Intakes are vital automobile components that work to bring oxygen – a key ingredient in an internal combustion reaction – into the engine’s combustion chamber to modulate how much oxygen mixes with burning fuel.
It sounds like a complex component. In reality, intakes are relatively easy to understand once you understand the greater intake system.
Let’s examine what an intake does so you can have a better appreciation for how your engine works the next time you step on the gas.
What is a Car Air Intake System?
In a standard internal combustion engine, there are three critical things your vehicle needs to produce energy and run efficiently:
- Oxygen
- Fuel
- A spark
Luckily, our atmosphere provides the right amount of oxygen for this process. That leaves us needing fuel and a spark to find the necessary power and energy for your car’s engine. However, air and fuel must be mixed before being exposed to the spark.
In simple terms, an air intake system delivers the air your car needs. It adds air into your car’s combustion cycle and straight into the engine. When this system is working correctly, your engine should have a continuous flow of air.
This constant air flow can lead to several advantages, including:
- Greater power
- More consistent power
- Improved gas mileage
Without an air intake system, your vehicle would suffer. As the engine compartment is flooded with warm air from the combustion process, the increased air flow helps to cool down the engine.
This cooler air allows your system to work as it should! Without this system in place, engine performance would significantly decline, fuel consumption would rise, and your car may not last very long.
The process of a car’s air intake system is as follows:
- The system brings air outside of the vehicle into the intake manifold of the engine.
- This air then mixes with fuel from your gas tank.
- The fuel/air mixture is ignited and pushed through your vehicle’s engine cylinders.
- This process creates physical energy, which helps your vehicle drive.
Without this process in place, there wouldn’t be a continuous internal combustion reaction. This would cause a very unstable vehicle overall, possibly leading to engine failure. That said, it’s important to ensure your car’s air intake system is in tip-top shape!
What Exactly Do Air Intake Systems Do?
In the simplest terms, air intake systems bring air from outside the vehicle into your engine’s intake manifold, where it is then mixed with fuel from your gas tank.
The air/fuel mixture is ignited and sent through to your car’s engine cylinders to drive the explosive action that is translated to physical energy, eventually turning your car’s wheels thanks to the transmission.
Without air intake systems, vehicles would not be able to rely on a continual internal combustion reaction. Any produced motion would be sporadic and unusable.
Main Parts Of Common Intake Systems
There are three primary components used in functioning air intake systems. Let’s break them down one by one, so you can better understand how this essential system works when you turn your vehicle on and engage the accelerator.
#1. Air Filter.
The air filter is the first primary component of this system. It is a metallic or plastic box that contains a dedicated filtration screen and is typically located ahead of your car’s throttle valve assembly or intake manifold.
You can locate it by popping your car’s hood and finding a boxy compartment near the throttle valve assembly. It looks very similar to commercial filters for vacuum cleaners and similar appliances.
Air filters help the system by filtering dirt and other particles from the air. In doing so, the filters prevent contaminants from clogging up the air intake system and potentially damaging your car’s engine.
Purer oxygen also results in better engine performance since the resulting combustion reaction is more efficient.
#2. Mass Flow Sensor
Your car’s air intake system also uses a mass flow sensor to detect how much air enters the engine. The internal combustion reaction must be adequately balanced to produce the correct amount of energy for your current driving needs.
Modern automotive engines use two types of mass airflow sensors: vane meters and hot wires.
Vane meters use flaps that are pushed by incoming air from the filter tube. As more air comes in, the flap is pushed back further. The flap movement is measured by the meter, which estimates how much air is flowing into the engine at one time.
The hot wire sensor type operates similarly but uses a collection of wires that are strong across the incoming air stream.
The wires’ electrical resistance increases as the temperature increases, triggering a current reaction and allowing for a measurement of approximate airspeed and mass.
#3. Throttle Body.
Lastly, the intake system’s throttle body controls the air flowing past the sensor mentioned above. Throttle bodies are components characterized by hollow or bored housings that hold a throttle plate rotating on a shaft.
As your accelerator is depressed, your engine’s throttle plate opens and allows air into the engine. When you release your accelerator, the throttle plate closes and prevents airflow from reaching the combustion chamber, stopping the chain reaction.
In this way, the throttle body controls the combustion rate and, therefore, your vehicle’s speed.
Three Types of Air Intake Systems:
- Cold Air Intake
- Ram-Air Intake
- Short Ram Intake
Find out the differences between the three, and maybe you’ll find which is the perfect fit for your needs.
Cold Air Intake
Cold air intake systems are great because cooler air is denser and more oxygen-rich than hot air. To put it simply, your engine will see a power gain with cooler, denser air, which will also help the car’s fuel efficiency.
Cold air intakes can do this because their air filters sit farther away from the engine bay than other intakes.
This intake system also has a heat shield around the filter to keep the airflow as cool as possible. Commonly, you’ll spot cold air intakes behind grilles and bumpers in the engine compartment.
Since these devices are so effective for boosting engine performance, we have cold air intakes available among our selection of F150 Raptor accessories.
Ram-Air Intake
Ram-air intakes share a common factor with cold air intake systems—both devices can deliver cooler air to your internal combustion engine. However, ram-air intake filters sit at the front of the car, near the engine.
Don’t hesitate to ask your parts supplier if their ram-air intakes have heat shields to protect them from becoming too hot. If the engine is what generates hot air, why place this intake system at the vehicle’s front end?
The answer is that ram-air intake systems send oxygen-rich cool air to the engine by sucking it in as the car travels forward. Such a setup can pack a powerful punch on the road and have a positive effect on engine efficiency.
Short Ram Intake
If you’re looking for a power gain that won’t take up as much room as other systems, consider a short ram intake. Due to its smaller size, this intake system supplies air to the engine faster than the options above.
That said, the air comes from the engine bay, meaning that short ram systems won’t provide the cool air flow that the other options on this list do. Short ram intakes aren’t useless, though. In fact, they’re perfect for anyone looking for a better throttle response.
What is a Cold Air Intake System?
While an air intake system is essential to the proper functioning of a vehicle, a cold air intake system is an upgrade that can lead to several impressive benefits. In simple terms, a cold air intake system is a more advanced version of the unit we mentioned above.
Hot air near your engine leads to lower oxygen density. Adding a cold air intake unit increases the oxygen density within the system.
This component can lead to lasting benefits for your engine and vehicle overall! In fact, a cold air intake system results in greater engine power and improved fuel efficiency.
This happens because cool air contains more oxygen than warm or hot air. Therefore, pumping colder air into the engine allows your car to breathe easier and run more efficiently!
Keep in mind that your car already comes with a stock air intake system. However, these aren’t always the best quality, so you may run into problems, such as a clogged unit.
That said, upgrading to an aftermarket intake system can lead to fewer clogs, improved air flow, and a better-functioning vehicle!
What Does a Cold Air Intake Do?
So, you may be wondering how much of a difference a cold air intake really makes. With the hassle of finding this component and dealing with the installation process, is it all worth it?
We certainly think so!
As this is a relatively affordable product with a simple installation process, something you can easily do yourself, we believe the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
Take a look at the many advantages of adding a cold air intake system to your ride:
#1. Increased Horsepower.
Now that you know how they work, what are the benefits of a cold air intake? We’ll start with one of the most well-known – increased horsepower.
One of the biggest factors determining an engine’s power output is the amount of air used in the combustion cycle. Cooler air can burn fuel better because it’s packed with far more oxygen.
That means cooler air allows an engine to burn fuel more evenly across the entire system, giving you a bump in power.
But just how much does a cold air intake increase horsepower? While it varies from vehicle to vehicle and by company, most cold air intake systems may add around 5 to 20 additional horsepower to your vehicle.
For example, upgrading to a Mustang intake can provide your Mustang with the
extra power needed for swift acceleration and impressive speed.
#2. Improved Acceleration.
After installation, you’ll feel the benefits of a cold air intake every time you put your foot on the gas pedal. Cold air intakes help surge a vehicle’s responsiveness, as it can reach its intended speed more rapidly when a larger volume of denser air is carried to the engine.
If you’re looking for an acceleration increase, whether on busy highways or empty backroads, aftermarket cold air intake kits can help.
#3. Better Mileage.
Do the benefits of a cold air intake extend to improved fuel economy? You bet they do. When your engine can’t receive sufficient air, it overcompensates by burning more fuel faster.
Cold air intake systems can help improve your vehicle’s gas mileage thanks to the improved air-to-fuel ratio from enhanced airflow.
With an optimal air/fuel mixture, you’ll get noticeably better gas mileage, empowering you to drive farther with fewer trips to the gas station. Who would have thought the benefits of a cold air intake could include saving serious money?
Upgrading to a Dodge Charger intake can help your Charger achieve better mileage
without compromising on performance.
#4. Improved Filters.
Another of our favorite benefits of cold air intake systems (that can also help you save some cash) is the improvement to air filters. Listen, your stock filters aren’t bad – they do a great job of catching excess debris that can cause severe damage to your internal parts.
However, they require many replacements, generally around every 15,000 miles. Depending on how much you drive, you can spend around $85 every couple of months to replace a simple paper filter.
Aftermarket cold air intake filters are reusable and can be easily removed and cleaned rather than discarded and replaced. All you have to do is remove the air filter, wash it with mildly soapy water, rinse and re-oil.
Depending on what type of filter comes with your aftermarket system, you’ll only need to do this every 25,000 to 100,000 miles.
#5. Better Sound.
This benefit is purely aesthetic, but it still counts for a lot to most car enthusiasts. If you relish in the sound of a roaring engine when behind the wheel, you’ll be happy to know one of the top benefits of a cold air intake is improved sound quality.
How much does a cold air intake help your sound? Quite a bit. Your stock air intake is designed to be silent. We can’t fault manufacturers for this, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to improve it.
It’s simple – with more air comes a more aggressive-sounding engine as you barrel down the open road. Additionally, the whooshing sound of air flowing into your intake as you rev up and release the throttle is highly satisfying to any driver.
#6. Increased Throttle.
Increased throttle is the final advantage to close out our list of the top benefits of a cold air intake. You need more power to get going when you’re stopped at a red light, stop sign or even driving uphill.
With a stock air intake, your car sends warm air from under your hood straight into the combustion chamber, slowing your vehicle’s response time.
However, with cold air intake systems sending colder air for combustion, you’ll be able to reach your desired speed far more quickly and get an improved throttle response.
Is It Worth It?
Maybe, but in regard to adding an aftermarket cold-air intake system, there are a lot of variables in the equation.
If your goal is to make a throatier intake sound, gain the benefit of a washable (rather than replaceable) air filter or to add a cool-looking touch under the hood, then yes — the aftermarket cold-air intake system will likely work for you. But as to whether it actually adds any horsepower, well, that’s less of a sure thing.
In terms of adding power, so much depends on the design of the new system and on the design — or condition — of the old one.
Ads for aftermarket cold-air intake systems often include ambiguous “up-to” horsepower claims, which are always red flags. Yet in truth, that’s fair; the aftermarket manufacturer has to cover all possibilities, and the type or condition of your current system is an unknown.
But as a stand-alone add-on, a cold-air intake system is probably not going to show much, if any, of a performance improvement. If, however, you’re also adding other modifications such as a low-restriction exhaust system, an effective cold-air intake might do more good.
One thing that’s important to keep in mind has to do with how precise and finicky modern engines have become. Changing one part or system — even if it may seem to be an improvement — might adversely affect another, which could bring on the dreaded check-engine light.
Thus the benefits and risks of adding an aftermarket cold-air intake system may not be known until after you’ve spent the money to buy it and the time (or money) to install it. So whether it’s worth it to you may depend on how much you’re willing to gamble.