subject: Cold Air Intake Systems [print this page] Cold Air Intake Systems Cold Air Intake Systems
The first company to bring the air intake system to the United States in the 1980's was K&N Engineering. At that time the intake systems were round molded plastic intake tubes with cotton gauze filters that were cone shaped. In the 1990's Injen, Airaid, AEM and Volant brought their intake designs to the forefront followed by the overseas manufacturers. The overseas market added to the already popular Japan domestic market (JDM) that were using intakes in the sport compact models. Along with other companies, K&N has designed an intake system made of metal tubes. This enables a higher customization. And, the tubes can be powder coated or they can be painter to match the car.
The cold air intake can increase the amount of oxygen that can be used for combustion with fuel. If you paid attention to your science teacher when she talked about hot and cold air density, you will remember that cold air is denser per volume than hot air. Thus, the cold air intakes remove cold air from the outside of the hot engine bay. The term "cold air intake" is used even though the oxygen brought to the engine may increase the temperature of the air coming to the engine.
Here are some designs of cold air intakes:
The diameter of the air intake is increased to allow increased airflow;
The air intake is made smooth on the inside in order to reduce resistance ;
The air intake has a direct route to the air intake;
To provide the most airflow at certain RPM's the length of the intake is tuned; and
By using a more efficient and less restricting air filter.
You can gain power from an air intake system but it depends on a lot of things. A small amount of power is lost if you have a small ram intake. There can also be a decrease in power if the air is warmer than the air that the air intake is bringing in. But, if you have a cold air intake you might gain a small amount of power. There is a huge increase in power in the Honda Civic; in the range of 20-25 hp at the wheels. A large increase at high RPM's is perfect for the Honda. Injen and AEM have perfected their cold air intakes to suit the Honda Civic.
The K&N Engineering Company has been on the forefront of the auto sport industry's intake systems, having been the first to bring it to our attention, now brings the K&N Typhoon. The Typhoon is a system that increases horsepower to the car's engine. The Typhoon has been designed to replace the air box, filter and inlet tract for the compact sport vehicle. It improves the vehicles performance by increasing airflow to the engine.
There are three types of Typhoon systems available.
The short ram intake that pulls air from inside the engine compartment;
Cold air intakes that pull air from the outside of the engine compartment; and
The cold air intake system that can change from cold air to short ram for the winter.
Know more about civic air intake by clicking here!
