Why would anyone waste money on a CAI for a turbo car if the air gets really hot when it goes through the turbo anyways? is there another reason other than the "cold" air? does it breath better? or what? Your opinions are greatly appreciated.

 

breath better... eather one u put on over stock will breath better. cai are suppost to have more hp and trq than ram airs but rams have faster response time. i have a k&n typhoon cai and i think its great. the filter sits right in front of the driver side front tire, and is out of the engine compartment. the ram sits about where the stock box is.

 

well, think about it for a sec- here is a simple linear example- the real numbers are more dynamic, but this will do for illustration. let's say the air gets heated by 40 degrees C when as it passes through the turbo (40 deg. is of course, an arbitrary #; i have no idea what the real #'s are). if it enters from the stock airbox at engine compartment temp (lets say 25 degrees, just for ease of numbers), it exits at 65 deg. now lets say you add a cai, and the air enters the turbo at 15 degrees, b/c it comes from the external ambient air temp, not the engine compt. therefore, it exits the turbo at 55 deg. instead of 65. colder air=more density=more oxygen to support combustion, therefore more fuel can be added, and therefore you get more power, which i'm sure you already understand. anyway, that's an extremely simple (though seemingly long) answer to the question.

 

-standing ovation-

and there you have it folks :-D

 

way to play barney

 

just tryin' to help...[sm=smiley9.gif]

 

If you check into it you will see that just as with a normally aspirated car, it gains power and increases performance as well as reduces operating temperatures. We have had this debate on here before. The cooler the air is going into the turbo, the cooler it will come out as well as reducing the turbos temperature which is a extra plus. The CAI's tubes are also larger and smoother which allows more air in which helps even more to increase power as well as reducing the intake and turbo temperatures. These gains are found on both a dyno and at the track.

I hope that this too has helped you to understand the massive benefits of a CAI on a turbocharged car, with not only increasing the amount of air and lowering the intake temperatures, but also reducing the turbochargers operating temperatures.[sm=exactly.gif][sm=smiley2.gif]

 

Thanks for your replys guys. But I'd rather just save the money I would have spent on a cai and put it towards buying a bigger intercooler and a co2 intercooler sprayer. I think thats more effective, and it cools the intake charge a lot more.

 

But just think how much cooler with a CAI. Im a cheap guy. I dont mind spending cash on cheap effiecent horsepower. I will be putting on a CAI as soon as I can.

 

If you want to save money on a CAI, buy a used one. I did and it worked out great for me. $100 shipped I got one for off the SRTForums. And I think it was worth every penny.

Steve