Quote:
Originally Posted by Taylor95
I have been thinking about redoing the intake on my wife's 2001 subaru outback. Currently it has a factory cold air intake with a resonator. I understand the role the resonator plays in the vehicle's performance, but I believe it is only effective with the CAI setup the car currently has. If I removed the resonator and replaced it with a non restrictive warm air intake, could I possibly see significant gains?
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There's a lot of disagreement on this site about how effective a warm air intake is. Many people think that what happens is the warmer air creates a leaner air fuel ratio. But that's not the case. As warmer air comes in through the intake, there will be less oxygen and the engine computer will reduce the amount of fuel. But the real benefit to your fuel economy comes when in order to accomplish the same amount of power you depress the throttle further. by opening the throttle plate further, you reduce the restriction on the engine referred to generally as pumping losses. The reduction in pumping losses is in effect an increase in the efficiency of the engine. But saying that doesn't prove that installing a warm air intake will increase the fuel economy of your car.