How To Install A Cold Air Intake?
As you know, today, there are a lot of options available to boost the performance of your car, and lots of customization can be done with ease. Various ways are in front of you, to make your car ride fun and thrilling.
You can boost the engine to get that additional power, install the best air compressors to make your journey cool and comfortable, and why not? Among the luxurious options that you have, installing a cold air intake is an inexpensive option to increase the performance of your engine, and that way, it is very easy.
Air Intake Systems
The power required to keep your car engine moving is produced by the combustion of fuel in the Engine. In order to let the combustion take place in the Engine chamber, there are three main components that are inevitable, i.e., fuel, oxygen, and heat. The gasoline supplies fuel, heat is taken from the spark, and oxygen is from the air, which enters the system from outside.
For the combustion to be effective and to get optimum power, these three elements should be supplied in the right ratio and at the right time.
Most of the time, the efficiency of your engine is affected if the required amount of oxygen is not supplied to the engine chamber for combustion. This happens if the air intake is not adequate. Now, this is exactly what we are trying to address by using a cold Air intake system. This DIY guide will give you step-wise instructions on how to install a cold air intake in your cars.
Photo Credit: https://www.enginebasics.com/Engine%20Basics%20Root%20Folder/Cold%20Air%20Intake.html
In the current car models, the air intake systems have a small intake port, which restricts the absorption of the maximum quantity of air, and this reduces the supply of oxygen to the combustion chamber. This, in turn, affects the combustion efficiency and the engine performance. This becomes worse when the air filters become dirty due to deposits of dust and other impurities, and the air inflow is further restricted.
Now, think of an option for replacing your OEM filter with a high-performance filter. A high-quality air intake system can eliminate the restrictions on taking the maximum amount of oxygen in, which will add to the combustion rate and your engine performance.
The logic behind cold air intake is that cold air is denser and that warm air expands maximum when heated. Due to this high degree of expansion, the explosion within your engine chamber will be bigger, and this increases the power of your Engine. Yes, more power and increased fuel economy sounds interesting, right?
Benefits of Cold Air Intake System
The additional benefits of a cold air intake system are:
- Better air-to-fuel ratio
- Increased horsepower
- Increased fuel mileage
- Better overall pick up and performance
There are different models of air intake systems available in the market, for your car, from which you can choose, or even the intake systems can be customarily made by carefully choosing the components that match your car model and then assembling the components. Irrespective of the model of cold air intake chosen, the installation steps are all the same.
Two commonly used models are K & N cold air intake and Injen cold air intake. For any confusion related to the model and brand of the air intake system, you can either approach an experienced mechanic or get review comments from the internet.
The Process of Installing
After getting a cold air intake suitable for your car, the next step is installing it. That’s not a big deal. Let’s do it by following these simple steps:
- Turn off your Engine: The first step to installing your cold air intake is to stop your car and turn off your Car Engine. Park it somewhere where you have enough space to walk around. Let the engine cool off before you start the installation. Be careful as the engine parts will be very hot when the car is moving. Be patient, Give ample time for the engine parts to cool down.
- Unplug the Car Battery: Then carefully remove the negative terminal and the positive terminal of your battery to disconnect it before you start the installation process completely.
- Take the original air intake off: Now try to locate the built-in air intake. This is so simple; it looks like a large plastic tube running from the engine bay to a large plastic filter box. To remove it, you have to take off the filter, the filter box, and the tube running to the engine slowly and carefully. If it is mounted to the engine, use a socket set to remove the small bolts.
- Remove the sensors attached to the intake: Depending upon the car model and the make of Engine, there will be one or more sensors associated with the air intake, which regulates the amount of air intake automatically, the connection of the old intake with the sensors should be removed.
- Fit the new cold air intake: Now comes the most important step of fixing the new Cold air intake. For that, please refer to the instructions carefully before you install the air intake. You need to understand which part should be connected to the engine first. Attach the silicone coupling that came with the Cold air intake to the throttle body. Place a hose clamp on the coupling to secure it. Slide the intake tube into the silicone coupling. Use hose clamps wherever required to fix the air intake. You might require climbing under the car to complete the installation as the air intake happens from outside the engine compartment.
- Check your work: Once you are done with the installation, ensure that your intake pipe is running away from the engine bay and is running from the throttle bay. See whether the bolt and clamps are right in place and the hose is connected tightly. Tighten the mountings until it’s tight and secure.
- Reattach the battery terminal: The battery terminals can now be reattached to the new air intake. To start with, attach the positive terminal first and then the negative terminal of your battery.
- Do a test drive: Run the engine now check whether the installation is correct and enjoy the difference when you ride your car.
Photo Credit: http://www.autoanything.com/air-intakes/injen-sp-series-cold-air-intake
When you run the engine, check for any unusual noise from under your dash. If your cold air intake is fitted properly as per the instructions and if you are sure that your installation is 100% perfect, the unusual sound could be due to some other reason.
One possible reason for the gurgling sound could be due to the airlock in the coolant system. In that case, you need to get rid of air in heater core of the cooling system to rectify it. The trapping of air can be due to a lack of care and attention during coolant refill.
To get rid of the air in the heat core, you may need to burp the coolant system, for which you would require the help of an experienced mechanic.
Come back to our subject; installing your cold air intake is not difficult. If you follow the instructions in the guide, you can easily do it without the support or guidance of a professional. Try it and share your comments.
Be ready to give your car the much-required boost with a cold intake system.
