Air Intake vs Cold Air Intake - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

knightbr · 08-22-2003, 06:08 PM

I am having trouble getting real info on what the difference between air intakes and cold air intakes. The best I can tell is the cold air intake ultimately connects to the front of the car so heat from the engine doesn't create warm air going into the air intake.

I have a 2000 Corolla so in addition to understanding the difference between them:

Does anyone have any experiences between the 2 they can share with me.

Does it really improve horsepower by 5 to 10 horses.

Is there any negative impacts to the engine i.e. additional stress that ultimately will cause increased wear out etc.

Thanks in advance.
Brad

Deep · 08-23-2003, 09:37 AM

You've pretty much got the differences down. Cold air is more dense and therefore aides in combustion when compared to warmer air, thats the reason behind bigger gains with a CAI vs a short ram intake.

On a typical small displacement Japanese motor, you can expect gains of approximately 4-5%, ie on a 140hp motor you could stand to gain 5-7hp somewhere in the hp curve. Keep in mind that breathing mods such as intake, header and exhaust compliment each other and will bring bigger gains when used together.

The downside to a CAI is that because it is often so close to the ground, it may suck water into the engine if submerged in a large puddle. This is reffered to as hydrolock and can be terminal for your engine. There is a solution to it though, AEM has a product that works like a valve that will open and suck in air in the event that the filter gets submerged, thereby saving you motor.

I don't have any personal experience with CAI's or short ram intakes for the 1ZZ 'Rolla so I can't help you there.

boroEF · 08-23-2003, 10:34 AM

quoted from my site:

There are two basic types: Cold air induction(CAI) and what's commonly called as short ram intake(SRI). Both obviously have their differences, advantages and disadvantages. First, let's start with the regular CAI.

CAI is a long ass intake tube that places the filter in a remote area far away from the heat of the engine so that the motor can inhale some cooler air. cooler air means denser air...which ultimately means more air for your motor. now you may as, how is this bad at all? well it's not...but with this, u lose throttle response when compared to a short ram..and u also lose high end power as your engine has to work harder to suck in that air(since the filter is so bloody far away). there is what's called ram air...which is basically a cai but there is an air passage placed outside of the enginebay. the air is forced into the air passage and the intake sucks it. so you get the "air blowing in and intake sucking the air" effect....which means the movement of the car helps the intake. This is by far the best design but choosing a location to put the air passage is a tough decision. it must be placed in an area where there is the most positive air pressure(positive meaning air is flowing into there..rather than being drawn away).

SRI. the short ram is a stick with a filter at the end. this intake tube isnt nearly as long as the cai is and the filter is placed in the engine bay, usually beside/behind the battery. With the short tube and closely placed air filter, the engine has good throttle response and high end is much improved.

wunderboy · 08-23-2003, 11:08 AM

Ya water doesnt compress... gives a whole new meaning to "suck, squish BANG blow "

knightbr · 08-23-2003, 06:13 PM

Thanks you for the input. I am not up for moving batteries around etc. so I think I may go short.

Will let you know how it goes.

One other question: I find that off the line usually with the air conditioning on the engine seems to bog down, like it's flooded is it safe to assume that by improving the air intake it may help solve this issue?

Thanks
Brad

Deep · 08-23-2003, 07:19 PM

When you have your AC on, you're putting extra stress (accessory drag) on your engine because it now needs to turn the compressor. There's no way around it, if your AC is on, you're gonna lose some performance.

boroEF · 08-23-2003, 10:58 PM

u could strip the ac, save urself 70lbs and get more power

RedruM · 08-23-2003, 11:04 PM

or you could sell that crap and get yourself an ae92 without a/c

Flashmn · 08-23-2003, 11:33 PM

Quote:

You've pretty much got the differences down. Cold air is more dense and therefore aides in combustion when compared to warmer air, thats the reason behind bigger gains with a CAI vs a short ram intake.

Well the gains are marginal, plus a hot intake aids in atomizing fuel. Properly atomized fuel has the tendency to ignite better.

DJ_WhItEnEsS · 08-24-2003, 01:01 PM

everyone ive talked to said with that an air intake (warm) youll gain abotu 5% hp. whether you notice it or not depends on how you drive i suppose.

***Chris Corolla S*** · 08-25-2003, 12:54 PM

You can also add a heat-shield to a SRI to help reduce the hot engine air going in. Some companies like ingen sell a heat shield as an accessory for their intake.

InNeedOfH2O · 08-25-2003, 02:30 PM

I may not be as technically advanced as these fellows but I have a 99 w/CAI.

I had the stock box with a tube acting as "ram air" coming out the front. Results: Very ghetto, hardly noticable as far as HP gains but sounded cool.

I had a short ram in a standard config
Results: Noticable top end, loss in bottom end and slugish feeling on really hot days.

I had a short ram behind drivers side headlight surrounded by fiberglass box (aka. heat shield)
Results: Same a SRI and sucked in water that went past the headlight

I currently have a Custom (aka. self made) CAI
Have been in 2 severe thunderstorms but no deep puddles.
Results: Best results as of yet

sleekaman · 08-29-2003, 09:22 PM

Decided to remove the open air-intake filter from my Camry V6 Sport today. I had it put installed last year around this time, and have noticed a nice top end feel and that growl from the exhaust. Sounded faster, and yes, felt faster too. BUT, during warm engine runs, I would noticed that the engine compartment was sounding and felt sluggish at times. I also noticed that my gas consumption had increased, probably due to the warm heated air rather than the cool fresh air coming in from the front grille. I'd agree with the open air-intake mods, but if you can't get that cold air in, your mod may not perform as much as expected. If I find the right package of the CAI type at a reasonbile cost, then I may re-consider this upgrade task again. I'll keep the open-air filter on my Celica for now, it sounds great on full throttle with my freeflow exhaust.

Sleekaman.

arcasmachineracing · 11-24-2003, 04:16 PM

SRI. the short ram is a stick with a filter at the end. this intake tube isnt nearly as long as the cai is and the filter is placed in the engine bay, usually beside/behind the battery.
-------------------------------------------------

A stick huh? Hahaha!

arcasmachineracing · 11-24-2003, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sleekaman
Decided to remove the open air-intake filter from my Camry V6 Sport today. I had it put installed last year around this time, and have noticed a nice top end feel and that growl from the exhaust. Sounded faster, and yes, felt faster too. BUT, during warm engine runs, I would noticed that the engine compartment was sounding and felt sluggish at times. I also noticed that my gas consumption had increased, probably due to the warm heated air rather than the cool fresh air coming in from the front grille. I'd agree with the open air-intake mods, but if you can't get that cold air in, your mod may not perform as much as expected. If I find the right package of the CAI type at a reasonbile cost, then I may re-consider this upgrade task again. I'll keep the open-air filter on my Celica for now, it sounds great on full throttle with my freeflow exhaust.

Sleekaman.

What do you mean by an "open-air filter"?