HOW DO AFTERMARKET AIR INTAKE SYSTEMS WORK?

Vehicle engineers have many factors other than maximum performance to consider when they design OEM intake systems (noise level, fuel economy, emissions, etc.) and in the process leave plenty of room for improvement. Aftermarket air intake systems replace the factory air box and tubing with more efficient components designed to create more power. The two big things that aftermarket air intakes systems strive to do are:

1) Draw in large amounts of cool dense air from outside the hot engine compartment. The more air your engine can suck in and push out the more power it will make.

2) Reduce the restriction in the intake system by increasing the diameter of the tubing, smoothing out the interior of the intake, eliminating baffles and muffling devices, and limiting the number and severity of any bends in the tubing.

Aftermarket air intake manufacturers address these tasks in many different ways but the three most common types of intake designs are the long tube, heat shield, and sealed air box systems. Prices vary considerably, from as low as $200 up to as much as $600, as does the improvement in performance. Poorly designed systems can actually cause your engine to make less power, while a quality system can add 10-20 rear wheel horsepower. In your search you will no doubt come across advertisements that mention outlandish horsepower gains, this should be an instant red flag

SEALED AIR BOX SYSTEM

The sealed air box design employs the same lay out as the heat shield and stock intake system but utilizes a sealed air box in order to avoid the shortcomings of the heat shield design. Gaps around a heat shield or a bad weather strip seal are not an issue with these systems as the air filter is completely isolated from the hot engine compartment. These air boxes are much larger than the stock box they replace and contain a much larger air filter. Like the heat shield design, the restrictive stock tube is replaced with a more efficient tube and the air box is fed cool air through the same channel from the front grill that fed the stock air box. Cold Aid Inductions Inc. (CAI Inc.) is the leading manufacturer of this type of intake system for the 2010+ Camaro.

This design typically produces strong horsepower gains for everything from stock cars all the way up to high powered monsters. When considering a sealed air box system pay attention to how severe the 90 degree bend in the intake tube just forward of the throttle body is (as wide and gradual of a bend as possible) and whether or not the system takes steps to resist heat (material, coatings, insulation).

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