Cold air intake

[satchmo1960]

I have a 2010 Silverado 1500 5.3....I have friends telling me I need to install a cold air intake. They tell me the truck will run better, get better mileage etc..My concern is the warranty and extended warranty I have in place...Does something like this really help and how about the warranty ??
Thanks

[eldermike]

An engine is a pump, the efficiency of a pump can't be improved by working on one end of the pump. Cold air intake will lighten your wallet and depending on how much this could slightly improve performance.

[lx22f/c]

Originally Posted by eldermike

An engine is a pump, the efficiency of a pump can't be improved by working on one end of the pump. Cold air intake will lighten your wallet and depending on how much this could slightly improve performance.

X2 don't spend your money you will not see a difference other than your bank account balance will be a lot smaller. Just my .02

[satchmo1960]

Thx for your replies..that was my thought also..Better things to spend $$$ on

[xkuzme1]

But talk about intake AND exhaust and you could see some gains.

[NewBlackDak]

It really depends on the vehicle. The exhaust in the post-'08 Titans was changed and to be very free-flowing, but Nissan didn't change the intake. The whole intake is more focused on noise reduction than any performance. I got a .5 mpg improvement in unloaded highway mileage from the Airraid CAI install, and it's unnoticed anywhere else. That is a VERY SMALL portion of my normal driving, so meh. Are you really going to feel the 8-10 hp that makes it to the wheels? What you WILL notice is a ton more noise. If you do exhaust at the same time you'll probably get some noticeable gains, but that is even more noise.

FYI, you cannot void your warranty installing a bolt-ons, unless you botch the install & suck something into the engine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuso...s_Warranty_Act

[thomasmnile]

A question, actually 2. Isn't the intake system of an internal combustion vehicle considered part of the anti-pollution controls and therefore any alteration might be construed a violation of EPA regulations and................

Since virtually everything under the hood is controlled by computer now doesn't an increase in airflow result in a proportional increase in fuel to the engine to compensate for disturbance of the "equilibrium" in the fuel/air mix, and result in greater fuel consumption than if the entire intake system is left in stock configuration? Not looking for controversy, just trying to comprehend how simply changing the intake is gonna matter that much.

[LiftedAWDAstro]

The intake as far as the air box and filter are not part of the anti-pollution controls. As long as the AIT sensor and MAP/MAF is used and not altered, the increased air flow (if it really is increased) will result in the engine pushing more fuel in to adjust A/F ratio based on what the catalytic converter(s) tell the ECM. That is why a cold air intake really doesn't make any difference in a N/A gas engine. Now in a turbocharged or supercharged engine where you are pumping air into the engine, a free flowing intake makes a difference unless the manufacturer has already done it. But you also need a free flowing exhaust as well.

[msturtz]

Cold air kits do really work. You get several benefits:
Colder air charge - cold air is denser air providing more oxygen to burn
Engine does not need to work as hard to draw in air saving fuel and freeing up horsepower
You have a reusable air filter saving replacement costs

In my situation I had a Silverado 3500 8.1L and since GM discontinued the engine they no longer sold a GM Performance Cold Air Kit for my truck. I was able to find a K&N cold air kit on Amazon for a little over $200 and I easily installed it myself using the supplied instructions. I didn't need to change the exhaust because GM had a large 3" exhaust on my truck to begin with. I noticed better fuel economy (1 mpg when towing) and more power especially when climbing mountain passes. Overall I would do it again. I plan on installing a cold air kit on my new 2014 Greyhawk. Unfortunately the Ford E450 has a restrictive exhaust so I will need to do a header back (Long tube headers) exhaust kit which is expensive to see any major gains. The OEM cannot void their warranty as a result of aftermarket additions unless they prove that the aftermarket addition caused the failure.

[eldermike]

You can use aftermarket products to improve a condition where a deficiency exists in the OEM design. That's all you can do. So what's deficient in the OEM design? The air intake on most OEM products comes from the wheelwell area, not from the engine compartment. So in most cases the air temp issue has been addressed already.

In the world of hot rods changes are made in stages. A stage addresses actual design intent of the OEM product against it's potential, and will have a positive outcome in power increase but most of the time if not always with a decrease in economy. Stage 1, (first stage over stock) would address the intake, exhaust and the programming of the fuel system at the same time. Stage 2 begins mechanical changes like cams, heads and cranks/pistons.

my 2 cents

[msturtz]

OEM intakes and exhausts are engineering compromises they need to stay within certain cost constraints etc. OEMs build performance intakes like for my 2007 Tahoe, GM Performance has a factory approved cold air kit that improves performance and at the same time improves fuel economy. The reason people can have lower fuel economy with these types of improvements has to do with driver issues such as the tendency to use that additional power by more full throttle starts etc. If you use the freed up power wisely you will get increased fuel economy. I saw significant improvement with the GM cold air kit on my 2007 Tahoe both in fuel economy (when I keep my foot out of it) and power (when I need it such as when passing or towing). OEM cast exhausts are similar in that they are restrictive and intended to barely meet the performance targets set by the OEM. Long tube performance exhaust headers use tuning to reduce heat and backpressure to improve performance.

[thomasmnile]

Thanks for the replies. I'm not a "motorhead" at all, more of a "turn the key and go" guy. My Ram has the diesel engine and in its stock configuration does all I need or want it to do with reasonable fuel economy for a 7000 lb. truck. Not apples to apples, but it's fuel mileage is on par (city) and better (highway) than the '03 Tundra it replaced, even though it weighs about 3000 lbs more than the Tundra. That to me, is impressive enough..................

[smurfs_of_war]

I'll chime in and parrot everyone else. Waste of money. And claims to gains anywhere are definitely open to scrutiny. If you look at the dyno curve they provide- gains are made towards peak RPM (if any) so what's the point? I don't believe the mileage gains either. Too many variables to make a claim like that. OEM intakes are pretty efficient- more than the engine needs.
Could potentially damage MAF sensor as another drawback.

[clutch]

All the auto makers are concerned with CAFE (corporate average fuel economy). Bean counters are worried more about keeping the corporate mileage within government expected parameters than saving a few cents per unit. The easiest way to improve fuel economy and power is to have less weight. When your wallet is lighter by several hundred dollars your mileage and power will improve.