how big of a difference is there between a short ram and a cold air intake?

Question

Since the short ram is still in the engine compartment, isn't it picking up warmer air than the cold air intake?

well no sh*t 'Vegas Bound', i know that cold air is better than warm air!!! That's not what i asked!!! Look at the question next time instead of just giving out common knowledge!!!

Answer 1

Yes, the short ram does pick up warmer air in the engine compartment. As long as the filter is located in the engine bay with a "CAI" it is not a true CAI.

Although your stock air box is as efficient enough as an aftermarket CAI, it just doesnt have the same clean look or sound as aftermarket. And that sound is derived from the filter anyway.

True CAIs have the filter located outside of the engine bay, normally in the fender well or right behind the bumper. Like someone mentioned the only negative thing about this is its ability to suck up water and causing hydro lock in your engine. NOT GOOD!

Short rams are worthless and give no HP gains whatsoever. It's all in your mind. They're only effective when combined with a scoop and/or air box. If they arent being fed cold air directly then in reality all they're doing is introducing warm engine heat back into the intake manifold.

Again the filter is what makes it sound nice and makes you believe that you've gained monster HP lol.

Answer 2

None. Lol Cold air intake is better. I dont here of short rams anymore.. all that is is just sorter tubing, hopefully you can figure that out. Increases the air speed a lil bit. Cold air intake grabs the colder air thats near the ground, and colder air, equals better mixture, and a better running engine, doesn't increase horse power as much, but an air filter will do just as good as cold air intake. Choose k&n.

Answer 3

both have advantages. The short intake wont take in water.. The longer intake will get more fresh air, but the ram intake, is kinda like a double intake. It pulls fresh air in through the ram, into a box, and then into the filter. If you live in an area that gets alot of rain or snow, then i would get a short intake, but if your weather is reasonable, then a long intake will be fine.
Now being said, a longer intake will generally get your beter performance, because if your sitting at a stop light, you are breathing in fresh air, but if you have a ram intake, instead of bringing in fresh air, you will heat the box, thus increasing the temp.
i hope this explains it.

Answer 4

The throttle response on a cold air is slightly worse than a short ram, but the cold air will normally put down more power. As for those who think that you're going to hydro lock your engine with a cold air, the chances of it happening are almost nil, your engine will stall far before you hydro lock it. Its the people that sit there and try to restart the engine that end up bending a rod.

Answer 5

Cold air is more dense than warm air. So when you compress cold air into the cylinder to mix with the fuel, there are more condensed molecules in the cold air to create a bigger, more efficient combustion. More combustion = more happy time in your car. :)

Although they are more efficient than SRI, they also run the risk of picking up standing water from a flood or large puddle, due to the placement of the intake filter. Which is very bad.

Answer 6

I would suggest a short ram with cool air ducts or a block off panel.

Best of both worlds. throttle response, and cool air.

Most importantly of all keep the filter clean. That prolly kills more horsepower than the difference between CAI and short ram.

KC

Answer 7

You are correct, Ideally your standard cold air box has a formed plastic manifold to direct cold air into the box. If your box is missing the inlet piece you can buy it through a parts counter at your car dealership. There are a ton of razzle dazzle company's out their who sell huge air inlet tubes to a cone shaped air cleaner under the hood. Save your $$$ they draw hot air and the filter most likely doesn't have any more surface area than your standard filter. I would add a K&N filter to your box.

Answer 8

JDM pretty much hit da nail on da head.