Have you ever noticed that in the Fall when the temperatures are cooler, that your car has more get up and go? From a stop light your car just accelerates so much smoother and quicker. You like it don’t you? It puts a big smile on your face every time. The reason for this is that your engine performs better with cooler air. Now here is a question for you. Wouldn’t it be nice to have this kind of performance year round? Absolutely! This can be achieved with Cold Air Induction, and you don’t have to be a gear head with lots of experience working on motors to see performance increases of 10 – 20 horsepower at the rear wheels, as well as, an increase in torque.

Let’s go over some basics. Your engine is basically a big air pump. The easier it can breathe in and exhale out, the better the vehicle will perform. For this article, we are going to focus on the breathing in part of the equation. The exhaling part is your exhaust system which we will cover in a separate article.

There are two basic stages to Cold Air Induction. First is increasing the volume of air and second is lowering the temperature of the inducted air.

STAGE ONE: Increasing the Volume of Air

The Filter:

If you open the hood of your vehicle and open the air filter housing, you will more than likely find a paper filter. This is a standard OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) air filter. They are inexpensive for the car manufacture’s to purchase and install. If you go to any aftermarket auto parts store you will find these in ready supply. A much better product is a filter constructed of cotton. A cotton filter traps smaller contaminates than a paper filter and also allows a higher volume of air to pass thru, which lets your engine to breathe easier and therefore perform much better. Also, you don’t have to replace the filter like you do a normal paper filter. Just take it out and clean it periodically when you see it is dirty. There are a number of companies that specialize in these types of filters such as K&N, AEM, and Injen. Most of these suppliers suggest oiling the filter before installation. Now this is not engine oil I am referring to, but a special oil that the suppliers sell. This oil helps trap even finer particles without impeding air volume induction. Don’t get concerned about the oil being expensive. It’s not. K&N sells an Air Filter Service Kit for around $20. It will last you for quite a long time. The kit includes the oil spray, and a cleaning solution. Whenever you take the filter out to be cleaned, just spray the cleaning solution on the filter before rinsing. It helps remove trapped dirt particles from the fine filter element.

Installation:

The filter installation is simple and an easy do-it-yourself project. It is no different than replacing the standard paper air filter.

Step 1: Locate the air filter assembly under the hood.

Step 2: The housing is held together typically by 2 or 3 metal clamps. Open/release the clamps.

Step 3: With the clamps open, pull the housing apart. Be gentle! Some vehicles have the MAF (Mass Air Flow Sensor) attached to the downstream duct coming off the housing. It’s not an overly delicate sensor but you don’t want to be brutal with it. If you are not familiar with what a MAF looks like, you can’t miss it. It has wires coming off it that run from the MAF to the vehicle’s computer. The MAF measures the volume and the temperature of the air that is coming into the motor, and it then adjust fuel mixture to optimize fuel efficiency.

Step 4: Remove the old paper air filter and install the new “oiled” cotton filter.

Step 5: Reattach the Air Filter Housing clamps.

STAGE TWO: Lower the Temperature (a.k.a. Cold Air Induction)

The cotton filters mentioned above are an excellent performance enhancer for your vehicle, but to take it a step further and see even better results you probably will want to replace the Air Filter Housing with a unit that moves the air filter further away from the engine. These assemblies usually will move the filter into the front wheel housing or in the front of the vehicle near the front air dam. Either option will be drawing cooler air from outside the vehicle as compared to pulling hot air from the engine that is trapped under the hood. K&N is a leader in this segment of the market, but if you want to compare pricing, check the internet and I am sure there are others also. K&N has an in-house engineering group that tests all their own products to insure that the products they sell will meet or exceed expectations. The other good thing about a company like K&N is that you can buy the whole system, the filter and the filter housing assembly as a kit. The kit will come with installation instructions that are easy to follow, but to put your mind at ease I will give you a few quick easy steps.

Step 1: Disconnect the air duct from the throttle body on the engine. This is usually a metal retainer clamp that can be unscrewed. The MAF housing may sit sandwiched in between the air duct and throttle body and have its own retainer clamp also. Just unscrew the retainer clamp and remove the MAF. Pay close attention to which side of the MAF faced the throttle body. Air flows in one side of the MAF and out the other. The MAF will need to be installed in the same direction at completion. Set the MAF aside in a safe place for now.

Step 2: Disconnect the air duct from the Air Filter Housing. If you did not already encounter the MAF, you will now. Just follow the MAF removal instruction above. There may also be an air vacuum hose attached. Just pull this apart gently, leaving the hose attached to the engine. Now remove the air duct completely and set it aside.

Step 3: Disconnect the Air Filter Housing from the engine compartment. This is not difficult. Typically there are two to four places where the housing is attached in the engine bay to keep it from moving around. Once you have removed all the screws, remove the Housing unit.

Step 4: Attach the new air duct to the throttle body. Check the new housing instruction for location of the MAF. If it calls for the MAF to be installed between the air duct and throttle body, then install the MAF first to the throttle body, and then the air duct will attach to the MAF. It may call for the air duct to attach directly to the throttle body and for the MAF to attach to the end of the air duct that attaches to the air filter housing. If this is the case then go ahead and attach the air duct to the throttle body then attach the MAF to the air duct.

The new air duct will have a different configuration than your original OEM duct since it is now relocating where the air filter is going to be located.

Step 5: Install the new Air Filter Housing in the location as outlined by the supplier. This may be in the front air dam area or in the fender well. Typically it is in close proximity to the original air filter housing location so that attachment points can still be utilized.

Step 6: Once the Air Filter Housing is firmly attached to the engine compartment, attach the air duct to the housing using the clamps provided.

Step 6: Reattach the vacuum hose to the air duct if your car has one. Also attach the MAF wiring to the MAF.

Step 7: Check all the clamps and make sure they are nice and tight.

Step 8: Start your vehicle. Let it idle a couple of minutes. The engines computer will be recalibrating based on the new air volume. Next, take a short test drive. You should immediately see a noticeable improvement in the vehicles performance. After your test drive, check all the clamps and connections to ensure everything is tight.