What exactly is a CAI?

spc2125 · 05-29-2011, 09:37 PM

If read a bunch of different interpretations of a cold air intake. I want to know exactly what a cold air intake is. How is it different from just a cone filter? How its different from a warm air intake?

Thanks

heineck · 05-29-2011, 09:43 PM

search button mang.

http://www.aleromod.com/forums/showt...ht=cold+intake

AlbinoMonkeyRat · 05-29-2011, 10:32 PM

CAI take the air directly from outside the car, and WAI takes the air from in the engine bay. By definition the stock air box was a CAI with a mid-piping filter, but many people make the modification because the airflow on the stock box is terrible.

spc2125 · 05-31-2011, 12:48 PM

whats the difference between these

arent both just short ram intakes?

[ion] C2 · 05-31-2011, 12:52 PM

You really don't see that one has a metal tube and the other is using the stock baffled plastic piece?

Who the eff cares what it's called. Make a pipe and route it where you want the air to suck from. Connect it to the throttle body; eliminate all plastic shit. It's not that hard of a concept. Get metal (maybe a couple "CAIs" on eBay), cut to fit, use silicone couplers or weld it all together and put a filter on it.

spc2125 · 05-31-2011, 12:55 PM

i just cant wrap my head around the idea of cai. but if it were to buy the top picture with the metal tubing, where would i hook up the sensor?
and could i just buy that metal tubing and then buy additional tubing to connect to the throttle body?

spc2125 · 05-31-2011, 01:03 PM

Whats the sensor for on the stock plastic tubing? and would i need to make a hole for that in the metal tubing?

AlbinoMonkeyRat · 05-31-2011, 01:51 PM

when you buy an intake online, the "hole" is in there. the sensor is for air temperature so your engine knows how much gasoline to put in the engine. This is why cold air is better for power than warm air. cold air is denser and can hold more moisture (gas) and more gas combusted means more power (if that combustion is actually transferred into motion efficiently)

oh, and those pictures...both are warm air intakes. the metal one has a smoother flow and is slightly better than the plastic one.

[ion] C2 · 05-31-2011, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlbinoMonkeyRat

the sensor is for air temperature so your engine knows how much gasoline to put in the engine. This is why cold air is better for power than warm air.

No, the IAT has nothing to do with fueling. The car knows how much fuel to put in the engine based on the numbers in the fueling tables of the PCM (which are chosen by current MAP/MAF readings and RPM and such), and it also adds/subtracts a bit of fuel based on readings on the upstream O2 sensor(s).

The IAT reading is used for retarding spark if the air is super hot (like 140+) and for not much else. This is why IAT resistors do nothing.

AlbinoMonkeyRat · 05-31-2011, 09:46 PM

I was under the impression that was an upstream o2 sensor. my bad.

Papa Rad17 · 06-01-2011, 04:41 AM

I have the one in the top pic. It's not much but it helps a lot at idle I noticed. Smoother and its kept the temp down a pinch more. It does a bit for power but nothing tremendous by any means. It's also sounds better then stock, gives a much more...full? Sound is the word I want to use. Overall Im vary happy with the investment. But also look into the cosmo racing ones. It's bacicly the top one but a solid peice with lighter bends that's supposed to help even more, but it's much more in price.

spc2125 · 06-01-2011, 09:11 AM

is their some type of silencer or resonator in the plastic square connecting to the throttle body

[ion] C2 · 06-01-2011, 11:05 AM

supposedly it's designed to be a resonator

Cliff8928 · 06-01-2011, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spc2125

i just cant wrap my head around the idea of cai.

Well, neither of those pictures are Cold air intakes. Those are referred to as warm air or short ram, etc...

This is the idea of a cold air intake...

AlbinoMonkeyRat · 06-01-2011, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spc2125

is their some type of silencer or resonator in the plastic square connecting to the throttle body

the intake resonator (at least on the 2.4L) is in the fender between the airbox and the opening of the tubing itself. it's a real pain in the rooster to cut out. if you want to keep it in tact, you'd have to jack up the car, take off the wheel, fender liner, and washer fluid bottle. OR you can do like I did and take out your headlight and mutilate that plastic piece of crap with a steak knife.

jhubbz · 06-01-2011, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spc2125

i just cant wrap my head around the idea of cai.

Think of it this way, its summer time and you go up into your attic... its hot and musty, right? Now go down to your basement... air is a LOT easier to breath since it is cooler and for the most part more clear.

spc2125 · 06-01-2011, 11:38 PM

i get it now. so if i took out the stock filter and put in a cone filter its just a short ram intake, or warm air intake because its so close to the engine bay. however, if i were to pipe it down toward my fog lights then it would become a cold air intake.