Cold Air Intake System: Pros and Cons

What is a Cold Air Intake System?

Cold air intake is a third party upgrade for the engine to increase the car's horsepower. When this kit is installed, it sends cold air to the engine, which makes the car run more efficiently. There are many intake systems available, so you will need to choose the one that corresponds to the model of your car.

Pros

The cold air intake system will provide you with a slight increase in horsepower. Most Cold air intake kits will give you about 5 - 10 hp, while this may not seem like a substantial increase, users have reported they have seen an improvement in performance. Another benefit of the cold air intake system is it will lower your fuel consumption because it keeps the engine from running hot. With this system installed you will get better gas mileage, which this cannot be achieved from your stock engine.

Cons

The biggest disadvantage of a cold air intake system is it could void your warranty. If you install third party or aftermarket parts, and something goes wrong during installation, the car company may not want to repair the car. Also, since the exhaust is lower to the ground, this will allow water to flood the engine, and it could potentially create hydro-lock. The filter needs to be cleaned often or it could affect the performance. The exhaust will be noticeably louder with the cold air intake system, this can be seen as an advantage or a disadvantage it depends on the person.