How it Works: Cold Air Intake
This article will be the first of several basic articles explaining the more common modifications made to the TSX, my aim with this article is to improve ones understanding of the parts and their function, so that you can learn more about what is going on under your hood, and what exactly you are doing.
Air Flow:
The function of an Intake is simple, to get the needed air for combustion. I don’t want to lengthen this article with all the information on how exactly an internal combustion works, but a simple analogy is a Potato gun, Oxygen plus an explosive fuel needs to be compressed in the chamber, and when the spark hits the air/fuel mixture it causes an explosion. This explosion when contained causes the potato to launch, or the pistons to compress. Engines work off of this compression, the Pistons are connected so that when one compresses the other expands, and so on, this force is also transferred to the transmission, and so on. I know the above is a very loose description of how an engine works, but its more then enough to understand why and intake is an important part of your car.
So that being said, as automotive enthusiasts our goal with the intake is to improve it so our engines can get more air, in a easy manner. A Turbocharger or Supercharger is the best way to do this, they force feed more air into the engine at a higher rate, for those of us however with smaller wallets, or the desire to keep a car naturally aspired, an Aftermarket intake can help channel the airflow to the engine, allowing it to breath easier. Also a general rule is that: Cold air ? Horsepower, this fact can be easily seen on a cold day, your car will have more horsepower and be more responsive on a 55* day then a 90* day.
Air Intake Systems:
OEM
The OEM Intake system consists of several parts; a large plastic air filter canister, plastic duct tubing, a resonator, and several rubber pieces connecting systems and the duct work to the throttle-body. This system is actually a very good design from an economical standpoint and its placement is low and behind the fender allowing it to suck in colder air from outside, for better throttle response and horsepower.
There are of course some problems with the OEM set up, the first being that its simply not a performance oriented system, the plastic ducts and the Resonator are designed for emissions control and noise control, not for the best possible airflow. removing the resonator and channeling the airflow has shown some minor gains for the TSX.
The Piping itself is also a problem, if you look at the tubes, youll notice they have ridges, these ridges decrease the air flow by adding turbulence to the system.
The other big problem with the stock set up is the paper air filter that comes from the factory, this is designed with price in mind, not performance, replacing this filter with a K&N or a Spoon Drop in filter is a major plus, not only for the better airflow, but for the better filtering capability and reusability.
Aftermarket Air Intake
Aftermarket intakes solve this problem in two ways, first they offer a wider pipe with less bends for a better flow, secondly they replace the cheap paper filter with a higher quality filter which maximizes durability, filtering and airflow.
Now the two most common form of intakes are the
Cold Air Intake and the
Short Ram Intake
The Short ram is the more basic of all intake systems. It is made up of a higher flowing tube, with a cone filter attached to it. These changes make it extremely effective for the high flow of oxygen vs the bends and tunnels of the stock airbox. However like its counterpart the Cold Air, it also causes a loss in petal feel in the lower revs and loss of low end torque, it makes up for it however in the higher rpms with the added horsepower.
The problem with the short ram is while the OEM intake sucked better colder air, the short ram draws from inside the engine bay, your engine hits some pretty high temperatures, This combination of limited and warmer air causes fuel-rich combustion mixtures that don't burn as well as they could.
The advancement of this is a Cold Air Intake. The Cold Air is simply an extended form of a short ram, the cold air places the cone filter where the resonator once was, inside the front bumper, this allows the engine to suck up cold air from behind the bumper, rather then the warm air underneath the hood.
The Negatives of a cold air Intake are: Loss of Low End Torque, and a risk of hydrolock (though minor) hydrolock is not a major concern if you were to ask me, however if you have really bad luck and/ or are worried about the risk, AEM makes a bypass valve, that will fit most CAI intakes. Also the Cold Air will change the overall sound of the TSX under throttle.
SR/CAI Install thread:
http://tsxclub.com/forums/1st-gen-car-care/10992-air-intake-install-guide-post150191.html
Lastly there are the Aftermarket Box Intakes, such as mugen, J’s racing and The Comptech Icebox… these box shaped intakes are quite similar to the OEM intakes, and that gives them there advantage. They mimic the stock box, however have been better channeled, with a higher quality filter and less tubing. This design does not give the High RPM gains of a Cold Air, but it does not suffer from the low RPM losses either, also it manages to retain some of the sound characteristics of the stock Air box, rather then the “Angry Elephant” noise you get from a full Cold Air.
