Need Cold Air Intake Info

[LiquidBlack]

Since this is the "tuner" section, I thought it'd be a good idea to post here:

At autozone I was talking to a mechanic, complaining that I probably couldnt do anything with my car. He recommended a cold air intake (specifically, K&N). I know that my car is only a 4cyl, but it would give me a little more juice and better mileage.

Can anybody recommend a site where I can find information on cold air intakes and installation? Or any product recommendations?

[in2food]

cold side intake...

Hi:
I'm not much on car mods but if you are talking about a cold side supercharger I can tell you my brother just put one on his Mazda Miata and the thing kicks butt ! Miata's are great handling cars but are very weak on acceleration. With this puppy installed he now probably will turn high 13's. He boosted his little 4banger up to 190+ hp.
You may want to pay a visit to miata.net and browse the forums. Lots of coldside discussions taking place there.
Good luck!
Mike

[96greencivic]

With a CAI, you aren't going to see much of a gain at all. You will get more noise and more room in the engine compartment, but a CAI is just part of the whole picture. To get the full advantage, you'll need the CAI, a new exhaust manifold, custom piping and new exhaust.

Sometimes it's not worth it for the gains, but it will sound pretty good. Just don't buy an Ebay intake. Some say a pipe is a pipe, but my Injen SRI fits like a glove all the mounting points are welded unlike the Ebay ones are just some flexible metal bars. Or look for an AEM with the new dry filter so you don't have to oil it when you clean it.

[WaspHunter]

Put simply, a cold air intake is one that sources air away from the relatively hot engine bay. My dad's Forester doesn't have one, but my Impreza has something that is both a cold air and a ram air intake:


This is also found on Evo's (but I think not on plain Lancers). On an N/A engine, my opinion is that they aren't there to increase power per se but to reduce the "flat spotting" on the power band. Other N/A Impreza's I've seen down here also have had their intake tubing completely replaced with a mild steel pipe that sources air from the front guard (fender).

One thing you definitely want to do for a bit of an increase would be to find and remove your intake silencer. Makes a nice hissing noise under WOT as well

(Dons flame suit and prepares for the worst).

[LiquidBlack]

I also have another question regarding carbon buildup and performance.

The 2005 Toyota camry is drive-by-wire, that is all pedal functions are relayed through a computer before sending the instruction to the engine. I was under the impression that my driving habits affected the way in which this system works.

That is, when I am in memphis, my driving is very smooth and gas-sipping. Yet when I am in the town where I go to school, my driving habits are much rougher (as the citizens there cant drive worth a flip). After driving smoothly, there is very little power to work with and my gas pedal seems slightly delayed on delivering. Yet after a nice rough ride, it is much more powerful and responsive.

The conversation I had with the mechanic (who owns a toyota matrix 2005, same engine as mine) said that it is actually carbon buildup, and by running hard I am breaking up the buildup, thus the performance increase. What do you guys think.

[WaspHunter]

Depends on what petrol you use. The PULP that I put into my tank has cleaning agents in it, and so theoretically I shouldn't be getting any buildups whatsoever. I know the Camry's down under all ran with high compression ratios (my old V6 was 11.0:1) and thus benefitted from running PULP to stop pinging, but I'm not sure if its a little different with the American ones.

Of course, if you already fill up with Premium then you shouldn't really notice a difference between city and highway driving fuel-wise.

Manual or auto? I think the Camry after the '97 series had shift computer with rudimentary AI, so after a long highway drive the computer would basically be in economy mode, holding the highest gear it can. Check the revs when you put the gas down under highway and city.

Of course a ram intake sourcing air from the front of the car would help with the highway problem. Noticeably? Depends on your car and the intake. Airflow and fluid dynamics are still a bit of a black art.

[LiquidBlack]

As you probably know, I believe that Americans gas typically doesnt reach the octane levels that other countries do. Also, even though other countries have higher gas prices, the crunch here ($3.00) has made me downgrade from premium (about $3.20 here) to regular. I do seem to notice a difference when using Premium, but I keep passing it off as a placebo effect, but its most likely real.

[jerm]

Any reputable brand would be good: AEM, Injen, K&N - to name the most popular few.

[SOLDSHORT]

drive by wire throttle will usually have a delay. on my 05 mustang the only way to get rid of it is to purchase a tuner.

[LAfirefytr]

LIQUIDBLACK
A CAI will increase your throttle response and boost HP. As someone else said earlier, a CAI along w/ a new exhaust system (flowmaster, banks, ect) is the best combo because they work hand in hand. If you are pulling in more air you need a way to get rid of it as your stock system isn't designed for the increase in air to fuel ratio. But both are not neccesary if you cannot afford them at the same time. With a CAI alone, you will notice that when you push on the gas petal, your vehicle will respond immediately (throttle response) without that delay or bog . A stock air intake system is restricted and when you dump a massive amount of gas (stomp the pedal) it doesn't have enough air to mix and your A/F (air to fuel) ration is out of whack. A CAI allows more air to be taken in and mix with the fuel you are dumping and hence the increase in HP and throttle response

Everyone will have an opinion on a certain brand. I prefer K&N as it has shown the best results in all dyno testing done on my particular truck and I have had no issues with it nor complaints. Anyone that you get will produce the same effect, some just work better on certain vehicles. I would go to a couple different brands websites and research for yourself.
K&N, AEM, Volant, Injen

[LiquidBlack]

The closest I can get is an Ingen CIA for a 2003 camry. http://www.racepages.com/performance...ped_brand=true

If I'm right, there is little to no difference under the hood between a 2003 and 2005 camry.

[Wayfarerwalk]

For those of you who current use a CAI, how long is the life cycle of the filter? Does it need cleaning regularly, like with every oil change? How hard is it to clean and prep? I've been debating whether to go the CAI route also and any info, pro's and con's, would be helpful. Thanks,

[WaspHunter]

I asked this to an MY05 owner (the panel filters are on the plenum chamber instead of the guard with them), who has a CAI built with sewer piping going from his ram intake straight to the chamber.

Basic reply was that there was no difference. But all this CAI did was bypass the silencers and other resonator attachments and reduce piping length by about a foot.

The unshrouded Pod Filter on another mate's Skyline gets cleaned as you said, every oil filter change. If it had a shroud we figure it'd be less because you aren't getting as much contamination from the engine bay.

Sorry I can't give you firsthand info, everything but my wheels are remaining unmodified until the car is a year old or has 7500km on it, whichever comes first.

LiquidBlack, the CAI should be fine (but get it checked anyway). The Camry line hasn't had a radical change in parts since they introduced the alloy engine block for the '00. You're even on the same basic monococque as a '97 model. Keeps costs down for everyone involved.

[rascal]

Originally posted by Wayfarerwalk
For those of you who current use a CAI, how long is the life cycle of the filter? Does it need cleaning regularly, like with every oil change? How hard is it to clean and prep? I've been debating whether to go the CAI route also and any info, pro's and con's, would be helpful. Thanks,

To resurrect a dead post, I wanted to comment on the CAI topic. I added a Borla exhaust to my ZX2 before my CAI install and I felt a good bit of difference in power pick up. The car's throttle response was better, but not great. I then added the Hotshot CAI and really felt a nice "push" in throttle response. My gas mileage has gone up, depending on how I drive, but the mileage hasn't dropped any either. The CAI is louder compared to stock, but that is because you are eliminating the "air silencers" that the factory installs on the car. This is to quiet the intake, but it also robs you of some HP too. I have my filter where my old resonator (air silencer) use to sit in a fender cavity. It's tucked away nicely from the engine bay and stays clean for a long time. Now of course, if you live in a very dusty climate, you will need to clean the filter often than others. You can buy the K&N filter cleaning kit from local parts stores for around $10. I really love my CAI. I really enhances my engine compartment and the performance of my car. You can't go wrong with a CAI!

[ovidiu0901]

this may answear your question
Cold Air Intake