Christine Breen

What is the Air Intake System in a Car?



Posted: Sunday, August 15, 2010

by Christine Breen
http://henriklundqvisthockey.blogspot.com

A lot of people know that vehicle's have an air intake system. But what most don't know is that it plays a big role in the performance and efficiency of the engine! The intake system's main purpose is to deliver air, specifically oxygen, to the engine to be mixed with fuel to create combustion which causes the cylinders to fire, etcetera, etcetera. The intake system can also be modified to create more power for your engine and improve your MPG.

One example of improving said benefits is the Cold Air Intake or CAI. A CAI system basically adds a metal pipe to an air filter. The catch is that the air filter is down low, usually in the front fender near the ground. The purpose of lowering the air filter is that the lower down the source of air is, the colder it will be. The colder the air is, the denser it will be. And then basic science tells us that the denser the air is, the more burnable oxygen there will be for the engine to consume. Thus meaning that cold air allows your engine to procure more power since the air is denser than it would be in a normal intake system. Who would have thought that such a simple philosophy could have such surprising results?

Another alternative to normal intake systems is the Short Ram Air Intake or SRAI. The SRAI is the polar opposite of the CAI, literally. It utilizes a smaller pipe and a larger air filter. The source of air itself actually comes from inside the engine bay, and using the logic we provided above with the CAI, you would think that there would be less power available since the air is considerably warmer. The neat thing about the Short Ram is that the pipe and air filter are very wide, thus allowing a larger volume of air to enter the engine which compensates for its proximity to the motor itself.

There is much debate about the Short Ram's effectiveness compared to the Cold Air, but if you're just looking for an upgrade from a normal intake system, either option is acceptable and will improve your vehicle's performance and efficiency.

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