Cold Air Intake System Really Not Needed

[Grumpaw]

I recently installed a Scan Gauge ll in the Ranger to keep track of it's systems.
2009 Ranger XL, 4 cyl, auto trans. Stock engine/air filter/intake
One of the parameters can be set for Intake Air Temperature.
Took a drive just now to dinner and back, about 16 miles, running at 45 mph, ac on. Outside temp was right at 89-90 degrees.
While running, the gauge was reading between 90-92 degrees. While at the fast food location, I sat in the truck, and let it idle with ac on.
Gauge temp ran up to 118-120, because the intake was drawing air from the engine compartment.
On the way home, within 3 miles, gauge temp dropped down to 91-92 degrees.
To me this would prove that a cold air intake system is not really necessary or beneficial to the Ranger.
Also, since a cold air intake is basically drawing air from under the hood, even at speed, I would think that its just drawing in hot air, at least hotter than the outside air.
Other than making more noise, I can't see any benefit to installing an intake system.

 

[JMF661]

I’ve always thought of CAIs to be pretty much a gimmick when it comes to most vehicles. Sometimes they sound better/louder, and sometimes look neat under the hood. That’s about it.

 

[Dirtman]

Cold air intake systems work amazing.


That's why Ford put one on at the factory...

 

[Grumpaw]

Maybe for a high performance vehicle that draws fresh air from outside a better cold air system might be of benefit, but for a stock engine, I can't see wasting money on one.
I just posted as there are so many posts about systems, pro and con, that now I have the ability to truly measure the temp with the stock system
Maybe I'll remove the air silencer to see what happens and what effect it has on the temps/time to cool down, ect.

 

[G8orFord]

The only real reason to change from a stock intake system to a CAI is if you need better/more flow due to upgrades. In many cases, the stock system can even take care of that. I've put CAI's on a few vehicles, but it was never because I thought I was going to get colder air into the engine.

 

[RonD]

I recently installed a Scan Gauge ll in the Ranger to keep track of it's systems.
2009 Ranger XL, 4 cyl, auto trans. Stock engine/air filter/intake
One of the parameters can be set for Intake Air Temperature.
Took a drive just now to dinner and back, about 16 miles, running at 45 mph, ac on. Outside temp was right at 89-90 degrees.
While running, the gauge was reading between 90-92 degrees. While at the fast food location, I sat in the truck, and let it idle with ac on.
Gauge temp ran up to 118-120, because the intake was drawing air from the engine compartment.
On the way home, within 3 miles, gauge temp dropped down to 91-92 degrees.
To me this would prove that a cold air intake system is not really necessary or beneficial to the Ranger.
Also, since a cold air intake is basically drawing air from under the hood, even at speed, I would think that its just drawing in hot air, at least hotter than the outside air.
Other than making more noise, I can't see any benefit to installing an intake system.

You HAVE a cold air intake, if you have a stock system

It pulls air from in front of the rad support behind the grill
Look in front of air filter box for the air tube, its down low

The air temp will rise during long idles because air temp in engine bay goes up, and air temp sensor is in with MAF sensor, in the engine bay
Also air temp behind the grill will climb up a bit from rad and condenser heat and limited air flow


Cold air intakes do work for better performance, but they are stock on pretty much all fuel injected vehicles because its easy to do
In the old days with carburetors, the air cleaner sat in the center of the engine bay, on the carb
So extra hoses(large ones)had to be run to holes in the rad support to get the cooler air, and MOST car makers didn't do that, some did
That's where cold air intakes came from, hot rodders that wanted that extra power, they added the hoses to pull in the cooler air
Now a days, its a bit of a scam because most vehicles already have CAI, lol

Have a look at this Mustang engine bay: https://themustangsource.com/forums/attachments/f659/42530d1180380121-spotless-engine-bay-picture-car-4-006.jpg

Some will see this and say well air is being sucked in from engine bay, look at where the air filter is
What they are ignoring is that when the hood is closed that box the air filter is in is SEALED, by the hood, so air is being pulled in from a tube thru the rad support, NOT the engine bay

People do this on a Ranger, but without "the box", lol, so not a CAI

 

[JMF661]

I should have been more specific. The aftermarket CAIs offered by various manufacturers seem to mostly be a gimmick.

I’ve bought a couple over the years with the expectation of a louder engine sound and not much else.

The theory behind them is pretty sound. As was previously mentioned, most modern engines are setup to pull air from outside of the engine bay via ducting to the wheel well or the grill.

 

[Grumpaw]

You HAVE a cold air intake, if you have a stock system

It pulls air from in front of the rad support behind the grill
Look in front of air filter box for the air tube, its down low

The air temp will rise during long idles because air temp in engine bay goes up, and air temp sensor is in with MAF sensor, in the engine bay
Also air temp behind the grill will climb up a bit from rad and condenser heat and limited air flow


Cold air intakes do work for better performance, but they are stock on pretty much all fuel injected vehicles because its easy to do
In the old days with carburetors, the air cleaner sat in the center of the engine bay, on the carb
So extra hoses(large ones)had to be run to holes in the rad support to get the cooler air, and MOST car makers didn't do that, some did
That's where cold air intakes came from, hot rodders that wanted that extra power, they added the hoses to pu;; on the cooler air
Now a days, its a bit of a scam because most vehicles already have CAI, lol

Have a look at this Mustang engine bay: https://themustangsource.com/forums/attachments/f659/42530d1180380121-spotless-engine-bay-picture-car-4-006.jpg

Some will see this and say well air is being sucked in from engine bay, look at where the air filter is
What they are ignoring is that when the hood is closed that box the air filter is in is SEALED, by the hood, so air is being pulled in from a tube thru the rad support, NOT the engine bay

People do this on a Ranger, but without "the box", lol, so not a CAI

I did have a CAI on my previous Mustang GT, and yes it was a sealed box located at the left front with a feed from outside air.
And yes, the Ranger has what amounts to a factory CAI.
I just posted the temps I registered so others could see there is no real difference between outside and intake temps at speed with the stock system. The stock system does just fine in pulling cool air (as opposed to under hood air) from the outside.
There has always been misinformation that just sticking a neat filter on the end of a fancy plastic tube would lead to "colder air" being drawn into the system. Can't happen when that big fancy filter is just drawing air from a hot engine compartment.
Did not post to start pissing matches or arguments...just simple temp readings to show what's going on down yonder in the engine compartment where all them running things are.
The fancy plastic "smooth" tube may smooth out the air flow, but that's it.

 

[Dirtman]

In the old days my dad told me an old race car trick was to take a coffee can and wrap a big coil of the fuel line through it then fill it with dry ice, they would also make custom air filter housings where you could also dump a bunch of dry ice on top. Poor mans nitrous system. Now that's a cold air intake...

 

[Grumpaw]

In the old days my dad told me an old race car trick was to take a coffee can and wrap a big coil of the fuel line through it then fill it with dry ice, they would also make custom air filter housings where you could also dump a bunch of dry ice on top. Poor mans nitrous system. Now that's a cold air intake...

That was true...common practice in the days before CAI. Also they were available as "cool cans" and had the fuel line already mounted with inlet and outlets already installed. Still available from Jegs and Summit. Also many used to run flexible tubes from under the bumper or from behind the grill to modified air cleaners with cut-outs for the tubes. Brought air almost stright in from the outside.
Look up some photos from the old Ford ThunderBolts and you'll see the inside headlights were removed and replaced with 5-6 inch flex tubes running straight to the air cleaners.
The Olds 442 with the W30 and W31 packages also had a neat CAI system installed at the factory.

 

[RonD]

In the old days my dad told me an old race car trick was to take a coffee can and wrap a big coil of the fuel line through it then fill it with dry ice, they would also make custom air filter housings where you could also dump a bunch of dry ice on top. Poor mans nitrous system. Now that's a cold air intake...

Not a "nitrous" system, colder air system
Dry Ice is CO2 and engine would not like CO2 mixed in with intake air, you would lose HP

Yes, cooling the fuel is still popular with racers but you need a drop of 10degC(50degF) to get 0.5% increase in power, so alot of fuel cooling is needed
Most just cool the fuel prior to a race, then fill the tank, get a bit better performance for a few minutes until fuel gets to ambient temp

 

[Dirtman]

Not a "nitrous" system, colder air system
Dry Ice is CO2 and engine would not like CO2 mixed in with intake air, you would lose HP

Yes, cooling the fuel is still popular with racers but you need a drop of 10degC(50degF) to get 0.5% increase in power, so alot of fuel cooling is needed
Most just cool the fuel prior to a race, then fill the tank, get a bit better performance for a few minutes until fuel gets to ambient temp

I didn't say they put the dry ice IN the air cleaner.

 

[don4331]

Another common misconception is lifting the hood at the cowl improves cooling.

While its does at slow speed, anything above 10mph, the base of the windshield is a high pressure area.​

Most manufacturers historically tapped into this for interior ventilation; Chevrolet took advantage of it for increased performance - the cowl induction Corvettes and Camaros.​

​

Our most infamous trick was filling the secondaries with nitromethane.

That and a 2lb nitrous oxide bottle in the lifter valley was good for about 400hp extra for ~10 seconds on our 351C and no one was the wiser.​

 

[Grumpaw]

Not a "nitrous" system, colder air system
Dry Ice is CO2 and engine would not like CO2 mixed in with intake air, you would lose HP

Yes, cooling the fuel is still popular with racers but you need a drop of 10degC(50degF) to get 0.5% increase in power, so alot of fuel cooling is needed
Most just cool the fuel prior to a race, then fill the tank, get a bit better performance for a few minutes until fuel gets to ambient temp

All that's true Ron. But he and I are talking about back in the olden days. Back in the early and mid 60's we did the coffee can mod cause it just seemed right. Didn't have the high tech stuff, but if the pro racers did it, it was good enough for us "run what you brung"
I had a can set up on a 64 Falcon Sprint that I bought new in 64. Also had cheater slicks on chrome reverse rims, duals with cutouts, and ran Sunoco 260. Used Vasoline to shine up the tires.
It may not have made a huge difference technically, but seat of my pants said otherwise.

 

[RonD]

Yes, I got that, and Dirtman's description was clear, dry ice ON TOP of air cleaner

It was the "Poor mans nitrous system" comment I wanted to clear up, nitrous is, of course, oxygen injection, partial air cooling, but more about the oxygen it makes available