# Cold Air Intake



## chucksgto (Dec 3, 2008)

I have a 04 with 20K and I am thinking of swapping out the OEM air intake with K&N Typhoon Cold Air Intake or what ever you guys would suggest is better. Is it worth the money and if so, what addition horsepower can I expect, if any. Thanks and take care, Chuck


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## deg04gto (Feb 10, 2008)

They all give nearly the same amount of power since the amount of air that the intake allows in is computer controlled anyway. They do make a difference cause you notice right away that its taking in more air and your exhaust note will change along with it (might get a little deeper unless you have an aftermarket exhaust already). You can hear it working especially when you step on it


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

the sound gives an illusion. the stock intake has baffles that muffle the sound so the car's quieter. aftermarket intakes remove that and you hear the soundwaves going out of the engine thru the throttle body. the reason i say illusion is that any time you increase sound you get the illusion of more power whether you are getting it or not. remove your muffler and you'll feel like a rocket even tho you won't dyno any noticeable increase. i read that some mustangs might be routing some of the engine sound into the compartment so that the driver would get the sound of power without compromising exhaust decibels. 

the computer doesn't control air flow. it's purely a mechanical function of intake resistance, throttle body opening, intake manifold and heads/cam/valving to exhaust flow. an intake does 3 things: cleans the air going in, delivers it as efficiently as it can (with low resistance to flow) and do it at as close to ambient temp as possible. all three functions are measurable. particulate trapping, flow thu by the Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) of which there's a sensor on the intake manifold and Intake Air Temps (IAT) of which the sensor for temp is on the intake tube ('04) or in the MAF ('05-'06). 

I've tested thru logging with software several intakes and they give results that are below their hype. the filter and tube size is addressed with bigger filters and some have bigger/smoother tubes but they all pretty much get their air from the same place as the stock intake. shielding is a red herring as the stock intake has shielding and altho effective to a point the intake still has to get it's air from somewhere and there just isn't a good place from in the engine bay. the larger/smoother tube allows a little more flow than stock but the biggest impediment that i've seen is the 90* bend right before the TB. air just doesn't like to make hard right turns and the MAP suffers. 

regardless, on a mainly stock engine the stock set up with the "two hole mod" and a K&N drop-in is going to be fine. for higher HP cars an aftermarket helps more but the more direct intakes like the OTRCAIs (over the radiator cold air intakes), DMS or the soon to come out Vararam are going to be the only ones i've seen that will live up to what most think theirs does


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## PDQ GTO (Jun 21, 2007)

Pick you Fav. and move on to your next Mod. They are all more alike than different. There are numerous threads on this subject if you want more Info. If looks are important go for the AEM, polished...:cool


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## AlanSr (Jan 4, 2008)

You are 100% correct.....but a chrome CAI under your hood looks really good


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## chucksgto (Dec 3, 2008)

Great info guys, really appreciate it. I'm retired and in my golden years, so my kids tell me. I'm from the era when Goats, 442s, SSs, Super Bees, etc were the real deal. So I had to get me another toy while I can still enjoy the little things of power. Again, appreciate everything and keep it coming, love the info. Take care, Chuck


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

PDQ GTO said:


> Pick you Fav. and move on to your next Mod. They are all more alike than different. There are numerous threads on this subject if you want more Info. If looks are important go for the AEM, polished...:cool


that's easy to say when you're blowing air into the manifold . the difference between intakes types surely isn't as significant as bolting on a blower but it can be more significant than porting and polishing your throttle body. the Aussies who have been running "our" cars a lot longer than us almost universally prefer OTRCAIs. i was skeptical until i tested the difference but it's real. if you want the bling and not try to get the most out of the car then your advise stands. otherwise i respectively disagree.


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