What Is a Cold Air Intake?

In some ways, cars are like people. We need air to breathe to keep going, and a similar analogy applies to a car’s engine. The mix of air and fuel is essential for the engine to perform optimally, and in most cases, it’s just right from the factory. But that’s not enough for you, is it?

Seeing a lot of Fast and Furious may have pushed you to want to mod your car. For many enthusiasts, it starts with the smaller stuff, and in this case, it’s the one that revolves around the air. 

Your engine doesn’t want to breathe in hot air, so the logical step is to invest in an aftermarket intake. The one in question is called a cold air intake, and I’ll teach you everything you need to know about it.

What Is a Cold Air Intake and How Does It Work?

A cold air intake is just exactly what it sounds like. It’s an aftermarket intake system designed to deliver colder air to the engine, and with good reason. Colder air is denser, meaning it’s richer with oxygen when compared to warm air. Oxygen is necessary for combustion, so more oxygen means enhanced combustion and engine performance.

The cold air intake is a replacement for the factory intake, which can sometimes be restrictive in terms of the amount of air it can take in. Most systems completely remove the airbox and go for a wider intake tube, allowing more air to be squeezed into the engine. Since the goal of these intakes is to allow colder air to go into the engine, many are equipped with a heat shield and a large colonial air filter.

On paper, a cold air intake should offer more power, better throttle response, improved fuel economy, and a noisier car under acceleration. This raises the question: Why do car manufacturers not fit these as standard? There are many reasons for this, and cost savings and reduced noise are just a few. 

What Should You Expect From a Cold Air Intake?

With the brief definition aside, let’s go through some of the promises and explain what to expect.

Power Gains

One of the most advertised aspects of a cold air intake is an increase in power. Many people consider this to be a cheap tuning option because of this, but the reality is much different. 

You’ll find some bold claims about these systems getting 10, 20, or even more horsepower out of your car for a couple of hundred bucks. As promising as the marketing material may seem, you probably won’t be able to reach double-digit gains. Simply put, your Civic will still be slow.

The problem with these systems is that there are countless variables that can prove or disprove this theory. Colder air means denser air, which means improved combustion efficiency and an increase in power. With that said, engine design and factory tuning can play a massive role. At the end of the day, on a stock car, you’re looking at anywhere from 0 to over 10 horsepower gains. Depending on the car’s setup, you may even lose some, especially if the stock intake isn’t that restrictive.

On the other hand, modified cars can benefit from a cold air intake a bit more than stock ones. The stock setup is gone, meaning some mods are already installed, and a cold air intake is one that you should definitely consider installing to maximize power gains.

Throttle Response

Companies often mention cars with cold air intakes offering improved throttle response, resulting in faster acceleration. Given the previous section, you’d think this one isn’t true, but it is, partially.

For a car to accelerate faster, it needs more power, but with some cars getting almost no power increase, how can it accelerate faster? The reality is that the increased airflow should give you a more responsive throttle, giving you the feeling that your car is faster.

Even if you do get some power increase, the acceleration times won’t change all that much. The only thing you’ll experience is a car that seems to be faster, thanks to the throttle response. I do have to point out that some cars may get a performance boost, so on top of the more responsive throttle, they’ll get faster acceleration.

Improved Fuel Efficiency

Cold air intakes deliver denser air to your engine, meaning they should improve fuel economy. Under perfect conditions, that may be true, and the science backs up this claim, but in the real world, you’ll hardly notice anything.

People who install cold air intakes are all about the magical power gains and responsive throttle, so they won’t be too interested in increasing the MPG number. To be fair, most of us would be too focused on the potential gains and probably get worse fuel economy. 

If you want to achieve any potential gains, you’ll need to drive as you do with the factory intake. This way, you may notice some gains, but I doubt you’ll be able to beat a Prius.

Sound Enhancements

Finally, let’s talk about the sound. Car enthusiasts know that there are two sources of a car’s sound: intake and exhaust. Since we’re talking about a cold air intake here, let’s talk about the noises from under the hood.

Factory intakes come with closed boxes, which aim to keep the warm air from the engine out and reduce the intake noise. Enthusiasts don’t like the second part, which is why we’re into car mods like this one. Reducing the restriction and opening up the box produces a deeper growl on acceleration. 

Again, your Civic will still be slow but louder.

Things to Consider When Adding a Cold Air Intake

If you’ve reached this far, you’re probably thinking that a cold air intake has no drawbacks. Apart from coughing up a couple of hundred dollars for a fancy intake, there aren’t any, but there are some things to consider.

The first one is a potential check engine light, even if you don’t own a Volkswagen. Installing a cold air intake may confuse the ECU, which could affect emission compliance in some newer vehicles. While there are some ways around this, I wouldn’t call this something worth bothering about. Sure, the noise may be addictive, but you’re going down a rabbit hole that won’t give you any gains worth considering.

Then there’s the manufacturer. Prominent companies invest heavily in research and development and conduct extensive testing to ensure that the performance remains the same as with the stock intake. Cold air intakes with a conical filter often come with a heat shield to ensure the engine doesn’t soak up hot air.

On the other hand, the cheap stuff you’ll find on Temu or Aliexpress was probably designed and made by someone who played a lot of Need for Speed as a child. The result is a system that looks fancy but will probably worsen performance.

Should You Add a Cold Air Intake?

Now it’s time to answer the big question: Should you add a cold air intake to your car? The answer is “it depends.” If you’re after the aesthetics and noise, then go for it. You have nothing to lose except your money. On the other hand, if you’re after some power gains, then you may end up being disappointed. You might want to check your favorite forum and see if someone else did it and what the result was.

In my opinion, a cold air intake isn’t about performance; it’s about the experience. A bit of responsiveness and some intake noise, and you’ll feel like you own a race car. As attractive as it all sounds, remain civil on the road and don’t drive like a maniac.

Featured Image by Călin Răzvan