Cold air intake questions

[GrumpyOldTruck]

I've been doing a lot of research on CAIs and a lot of stuff just doesn't make sense to me. forgive if im wrong on any of this stuff but I have several questions on CAI's

1. What is it that makes it better than a stock air intake
2. what is it that makes it cold? (it's still in the engine bay and some don't even have plastic shield or anything to protect against heat, particles, etc
3. wouldn't the metal tubing collect more heat?
4. what would be the difference in just capping off the vortec box, replacing the corrugated tubing with straight pipe, and leaving in the regular air filter? wouldn't that be the exact same thing or not because of the air filter

I'm sure I have more questions but this is all I can think of right now

 

[95C1500]

1. it's supposed to draw in colder air from the fender which helps with performance.
2. That's the problem with most of them, they aren't true CAI's
3. I don't know
4. I'm tbi, not vortec so I don't know much.

 

[GrumpyOldTruck]

one more question, what would be the difference in just changing the air filter? wouldn't it work the same way or is there something special about the tubing?

 

[great white]

I've been doing a lot of research on CAIs and a lot of stuff just doesn't make sense to me. forgive if im wrong on any of this stuff but I have several questions on CAI's

1. What is it that makes it better than a stock air intake Nothing really, if its designed properly. Perhaps a little less restriction in the piping
2. what is it that makes it cold? (it's still in the engine bay and some don't even have plastic shield or anything to protect against heat, particles, etc "Cold" is a relative term. Since a proper "cold air" intake is designed to draw air from outside the engine bay that is what makes it "cold" as opposed to drawing in underhood air that has already passed through the radiator and been warmed
3. wouldn't the metal tubing collect more heat? Nope, see above about drawing air form outside the engine bay
4. what would be the difference in just capping off the vortec box, replacing the corrugated tubing with straight pipe, and leaving in the regular air filter? wouldn't that be the exact same thing or not because of the air filtersorry, not following you ne that one....as in: don't understand what you mean by "capping off"

I'm sure I have more questions but this is all I can think of right now

...

 

[kamokevin]

I've been doing a lot of research on CAIs and a lot of stuff just doesn't make sense to me. forgive if im wrong on any of this stuff but I have several questions on CAI's

1. What is it that makes it better than a stock air intake
2. what is it that makes it cold? (it's still in the engine bay and some don't even have plastic shield or anything to protect against heat, particles, etc
3. wouldn't the metal tubing collect more heat?
4. what would be the difference in just capping off the vortec box, replacing the corrugated tubing with straight pipe, and leaving in the regular air filter? wouldn't that be the exact same thing or not because of the air filter

I'm sure I have more questions but this is all I can think of right now

1. Most aftermarket cold air intakes will not be much improvement over stock. The colder the air, the more dense it is. The more dense the air, the more fuel it can mix with, resulting in increased power and efficiency. Typically only small gains though.

2. Technically the stock vortec air intake is a "cold air intake" because it draws cooler air from the fender well instead of the engine bay. However, several aftermarket "cold air intakes" do not draw their air from the fenderwell, and instead draw warmer air from the engine bay. Those products are simply labeled incorrectly to fool those who don't do their research.

3. This can be a complicated matter, but before you read all of this, just know that you likely won't feel a difference performance-wise either way.

Metal has much higher thermal conductivity [W/m[SUP].[/SUP]K] than your typical high density plastic. This means that metal tubing can help cool the incoming air by absorbing the heat, but only if the tubing is at a colder temperature than the air. However, since this tubing is in the engine bay, the tubing most likely won't be cooler than the incoming air, and may actually increase the air's temperature. Since plastic has a lower thermal conductivity, the tubing won't cool the air by conduction, but also won't allow it to be affected b the engine bay's heat. Even if one was better, you'd probably never feel it.

4. Capping off the silencer box will make your air intake louder, but no better from a performance standpoint. Maybe slightly better throttle response? Hard to say since I've never done it.

Replacing the corrugated tubing will yield positive results, but I can't say if it would be noticeable.

 

[TylerZ281500]

a metal tube under a hot engine bay will indeed heat up air a bit but not as much as just underhood air, really depends on the vehicle everyone is different so they respond differently in most cases.

 

[dowsewashere]

i noticed with just a basic drop in K&N air filter with a combined setup of glass packs a better power band in the higher RPMS. So she pulls harder at WOT.
But CAIs usually dont give you a whole lot being that like alot of these trucks its just not possible to get a good spot in the engine bay to suck cold air in.

 

[ShadowRejects]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCi2yo4UqPI

 

[ShadowRejects]

Cold air intakes do little to nothing in performance. Many people disagree but there is no facts behind it. Personally i think it does a little bit of a job but nothing noticeable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCi2yo4UqPI

 

[GrumpyOldTruck]

thank you everybody for your informative answers, I guess after all this the big question is: What is the ideal set up?