Cold Air Intakes

Most people don’t realize how important cold, clean air is to good engine performance. The reason relates to the basic reaction that takes place inside your car’s engine. When air is brought into the engine, it is mixed with gas and then this mixture is ignited. The resulting explosion is what drives the engine.

You may remember from your high school science classes that hot gases are less dense than cool gases. For this reason, when your car is burning air that is already hot, there is less oxygen in the mix than if the air was cool. The result is a slightly less efficient combustion reaction. But how do you get cooler, denser air into your engine?

Using Cold Air Intakes

Cold air intakes are aftermarket engine add-ons designed to get cooler, denser air into your engine as quickly and efficiently as possible. Also referred to as a CAI, a cold air intake consists of a large diameter pipe that pulls air up into the car from somewhere low in the engine bay. It also has a built-in filter that prevents things like dust and water from getting into your engine. Cold air intakes have been known to add as much as 15 horsepower to a stock engine, although results definitely vary from car to car.

A great thing about getting a cold air intake is that it is very easy to install yourself. In fact, it’s one of the cheapest and easiest to install of all the aftermarket engine parts. If you’re interested in getting a CAI, check out the wide selection featured on our site.