Intake Description
An intake is an air intake for an engine. Because the modern internal combustion engine is in essence a powerful air pump, like the exhaust system on an engine, the intake must be carefully engineered and tuned to provide the greatest efficiency and power. An ideal intake system should increase the velocity of the air until it travels in to the combustion chamber, while minimizing turbulence and restriction of flow. This is usually accomplished by flow testing on a flow bench in the port design stage. Cars with turbochargers or superchargers which provide a pressurized intake system, usually have extensive tweaking of the intake system to improve performance dramatically.
A modern air intake system should have three main parts, an air filter, mass flow sensor, and throttle body.Production cars have specific length air intakes to cause the air to vibrate and buffet at a specific frequency to assist air flow in to the combustion chamber. Aftermarket companies for cars have introduced larger throttle bodies and air filters to decrease restriction of flow at the cost of changing the harmonics of the air intake for a small net increase in power or torque.
Air intake upgrade description
The most basic cold air intake replaces the stock airbox with a short metal or plastic tube leading to a conical air filter, called a Short ram air intake. The power gained by this method can vary depending on how restrictive the factory airbox is. The placement of the filter is usually directly in the engine compartment. The overall benefits depend on the specific application. Because of the increased airflow and reduced covering, intake noise is usually increased.
Well designed intakes use heat shields to isolate the air filter from the rest of the engine compartment, providing cooler air from the front or side of the engine bay.
The most extreme designs, sometimes referred to as Complete Cold Air (CCA) intakes, route air from outside the engine bay, usually from the wheel wells, front grill,or a hood scoop. The intake can be placed such that the forward motion of the car pressurises the air coming in, creating a ram-air intake. These intakes often require additional modifications and can require body modifications or replacement panels, such as a replacement "ram air-style" hood. Complete Cold Air intakes can convert to short ram intakes for winter or wet driving.
Cold air intake system description
A cold air intake is a system used to bring down the temperature of the air going into a car for the purpose of increasing the power of the internal-combustion engine. A secondary goal is to increase the appeal of a car by changing the appearance of a car's engine bay and creating an attractive intake noise. These aftermarket parts come in many different colors and many different sizes, and are an inexpensive way to increase performance.
Short ram intake system description
It replaces the OEM air intake with a short metal pipe and air filter inside the engine bay. This can slightly boost performance levels in a vehicle by increasing air volume intake. A significant increase in intake air volume will occur.
