What is the difference between air intake and air filter

It sits in the cold air collection box and traps a variety of impurities in the air, including:. The air goes through the air cleaner element before entering the engine. It's important for the engine to get clean air only. Your engine sucks in a lot of air, so it would get a lot of dust if there's no air cleaner element in place. It's OK for a little bit of dust to make its way into the engine, but large amounts of dust will ruin the engine. That's why it's important to replace your air cleaner element every 15, miles or more frequently if you live in a dusty area.

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Most of the higher-end cold air intake systems also come with a large box that surrounds the filter, which helps funnel more air into the intake. There is a number of different advantages that can come from installing a cold air intake system in place of a standard air filter.

For one, the cold air intake system allows much more air to flow into the engine. It has a larger and more powerful intake, which sucks in a lot more air. With more air flowing to the engine, the engine is able to oxidize the burning fuel quicker, which increases the amount of horsepower the engine is able to put out. Cold air intakes also move the air filter outside of the engine compartment itself.

This allows for the filter to take in colder air from the outside. Cold air contains more oxygen, an extremely necessary component in the process of oxidization. With more oxygen being supplied to the engine, the rate of combustion increases, which further increases total power output. A good way to visualize the difference is to think of trying to exercise while having sinus congestion. You can still breathe while being congested; however, the amount of air traveling through your nostrils is drastically decreased.

This is not unlike a standard air filter, which works well but cuts down on the total amount of oxygen being taken in. Recommended Articles. All Advice Categories. Understanding a car air intake system. There are a handful of car owners out there that are not quite sure what an air intake system does, how it works or how important it is to a car. In the s, the first air intake systems were offered and consisted of moulded plastic intake tubes and a cone-shaped cotton gauze air filter.

A decade later, overseas manufacturers began importing popular Japanese air intake system designs for the sport compact market. Now, with the technological advancement and ingenious engineering minds, intake systems are available in metal tube designs, allowing a greater degree of customisation. The tubes are typically powder-coated or painted to match a vehicle. Now that modern engines are not equipped with carburettors, it's the fuel-injected engines we are concerned about.

So the question is - what exactly do we need to know about it? The air intake system and how it works The function of the air intake system is to allow air to reach your car engine. Oxygen in the air is one of the necessary ingredients for the engine combustion process. A good air intake system allows for clean and continuous airflow into the engine, thereby achieving more power and better mileage for your car. A simple solution for many choked-up fuel-injected vehicles is to replace the factory air filter and box with an aftermarket piece called a cold air intake.

A rigid pipe routes air to the air inlet at the manifold from an open area near the radiator air inlet. Most cold air inlet systems feature an exposed conical filter. Air filters can be bare paper, cellular foam, or oil-bathed and are intended to draw more air from cooler places than the factory air filter.

In theory, a cold air intake can add horsepower and improve gas mileage. The added performance is a result of a colder, denser charge of air. The free-flowing inlet pipe allows less turbulent air that is moving faster and contains more oxygen than stock systems.

Well-built systems can increase both horsepower and torque and can improve fuel mileage as well. A cold air intake usually makes an engine louder because the larger volume of air is less restricted. With most aftermarket car parts, you get what you pay for, and cold air intakes are the same. Dozens of online sellers offer really nice looking kits for cheap, and they claim some eye-popping power numbers, too.

The reality is that most of these types of kits are inferior to the stock system, and may even cause idle issues, stalling, surging, and check engine light illumination. Cold air intakes can increase the risk of water flooding an engine. High-performance filters can allow water to be sucked into the engine. This can result in a condition called hydro-locking.

Hydro-locking is caused when water enters a cylinder. Unlike air, water does not compress. Hydro-locking can literally cause the engine to stop in mid-rotation, destroying itself in the process. Several highly popular companies sell aftermarket cold air intake systems that are better than stock filters, but they are not cheap.