Do Cold Air Intakes Work? Watch and Find Out

In this video I am going to explain why you should buy a cold air intake or should not buy a cold air intake. Are cold air intakes a scam? Do Cold Air Intakes Really work? Are they a Myth that needs to be busted? Are Cold Air Intakes a bad mod? I will explain everything to you.

Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of Ratchets and Wrenches, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. Ratchets and Wrenches assumes no liability for any property or personal damage that may arise from doing a repair on your vehicle after watching any of my repair video's. Due to factors beyond the control of Ratchets and Wrenches, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Again Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Ratchets and Wrenches.

[markallison]

I get cold air intake from October to April.

[LegitJesusChrist]

Let’s keep it simple. Install cold air intake, install performance headers, either straight pipe your exhaust or install performance exhaust, and tune your car. Do all of that and you will have a car with more horsepower

[Brandonkicksbooty]

I mounted a mini fridge on my hood and run my intake through that. I gained 100hp and have a great place to store beer.

[TheNyzzler]

Don't forget that if you're CAI comes with stickers, you get +5HP for each sticker

[CarlosLeroy]

I just installed a K&N cone filter to my 2010 Tundra with 5.7L today. IT DOES WORK! it gained between 5-10 hp for sure, clearly a more nimble, lighter, faster drive. More noticeable over 1500-2000 RPM's. The sound is a nice plus.

[davva]

In my experience they can make a difference but it is small. To really benefit you need to also upgrade the exhaust and then reprogram the ECU. Just replacing the air intake won't make much difference.

[zandern]

Having been in the ‘mod’ game for many years I agree with you on many points. It really depends on the car, the application, and how well executed. Recently though I stumbled on an ancient article 😂 done in the ‘80s about just this topic done by some engineers. One thing to note was that auto manufacturers didn’t just make the air boxes with resonators to kill noise- it was also to keep intake system pressurized, so air was constantly on demand . Ever notice on some cars with SRIS (short ram intake system) it feels a bit ‘boggish’ when first going? The intake system isn’t pressurized and needs to ‘suck’ air in, which we all love that sound, but your actually losing low end torque too, it’s bogging out. Super rich on low rpms, then really lean with higher rpms, which is good if tuned properly, but can prematurely wear your engine.
And ya, usually the factory system is colder than an aftermarket 90% of the time. (Depends on the aftermarket system though)
I chose to go with a high flow filter in stock system since my old arse intake doesn’t use the typical AIT filament sensor, which yes, the oil on a wet filter can ruin. If I had a newer car, I’d run a dry filter in stock location and open up the exhaust piping from the down pipe back to no more than 2.25” on a NA car.
On turbo, bigger downpipe and exhaust is crucial for spoolup, but that’s a whole other topic😂
Nice vid!

[JohnJones-ffnu]

I was expecting dyno runs or some sort of objective evidence....

[andrewchristianson]

I found on my 2014 Mustang the CAI doesn't work as good as the stock airbox until you tightly cover the filter and basin. Therefore air is forced into the system instead of much being wasted into the engine bay. Once you do that you can definitely feel the difference B)

[sergetheblerge]

That Audi already has a literal cold air setup. I cant imagine any other setup would be better for the coldest air possible.

[Hobbies]

FINALLY, someone explaining the reality of so called "cold air intakes." Unless it is DUCTING air from outside of the engine compartment, like the stock system does, it is NOT a "cold air" intake. I see so many younger people putting a system on their car so that the engine draws in hot air, because their friends, people on YouTube, and the marketing companies told them that the system draws in "cold air" by the very name of the kit, and these same people seem to totally ignore common sense that tells them this is not true. Thank you for explaining it to them.

[sourwords]

I have a turbo diesel. Once i installed the CAI i noticed it's more responsive from stand still take off. It used to bottom out most of the time before the power delivery. Now that it's got CAI it's less laggy and more punchy. Now I'm not saying it makes noticable hp gains but a definite difference picking up speed more fluently.

[unclebs]

In the dead of winter in Michigan, I'll stick with the factory set-up. Thanks for the info and keep it coming.

[illx]

On my '12 i4 accord I removed the pre induction tube silencer and added a drop in filter. These accords take air flow very well and I have way better response and sounds great on the crossover from 2nd to 3rd. Slightly modded air box but I love it. Rather tan spending 250 or 300 for a brand name CAI

[decayofalberta]

Great video, it explained a lot. I always wonder the different between the intakes systems and cold air set up.

[shadowkingX]

Showing my support brother I saw you on the livestream awhile ago I agreed with a lot of what you had to say, watched in full definitely liked and added to my iamacreator playlist keep up the good work 👍👏👏👏👏

[khronin]

I am on the fence about getting a cold air intake.Having gone to the track many times in my life--from stock cars to full blown race cars--90% or more had cold air intakes.Also--when I walked around and looked at factory race cars--they also all had cold air intakes.I wish there was just some honesty about this when you ask your local dealer about a cold air intake and you can literally get a different answer from all of them.The cold air intakes also on factory race cars--looked very similar to what you could buy for your stock car.BMW--M--AMG--Ford Racing-Honda and Acura racing--Porsche--all of them had intakes.The manufacturers need to just be honest-The computers--and I was told this by engineers at the track--all can instantly adjust for air and if you give them more air at a higher cooler rate--it will generate extra power.I mean a modern car has to run in Alaska--and in death valley--huge temp and air density differences.Some dealerships also will put K & N air filters on their cars--and some high performance--like saleen--will even put cold air intakes on their cars that are still under factory warranty--yet the service department will say it is useless--void the warranty--etc.i doubt all these race teams would do this--but the car companies need to get service advisors and this type of mod on the same page.

[tommyj]

Put one on my 4.3 blazer. Also have a cat delete. Took the time to use hp tuners to adjust the ve tables and maf calibration. It made a great deal of improvement in my throttle response. Also gave the engine a nice growl under the hood. As OEM air boxes are designed for noise reduction.

[thegreattreon]

I put a cold air intake system on my old 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GT and it turned that car into a beast! My low and mid-range torque went thru the roof!

[skymonkey]

Cold air intakes and Short Ram intakes by design do potentially perform better if your air box is very restrictive. This is dependent on the design of said vehicle. Not all vehicles are the same. The only way to really get cold air benefits on a short ram intake is by customizing the front grill so as you get up to speed air can blow directly through, onto the filter itself. Personally I like this method better than a long tubed cold air intake because the cold air intakes even though they are placed farther away, the pipes still get very hot all the way up top to bottom so the main benefit from a cold air intake is that it runs more efficiently but still doesn't guarantee much colder air. If you want the coldest air possible you have to have that filter sticking either outside the hood or very low to the ground where it's nearly scraping (Bad for Rainy days) for air to blow directly on it. True cold air comes from air blowing right onto the filter. Other things to consider is use some heat resistant tubing for your piping as most aluminum can get very hot in summer which can almost guarantee hot air regardless of placement. How you configure your setup is really what counts. For maximum efficiency it takes some custom work if you want the coolest air for your intake.
My setup I chose is a short ram but it doesn't go directly across. It hangs more down, plus I added my own custom heat shield and I cut a portion of plastic off the front just behind the front grill so air can flow through and blow directly onto the filter itself as you get more speed. Overall I really liked my setup as I live in an area where it gets really hot in summer time.
Weather is also a huge factor.
If you were to compare the performance of a regular Short Ram Intake in cold weather vs a Cold Air Intake used during a Hot Summer. The short Ram would more likely perform better. Customizing to get the most out of your setup is the best thing you can do if you want max performance.