There are many cool modification kits out on the market today, but they aren’t always the right modifications for your vehicle. Though they say they will help your vehicle run better, that’s not necessarily the truth.
Why not to buy a cold air intake – bad car mods
Scotty Kilmer, or #SavageScotty, says that you should not buy a cold air intake for your car. Why?
- They aren’t designed for stock vehicles
- They negatively impact the vehicle’s functions
- They actually suck in hot air
Here is some more information on why Scotty thinks it’s better to stick with the factory airbox that your vehicle already comes with.
Why Not to Buy a Cold Air Intake – Bad Car Mods
Many people think that they can use a cold air intake modification to improve acceleration and horsepower. To do this, they remove the factory airbox and filter.
There are claims that these cold air intakes will add horsepower to your vehicle, but the truth is that they are for race cars.
Race cars are Dyno tuned. In a race car, everything is designed to be set up before each race, so that the car runs perfectly. Normal cars aren’t like this.
Normal cars are designed by engineers to work with the mass airflow sensor and factory airbox. Bypassing that will often turn on the check engine light, and your vehicle may pollute more than it should.
You won’t be able to get your vehicle inspected with the cold air intake in place, and over time, it’s likely that the vehicle will run worse.
Why is a Cold Air Intake Modification a Bad Idea?
A cold air intake modification changes the way your vehicle takes in air, which means that the vehicle may not idle or accelerate correctly. The computer becomes confused due to the change.
Different air temperatures and flows confuse your computer. The computer can be modified as well, but the mechanic needs a dynamometer, a five-gas analyzer and to know how to reprogram the computer.
That change won’t be cheap. On top of that, if you install a new cold air intake, you’re likely to void your manufacturer’s warranty.
After personally testing some of these systems on a dynamometer, he determined that they don’t make much difference on a stock vehicle. While they look cool and are noisier, the change hurts the way the vehicle works.
Don’t Cars Run Better on Cold Air?
Yes, vehicles do run better on cold air, but these cold air intake modifications may actually take in hot air due to the close proximity to the engine.
Instead of Modifying a Vehicle, Get the One You Want
At Vehicle History, you can buy a vehicle that you truly want instead of modifying one. Research the vehicles that you’re interested in here, so you can learn more before you buy.
