winter time - stock air intake?
When my 3rd Strike CAI comes Im puttin it on and its staying on because there have been production vehicles through the years that came from the factory with ram air and get driven year round so I think it will be fine.
it is a small effect
but at idle
where the throttle blades are nearly closed & vacuum very high,
and where pressures at the top of the compression strokes are very low
and where spark plugs are having trouble consistently igniting the air/fuel mix
there is a slight advantage in fuel economy
to having the intake air heated up somehow.
If you look over carefully
the stock air intake designs
on 2nd, 3rd Gen, and now even the 2009 4th Gen Rams
those air tube and inlet location systems have clever design features
that allow the idling engine to pull in heated air,
but make a 'natural' switch over to cooler outside air
as the speed of the vehicle increases
This can be seen on the IAT sensor readout
if you have a OBD capable scanner
EGR can also be used to reduce idle
(and part throttle)
fuel consumption
but EGR makes it harder still
to fire spark plugs successfully,
although having two spark plugs per cylinder
can wipe out part of the added challenge from the EGR
just like it can allow lower idle speed rpm
of course there are those that simply say
that with today's technology
engines should not idle at all
.... they should shut off at a stop
and then re-start at the instant the vehicle accelerator is pressed
but at idle
where the throttle blades are nearly closed & vacuum very high,
and where pressures at the top of the compression strokes are very low
and where spark plugs are having trouble consistently igniting the air/fuel mix
there is a slight advantage in fuel economy
to having the intake air heated up somehow.
If you look over carefully
the stock air intake designs
on 2nd, 3rd Gen, and now even the 2009 4th Gen Rams
those air tube and inlet location systems have clever design features
that allow the idling engine to pull in heated air,
but make a 'natural' switch over to cooler outside air
as the speed of the vehicle increases
This can be seen on the IAT sensor readout
if you have a OBD capable scanner
EGR can also be used to reduce idle
(and part throttle)
fuel consumption
but EGR makes it harder still
to fire spark plugs successfully,
although having two spark plugs per cylinder
can wipe out part of the added challenge from the EGR
just like it can allow lower idle speed rpm
of course there are those that simply say
that with today's technology
engines should not idle at all
.... they should shut off at a stop
and then re-start at the instant the vehicle accelerator is pressed




