow compared with a stock system will nullify all the benefits of decreased air intake temperatures. For a system to be effective, a system must ensure the volume of cold air coming in is equal to or better than the volume of air you were getting with the stock system. Fiello and Marty point out that is becoming more challenging as OEM systems improve. In fact, many OEM systems already are cold air intake systems.
The key to gaining power from air flow is to minimize disruptions and obstructions to achieve laminar air flow, that is, any airstream that is flowing in a largely parallel path, according to Marty, and to increase the volume of air going into the engine, which will require more fuel to make additional power. Laminar air flow is the most effective in the subsonic world.
There is a limit to what a stock engine control system will accommodate, particularly when you are talking about newer cars. Fiello said that as fuel economy and emissions standards tighten, factory fuel trim windows have narrowed. Kits that produce significantly greater air flow often require a new tune, something you’d get from companies like HPTuners, HyperTech, Cobb, etc.
The math for air flow is much simpler and the power gains greater, Marty said. “If, for instance, there’s a restriction in your intake that’s causing, let’s say even just a 5 percent increase in pressure drop through that intake system, and you could get that down to 1 percent pressure drop, that pressure drop, you’re not talking about a square root function now. You’re talking about a ratio. So, you get more power proportionally from a relatively small change in restriction, than you get from a relatively small change in temperature.”
If you drive your street car in HPDE, most of the cold air intakes you’ll find have been engineered for you, top to bottom. They have been tested to take in colder air, reduce restriction and meet emissions standards. If you’re designing a system on your own for racing, the science behind air intake systems provide a few rules to live by.
Racing
Fiello said the simplest way to pick up a little more power is to us a freer-flowing air filter, something K&N has specialized in for decades. Off-road racing trucks and dirt-track cars need significant air filtration media, but a road racing car that — presumably — stays on track doesn’t need as much. So instead of having four layers of oiled cotton gauze, you might only need two layers of cotton, with no oil on it, which would result in freer air flow.
When routing your intake tubing, use larger tubing than stock, minimize bends — think increased radius — and have it pick up its air from as fresh and unobstructed a place as possible. The air ducts that take the place of the left headlight on the BMW E36 and E46 are great examples. Fender wells might have cooler air than under the hood, but there are lot of pitfalls there. Brakes emit heat and dust, and there’s a lot of turbulence in a fender well.
“So, number one, don’t overthink filtration,” Fiello said. “And number two, make it as simple and as least restrictive as possible.”
Also remember to keep the number of joints to a minimum. Each time you have a joint in intake tubing, you have a potential disruption point in that sacred laminar air flow.
“We tend to make up for that in the aftermarket by paying more attention to making sure wherever we have a joint, that it’s a minimal disruption. So, if it’s a silicone hose over a duct, in really good system you’ll see the silicone hose has a recess for the duct to fit into,” Marty said. “But it’s not something you will see in a cheap Chinese thing, by the way.”
Do an air intake system well enough, and you might need a tune because it’s outside the fuel parameters of what a stock tune will flow. That’s because OEM engineers have a lot more restrictions placed on them. Emissions and fuel economy are big ones, for sure, but so are things like packaging and intake noise, which some customers don’t want to hear.
“The advantage of a cold air intake system is that cold air, but it’s also the reduction of restriction,” Marty said. “The reduction of restriction though, mostly matters when your foot’s on the floor, because that’s when the system’s wide open and it wants the most air and most of the pressure drop through the intake system is through the parts that we’re thinking about.”
This seems way to simplified, in my experience biggest difference is the change in throat diameter or air flow profile at the Mass air meter? More often than not when I put the bore gauge in a cold air intake the throat diameter does not match the OEM or a change in the intake modifies the flow pattern across the MAF. I have attributed the large gains found with intakes to be largely associated with the modification the VE tables from manipulation of the MAF evident when data logging on the dyno before and after installation.
The days are long gone when bolting on a CAI nets huge increases in HP/TQ on a stock engine.
Testing on the Civic Type-R intake for example has shown that simply replacing the stock filter with a K&N drop-in netted the best ROI vs full-blown CAIs.
People paying ridiculous money for CAIs is foolish IMHO
These are not cold intake systems! Cold intake is when theres a pipe routed to the exterior of the vehicle drawing in cold uninterrupted air!
I agree with Tony! Any books-on system that has box under the hood with a bigger filter is not a cold air intake!! My 2012 Fiat ABARTH 500 (turbocharged), has a TRUE cold air intake which I made. It gets it’s air they the fog light holes (I removed the food lights). So it’s only 12inches off the ground, typically cooler… AND it’s RAM AIR…full force, like the race car headlight intakes they spoke about. As far as ducting goes? I used DWV (that stands for drain waste and vent pipe), yup, plumbing pipe. Non temp-absorbing plastic with SMOOTH JOINTS made for laminar, unobstructed water flow!! These two intakes are joined through a wye joint that combines both seamlessly, feeding them into the stock filter box where any disturbances are removed by the air bring allowed to SLOW DOWN, PRESSURIZE and then make its way through a K&N filter and on to the turbo.
So at 65 degrees or lower there is NOTICEABLE increase in acceleration and has mileage. First night u tested it, at 65 degrees at 80mph I got 2 more miles per gallon than before at same temp, soeed and stretch of road.
The increase was enough that the car almost felt like it was in full sport mode (which takes it from 140, to 160HP).
Even on hot days there is a difference, although not as dramatic. Faster lap times in the track than before. And when the temps drop further than 65 degrees? You get more. Down to about 45 degrees.
The reason I kept the factory airbox? The turbo used to have to SUCK air in… NOW, it has a continuous column of PRESSURIZED air at it’s inlet.
The turbo runs as high as 18 pounds of boost for short periods so a retune isn’t necessary ’cause the turbo just gets it’s air without sucking (faster spool-up also)!
There is NO TURBULENCE in the system because the system can provide MORE air flow than the turbo could ever need once you’re over 15mph, so the system has no flow except what the turbo sips from the pressurized airbox reservoir.
Think of brake lines or liquid, if the system is FULL and it’s capacity is greater than the output and its under pressure… The liquid (or air in this case) moves very slowly. This slow movement And the seamless joints of the system with the airbox “reservoir” cause the air to move too slow to develop any real turbulence.
Again, ram air intake with fresh cold air is the ONLY true cold air intake system…
Mine cost about $65 in parts. The length of the piping? One is about 3 feet and the other is about five…
Any doubt that it is a pressurized system is removed when you see small gravel and insects in the filter box after going through a total of five bends in the longer pipe and three in the shorter pipe and after climbing 30 inches in height!!
Bottom line? If you’re not getting RAM AIR, straight into your inlet to your system from in front of the car… you ain’t got a cold air intake .. your intake may be bigger and have more gentle bends in it… But it still SUCKS (the air)!!! LOL
Keith
F1 cars have used ram air,its only worth 1 to 2 psi at 250 to 350 kph do you drive around at these speeds alot? ram air is more likely to have turbulance ,than low pressure ambient air temp,,anything half that of underbonnt temp is a cold air intake.
Keith again, sorry for the stupid typos!!!! I hate typing on a phone… I meant a “bolt on system” and I removed the “FOG” lights… first night “I” tested it… and, tested at “same temp, speed and stretch of road”…
I think that’s all of them… Again I apologize!! Keith
Iy depends on naturally aspirated tur o charges ect. Combiningbwith cat back exuast can or encloswd air box ect. Its all variables…and dont forget calonration(tunning)
Might want to actually show some cold air intakes then. The filter needs to be somewhere the engine bay is not…
My question always comes back to….if it help with HP and/or gas mileage, wouldn’t it come stock from car manufacturer? It would give an edge over competition.
My 2001 mustang keeps running like crap and dies. But it will start right back up and run for a bit again. Could it be the air flow system not working right
That’s doubtful, Rob. If you don’t have a check engine light, you might have a carbo-fouled idle air control valve or vacuum leaks.
I had in my 2012 Silverado 5.3 l for the last 18 months with a exhaust system that let’s more flow threw. I liked it a lot my fuel went from 18 to 23-25 mpg but I have gone threw 3 mass air sensors and one in each bank of my motor. So with another appointment on Monday for another mass air sensor being installed. I put my factory air box back on and the engine light came off . I will miss the mpg improvement but not changing sensors. I wonder if any one else had any issues?
Could be air mass flow sensor not work5it controls fuel mixers in how much air getting
I think a CAI on a turbo or supercharge engine is a waste of money…because the turbo will heat up the cold air way past the income air temperature,, thus negating CAI efficiency…Past the turbo, you go to the intercooler, which is the real place the air gets cooler…Bolt on a BIG ASS intercooler, and tune the intake to it and you will see far better results
Grandpa Bill, Austin , Tx
Hi Graciosos Grandpa Bill! You’re correct about where it’s best to chill the air on a turbo vehicle, however… Colette cooler air IS cooler air! If you reduce the air temp 15 degrees then it’s 15 degrees cooler and that makes it more dense (cooler air has higher density) so you increase performance.
Most “cold air intakes” are anything BUT!!! They don’t actually bring in the coldest air available because thier inlets are not positioned in the right place in most cases.
I created and installed a cold, RAM air intake in my turbocharged 2012 Abarth which not only brings in the coldest outside air available, it ALSO brings it in under PRESSURE because the TWO inlets are positioned down low in the grill facing directly forward where they receive direct air flow from the air being rammed into them by the forward movement of the vehicle!
The inlet holes are the two fog light openings in the grill. Then the air is ducted up and back into the engine compartment through smooth plastic tubing. The two separate ducts join through a “Y” fitting which combines the two air columns with no turbulence, then they enter the airbox where the filter is, thereby pressurizing it.
The faster you drive? The higher the pressure! This gives the turbo a pressurized supply of cold OUTSIDE air from close to the ground.
What does that mean? After a speed if 20mph, the turbo does not have to “suck” air in, NO! Instead it is being force fed the air.
So, due to the pressure of the air being forced into the turbo AND the fact the air is the coldest ambient air available, the turbo had less lag since the pressurized air helps accelerate the impeller AND the density of the incoming air is higher because it is ACTUALLY cooler for to the fact it is REAL outside air that is NOT coming in from the plenum area behind the grill out from a fenderwell.
When the ambient air temperature is 65 degrees or less, the performance goes up substantiality!
At 65 degrees outside ambient air temperature, gas mileage at 80mph cruise increases from 30, to 32mpg. And horsepower when you want to accelerate? That increases by 7%. At 60 degrees, it increases by 9%. When the outside air temp is 55 degrees? The horsepower goes up by 11% At 45 degrees it increases by 12.5%.
It seems to plateau after that but winter performance is phenomenal. And warm weather performance is improved also. On an average 75 degree day, you still get around 5% increase in horsepower or (when your foot is off the pedal in cruise, 1mpg increase).
Since the engine puts out 160 hp, that is a warm day increase of 8hp. WAY MORE than you could possibly get from a traditional, passive (not ram) “cold air” intake kit of any kind!
And cool day performance (or “evening performance”)? At 56 degrees you gain an extra 16hp!! or 2.5 mpg at cruise.
The plastic pipe components and the wye cost me a total of $56!!!
So two things Grandpa Bill! First, that is ready cheaper and easier to install than a larger intercooler and 2. The intercooler only lowes the air temperature. It does absolutely NOTHING to increase incoming air flow OR density BOTH of which improve the actual performance of the turbo itself!!
If money or hacking up your car is not a problem, then the best solution is to do BOTH things. Install a cold, RAM air intake system AND a larger intercooler!!
Hey Keith question
Yes?
Keith Hezmalhalch, do you have any problems with moisture with your solution? Like drivind in a hard rain behind other cars, you get some water into your RAM system, don’t you? I’m just searching for solution for the same car as you have. This is the only concern I have with RAM system.
Miha,
Hi. The answer is simple, No moisture is not a problem. The intake holes (where the fog lights were located) are only about 12inches above the pavement and the piping has to rise up to the filter box so right where the two inlet pipes join together (just to the left of the battery where the stock flexible hose used to attach to the frame) the height above the pavement is about 32inches. This is a rise of 20 inches and any water that gets in there is heavy enough that it simply runs back down the sides of the tubing and out the bottom inlets.
Also, on the drivers side (which is a shorter path) the air (and anything else) has to travel about 4 feet just to get to the air box in addition to rising up the 20inches or so. This means that only light weight objects can make it to the filter box. The only things I find in there when I clean the filter (K&N reuseable element), are insects and a few very small bits of gravel) The rest is just “dirt” if you will, ranging from dust particles like all systems have, up to the size of grains of sand.
I drive in what I would call an average assortment of roads and streets with some being quite heavily traveled and “dirt free” shall we say, while others (around 15% average) are more rural roads where there can be some fine dirt here or there occasoinally.
I mention this because when I clean the filter (which is about every 2000 to 2500 miles), there is a small amount of this heavier “dirt” (maybe a tablespoon TOTAL) deposited in the corner of the air box and on the filer element. The insects are usually on or in the folds of the filter element as would be expected.
so there you have it! Remember that the two openings are only about 2 1/4″ in diameter so it would take a torrential downpour of rain to introduce more than a few drops every few seconds into the system, and of course, this amount varies with my speed and how wide open the throttle is! If my foot isnt all the way to the floor creating a HUGE intake or air, then the system is rammed HARD with air pressure at 45 or more MPH or greater but…
the air FLOW is fairly slow, so you have a pressurized pipe if you will, filled with air under pressure but with not a fast rate of flow! This eliminates turbulence in the air flow as a problem. But also, the design with smooth DWV piping that was designed for smooth flow of drain water that is not under pressure and no places for debris to build up (because DWV is also carrying waste and debris!), using this type of piping further prevents turbulence from being created at any joints or bends!.
THEN, the beauty of my system over all the other aftermarket systems is…
wait for it… lol
that the factory air box acts as a collector. Because it is a large cavity, the air stream SLOWS WAY DOWN as it enters and collects as a MASS that is now passed through the large filter area at evenly and then passed into the single hose that heads for the turbo intake!
No system is perfect so there are small spots or imperfections that are here and there. BUT… the aftermarket systems have NO collection box where the air can gather and form a MASS that is barely moving, that dampens out any disturbances. WHY? because all the aftermarket systems have the FILTER located at the INTAKE end of the piping!
So, ONLY a system with a collection “box” can even out any turbulence or disruption in the air flow that occurs in the intake piping where it is moving faster.
ALSO, by having TWO INLETS and TWO piping systems that WYE together seamlessly (again, because of the drain-water piping design), you have a REDUNDANT system that has BACKUP incase one or the other of the two pipes is compromised in some way (plastic bag getting stuck as you drive down the road)!
REMEMBER! I DO have 1/2 hardware cloth (a very heavy-gauge wire”screen”) at BOTH ram air openings so that no larger debris (weeds, debris, animals, etc.) that could potentially clog the piping can get into the system!
Ive got about 30,000 hard driven miles on the system with no problems whatsoever and if you want, you can email me directly for more details about the components and design at [email protected]. I think I still have a few pictures I took during the installation, before I put the front body panel back on.
I hope you found that helpful! Keith