A lot of car enthusiasts wonder about upgrading the cold air intake system on their vehicle. The biggest question that usually pops up is – does a cold air intake improve gas mileage?
This is something you hear all the time, but is it actually true? Is this going to work for your vehicle, improving fuel economy, or is it just a waste of money?
The short answer is yes. A cold air intake and definitely help to improve the fuel economy on your vehicle.
In this post, let’s take a further look at cold air intakes and how they improve gas mileage.
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Cold Air Intakes and Your Engine
The basic make-up of your vehicle’s engine is that it needs fuel and air to run efficiently. These two components need to be mixed perfectly so that ignition can happen inside the cylinders of the engine.
This is the combustion process that moves your vehicle moving forward. If this process isn’t in perfect sync, you’re going to run into engine issues and fuel economy problems.
When the engine isn’t getting the right mixture, it’s going to consume more fuel. The problem here is that this additional fuel consumption isn’t going to lead to any benefits, such as increased power.
Instead, you’ll just be wasting fuel, wasting money, and wondering where all your engine power has gone. Thankfully, there is a way to solve this problem so that the engine is running more efficiently and you’re able to maximize the power at a higher level.
How a Cold Air Intake Works
Using a cold air intake makes it easier for your engine to get the perfect combination of fuel and Air. This Nifty upgrade works by sucking cool air into the engine for combustion.
The way it works is that the air filter is moved outside of the engine compartment. Air outside of the compartment is a much lower temperature, it’s denser than oxygen, so there’s more fuel available for combustion.
There’s less hot air building up in the engine compartment and better airflow overall. While there are a number of benefits to installing a cold air intake, the colder air improves engine performance and results in better fuel economy.
How Does a Cold Air Intake Improve Gas Mileage?
As we just mentioned, the main function of the cold air intake is to apply cold air to the engine. Since the air is colder, the engine is able to work more efficiently.
What’s happening is that the intake is able to squeeze more power out of your fuel. Essentially, the engine is able to propel you further on a single gallon or litre of gas, thanks to the steady supply of Colder air.
In many cases, drivers have reported seeing an increase of efficiency from 3 to 5 mpg. Over time, this can result in substantial savings.
There are also a number of other benefits to using a cold air intake, such as improved performance and better engine longevity. Most car enthusiasts would benefit from installing one of these.
Can a Cold Air Intake Mess Up Your Engine?
Generally, installing a cold air intake is going to offer a number of benefits to your engine. In most cases, nothing is going to get messed up and you won’t see any issues by installing this aftermarket component.
As long as the intake is properly installed, you shouldn’t run into any problems. Keep in mind that you will want to clean the filter often, as the intake is installed outside of its normal position.
Depending on the vehicle, you should also avoid driving in standing water. Make an effort to regularly check the cold air intake to confirm that nothing is damaged, cracked, broken and that it’s still operating in Prime condition.
How Much Does a Cold Air Intake Improve Performance?
We already mentioned the 3 to 5 MPG gain in fuel economy. As for overall performance, a cold air intake may add around 5 to 12 additional horsepower.
Those of you looking for the easiest car engine improvements should definitely consider this upgrade. It’s affordable, easy to install, and a great way to improve performance immediately.
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