The air intake is an integral part of your engine.
Vehicle air intakes are the first step in the fuel combustion process that makes your vehicle's engine operate. An intake system provides the engine with the oxygen necessary for the combustion of gasoline. There are several different types of intake systems used depending on a vehicle's design or type. All air intake types include an air filter and are tube-shaped in order to pass oxygen to the engine as efficiently as possible.
Short-Pipe Intake
A short-pipe air intake consists of a metal tube or pipe and an high-flow air filter. This intake type delivers oxygen into your engine's intake manifold to provide the air necessary for combustive locomotion. A short-pipe intake draws this air from under the hood of the vehicle, which means that the air going into the intake is usually warm or heated from the engine. Warm air intakes have the disadvantage of lower engine power, but the advantage of reduced fuel consumption compared to cold air systems.
Cold Air Intake
Cold air intakes draw air from outside the vehicle into your engine's intake manifold to create combustion. This means that the air pulled into the intake manifold is cool -- not warmed by engine components as in short-pipe air intake design. The cold air provided to the engine allows the engine to burn more fuel, which results in higher engine performance. Cold air intakes use long piping which pull air from either the space around the wheel well or front bumper and are coupled with a high-flow air filter to keep foreign matter from entering the intake manifold.
Ram-Air Intake
Ram-air intake systems are similar to cold air intakes. Ram-air intakes draw outside air into the manifold in much the same way as a cold air intake, but includes an air collector to allow extra oxygen into the intake manifold when the car is moving. Ram-air intakes provide the most power to your engine because they allow your engine to burn more fuel. They include piping to the front bumper or wheel well area for passive cold air collection, a collector cone for additional air flow and a high-flow air filter.
Stock Air Box (OEM) Intake
A stock air box is the basic OEM air intake parts that come factory-installed in most vehicles. Stock air boxes draw air from just behind the grille of the hood. They do not use high-flow air filters, which means that stock air filters are restrictive -- a good reason to replace the stock air filter with a high-performance one. OEM air intakes or air boxes are sufficient for most users who do not need extra performance.
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