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Old 03-29-2019, 06:29 AM   #1 (permalink)
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Cold Air Intakes

Are cold air intakes worth buying? Do they really improve a vehicle's fuel efficiency and horsepower?

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Old 03-29-2019, 06:39 AM   #2 (permalink)
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You can do a custom search (top left of the page) before you ask a question.
Almost anything efficiency related has long been discussed and tested over here, so searching it out first helps preventing tons of threads about the same thing.

No, cold air intakes are generally bad for efficiency. Instead we fabricate our own hot air intakes or use grill blocks, which tend to raise under hood temperatures which also increases air intake temperature.
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Old 03-29-2019, 09:02 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Only in a diesel.
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Old 03-29-2019, 10:17 AM   #4 (permalink)
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Only in a boosted diesel because boost equals heated intake. Not boosted diesel engines prefer warm also
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Old 03-29-2019, 10:27 AM   #5 (permalink)
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When my diesel was non turbo I found it got +2 to +3 mpg when I restored the cold air during warmer temps.
When it was well below freezing warm air was better for +1 to +2mpg.
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Old 03-29-2019, 10:59 AM   #6 (permalink)
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Yeah but it is a density thing not a vaporizing thing like on gasoline. Cold air gives more compression which increases efficiency. Warm air increases vaporizing efficiency. Warm engine, cold air is best of both for diesel. 250 is happiest AFTER it starts on winter day
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Old 03-29-2019, 01:25 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sneakerhead04 View Post
Are cold air intakes worth buying? Do they really improve a vehicle's fuel efficiency and horsepower?
Yes on horsepower, no on efficiency.
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Old 05-21-2019, 01:03 AM   #8 (permalink)
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Others bought a CAI to improve the sound of their engines.

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