[artsybob]

I've been looking into installing a cold air intake for my Challenger (though mine has the previous generation 3.5L V6). A co-worker of mine who owns a new Challenger R/T put one in his and noticed some difference in horsepower and fuel efficiency.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

All cars have a "cold air intake" from the factory. If there were appreciable gains to be had, they would have done it OEM.

 

[Stratuscaster]

I've been looking into installing a cold air intake for my Challenger (though mine has the previous generation 3.5L V6). A co-worker of mine who owns a new Challenger R/T put one in his and noticed some difference in horsepower and fuel efficiency.

ButtDyno(TM)? :huh:

 

[artsybob]

So these parts made by K&N and the like are more about clever marketing and appearance than actual improvement in performance over the factory-installed OEM parts?

 

[Stratuscaster]

For the most part, yes.

 

[ImperialCrown]

An added 'throatier' intake noise may give the illusion of more power.
Use of aftermarket air intake systems could void warranties as many 'low-restriction' intakes let more particulates into the engine to wear rings and cylinders. http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html
More airflow is better up to a point, but the Chrysler engineers give ample reserve in filter capacity, even through a dirty filter. The incoming air is basically cool, outside air. Too much breathing capacity isn't going to make more horsepower and fuel economy for you past a certain threshold.
Experiment with homemade plumbing and systems if you wish, but don't spend a lot of money, as I think that the factory engineers do their homework when it comes to seeing the big picture here.

 

[Stratuscaster]

I have a "cone filter intake" on my Stratus. I won't speak to power, because I did not do a before and after dyno. I will state that after installing it the MPG went up by 1 MPG. And then it went down 2 MPG. And then it went back up 1 MPG. Which meant - to me - no change.

What my car got was louder. It impressed my nephews under WOT. Past that, it's more annoying than anything else.

My brother tried to replicate a "ram air" style intake once. And then realized that a good chunk of his driving was done at very low speeds and he spent a lot of time stopped at lights. So much for that.

Others have tried routing the plumbing to put the filter "in the air stream under the car." What that gave was more dirt in the filter, and missing filters due to it being ripped off by curbs and railroad crossings. Oh, and hydrolock from deep standing water and puddles. And when you are moving slow or stopped, you get more of that incredibly hot air steaming up from the hot pavement.

The factory ECU will compensate for the additional volume/density of the air - any gain would be temporary. UNLESS you change the tune or settings of the ECU.

At least, that's what I understand.

If you want to go with a K&N replacement because it's reusable and not disposable, by all means.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Even then, a K&N filter is $40 and the recharge kit is $10 more. So you pay $50 for a filter that supposedly lasts what, 100K miles or so? It takes 2 hours to clean, dry and re-oil a filter each time, and if you don't keep on schedule the warranty is void. They tend to get pinholes and let more dirt through. In its life you will experience at least 6 hours of down time servicing the filter.

In contrast, for $50 I can buy 6 disposable filters that take about 30 seconds each to change out.

I ran a K&N drop-in in my truck for 30K miles - 100 tankfuls. Gas mileage showed no change at all (indeed, they do not claim a gain and will not claim one); power was the same, but it was noisier.

 

[Dave Z]

I think the sound effects are the big thing. That said, if they DID provide a performance gain, and I believe they do for some cars, you can't say that the factory would match it, because the factory will never again use a non-disposable filter -- something that depends on the mechanic's or owner's careful handling and maintenance. That way lies frustration and lawsuits. No, they have to treat everyone as a fool, because most people, from time to time, fit that description.

 

[Stratuscaster]

I think the sound effects are the big thing.

Got that covered... http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ef0e/

We grew up with Matchbox cars, driving tiny muscle cars across the bumpy terrain of our bedroom floors. Vroom vroom! Screeeeeeeeee! Vroom! We dreamed of the day when we would get our driver's license and be able to have our own V8 engine. Alas, the car we got was the one our parents had tired of, so Mom & Dad got the cool car while we got a hand-me-down with no AC.

And now, we're too "responsible" for a sports car. That money went into a minivan to tote the kids to soccer practice or the dogs to agility competitions. But we still dream of turning the key in the ignition and hearing the thrilling sound of a powerful sports car engine.

With SoundRacer, we can have the best of both worlds. Plug SoundRacer into your cigarette lighter and it will transform your car's boring engine sounds into the sweet roar of a much sexier car. Every action you take will affect SoundRacer: accelerate, decelerate, shift, cruise, or idle and SoundRacer will produce the appropriate sound.

How does this magic work? After an initial calibration and a little fine tuning, the SoundRacer senses your engine's RPM by detecting the voltage increase in the cigarette lighter. It then produces the equivalent RPM sounds from a Shelby Mustang engine via your car stereo system.

And it's on sale - only $16.99 - over half off!

 

[Detonator Yellow]

I Shoudl have been more specific: I meant the MOPAR CAI

 

[JTE]

I think a modern air induction system OEM or aftermarket could increase power on certain vehicles, however, you would have to re- jet the carb.

 

[valiant67]

I've bought three vehicles where the previous owners installed "cold" air intakes. Two were 1999 Dakotas, one was a 1995 Neon. In each case, I installed the original intake and a disposable filter rather than bothering servicing the reusable filter. I never noticed a drop in MPGs or performance in either case. People paid a lot of money for creative intakes on the Dakota R/Ts back when they were new. IMO, it was a waste of money. The factory setup is pretty good.

I haven't looked at it real closely, but the factory setup on the Challenger looks decent at first glance.

 

[Dave Z]

That said, there ARE cars where the intake is poorly designed -- but they haven't been made for a while. The 2.2 and 2.5 TBI come to mind. As I recall, Iacocca minimized design costs by essentially dumping the same setup into each car with absolutely minimal changes. Pete H. was clearly not happy about that since it resulted in non-optimal performance, no matter what car you bought.

... but in that case, when I took out the air filter, a one inch square was absolutely filthy and the rest of the filter was completely clean.