Cold air intakes.

[cacti35]

I have a 2020 2.3 L Ranger. Was wondering if anyone has any experience with adding this.
Any problems? Does it really help with mileage, power. or just not worth the time & money.
Thanks
Larry

 

[Blmpkn]

I should've done this myself when I still owned my 21, and documented it here. That way I wouldn't have to link to an inferior ranger website so.. my apologies.. either way.. the link below documents a pretty slick airbox mod.

Fender air box feed

Hi 5gers! About 2 mos ago I decided to setup a second air feed for the factory airbox. I have my reasons for doing so, but I have no dyno numbers (data) regarding this mod so no reason to extrapolate as I know I will be challenged on “Your reasons and research suck, etc”. Thus this thread is...

www.ranger5g.com

 

[cacti35]

Thanks for the prompt reply. After reading thru the thread, I believe I'll leave well enough alone.
Larry

 

[sgtsandman]

Many cold air intake kits aren't really cold air intakes. You have to look at how they are laid out and where they draw their air from. The ones that have the air filter isolated from the rest of the engine bay potentially can be cold air systems but you need to look at the details.

Technically speaking, the factory intake is a cold air system since it draws air in from outside the engine bay. So, before you leap, study the kit(s) you are interested in before you buy.

There is also debate on whether any gains you get are lost due to heat absorption through the metal tubes that connect the filter box to the intake manifold.

The subject is a hotly debated one. So, I'll leave it at that and let you decide for yourself if a CAI kit is worth it or not.

 

[JohnnyO]

On Ranger5G and the late-model FB groups the majority opinion is the the S&B intake is the best
Alls I'm gonna do is get a K&N replacement filter next time I need an air filter.

 

[09 Anla'shok]

Fwiw, I've noticed that during fall and the day they call winter, the truck is peppier than during the heat of the Florida summer.

 

[sgtsandman]

Fwiw, I've noticed that during fall and the day they call winter, the truck is peppier than during the heat of the Florida summer.

That's normal even in normally aspirated vehicles without a cold air intake.

 

[Bgunner]

Fwiw, I've noticed that during fall and the day they call winter, the truck is peppier than during the heat of the Florida summer.

This is caused by Cold air being more dense then Hot air. Because more oxygen can enter the combustion chamber the ECM actually adds a bit more fuel due to the dense air creating a more explosive combustion event producing more HP and Torque.

This is where the theory for "Cold Air Intakes" came from. The cooler the air you can get into the engine the better the combustion will be. Others before me mentioned the reasons that some CAI's are no good and the issues that can arise with them. Unless you are modifying the engine with a Cam, Injectors, Exhaust, changing compression ratio's ect. there is very little benefit to a aftermarket CAI. Usually at most you see 3-5 Horse Power gains, again this is at most from a CAI. Unless you are running a real turd of an engine you will not actually feel this gain in the seat of your pants.

Because for years and years manufactures have used cold air intakes the best option, in my humble opinion, is what JonnyO said, put in a high flow air filter into the stock filters place. I did this with my '94 because it already draws from right behind the right headlight.

The Exhaust's diameter is already larger than what the engines need so other than a high flow cat there is no reason to change the exhaust other than for sound and some do sound really good but from a performance stand point the gains are very minimal.
Headers can shift HP and Torque around and gain a little of each but again you are looking at the 3-8HP range in gains.

Because the engines now are around 200HP +/- unless you are adding in 20-30HP more you really wont feel much in the seat of your pants from the minimal gains from simple mods like just a CAI or just an Exhaust. Now if you do a combination of them like and Exhaust, Headers, Shift Kit, and a real Dyno Tune then yes you will really feel a difference in performance of the vehicle in the seat of your pants from those mods.

Depending on the kit and engine some CAI sound really cool with wide open throttle and one reason some install them.