do air intakes improve gas milage?
- Thread starter benjamit
- Start date
Define "Air Intake".
Do you mean factory or aftermarket?
Cold air induction or improved volume or both?
Do you mean some type of insert that modifies the airflow to induce a tornado inside your air box?
Do you mean factory or aftermarket?
Cold air induction or improved volume or both?
Do you mean some type of insert that modifies the airflow to induce a tornado inside your air box?
Vic
Elite Member
- Jun 12, 2001
- 50,422
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Assuming you mean an aftermarket cold air or ram air intake, then...
No. Less air restriction = more air to engine = ECU will compensate with more fuel in order to keep proper AF ratio.
Of course, the weight of your foot will factor into this. If you have a really light foot, and your stock intake was really restrictive, then you may see some gas mileage improvement due to better combustion. But if you have a medium or heavy foot, then your gas mileage will probably go down slightly (but you will see a small increase in top-end power).
No. Less air restriction = more air to engine = ECU will compensate with more fuel in order to keep proper AF ratio.
Of course, the weight of your foot will factor into this. If you have a really light foot, and your stock intake was really restrictive, then you may see some gas mileage improvement due to better combustion. But if you have a medium or heavy foot, then your gas mileage will probably go down slightly (but you will see a small increase in top-end power).
I have an Eagle Talon with aftermarket modifications to my air intake and intercooler. I get better performance, but worse gas mileage.
I realize you are referring to cars, but a clean air intake on your lawnmower really maks a difference in performance.
The air filter on a mower gets clogged up with grass and dirt. You should clean it once a year, or more often if you have problems. If you ever see a lawnmower that runs poorly, the main culprit is a dirty air filter.
You should replace your car's air filter once a year- it will improve your gas mileage.
I realize you are referring to cars, but a clean air intake on your lawnmower really maks a difference in performance.
The air filter on a mower gets clogged up with grass and dirt. You should clean it once a year, or more often if you have problems. If you ever see a lawnmower that runs poorly, the main culprit is a dirty air filter.
You should replace your car's air filter once a year- it will improve your gas mileage.
This doesn't really tell the entire story... It will be true while accelerating, but if just cruising on the highway, a less restrictive intake should improve mileage slightly, though maybe not enough to be noticible. The engine wasting less energy to pull air in will have a slight positive effect. Losses in mileage while accelerating can be easily controlled by your foot, and again will probably not be very large.
GasX
Lifer
- Feb 8, 2001
- 29,033
- 6
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No it really does save on fuel. It restricts the airflow which in turn causes the ECU to compensate with less fuel therefore economizing fuel usage. Of course that robs HP and you could accomplish the same thing by being lightfooted on the gas, even more so, but hey whatever.
Originally posted by: fivespeed5
I put 3 in my car, so I save $300!to you haters!
SHENS! You forgot about the law of diminishing returns. You probably only save 299.95! ^:laugh:^ you biznatch!
That is so dumb and wrong its hard to know where to begin....
Ok, lets say at 1 inch depression of the gas pedal WITHOUT that POS tornado device, my engine makes 220hp, and WITH it, due to air restriction it makes 215.
Now, if I'm driving along and I need to keep the pedal depressed one inch in order to keep cruising, and I put in a tornado device I will have to push FARTHER down on the gas pedal to stay at the same cruising speed, because I make LESS horsepower, so in order to get the same effect I need to press down on the trottle until I get up to 220hp again.
The REAL answer to the air intake question is, it doesn't make a dang bit of difference. Trottle response increases usually very lightly, but thats about it. The only reason you might see your mileage go down is because you, like most people, know where the gas pedal needs to be to cruise at certain speeds, or how far you need to push down to take off from a stoplight, and if your engine performs better than before, you are in essence giving it too much throttle now. But like I said, intake alone doesn't usually make that much difference.
And the Tornado is a complete POS, whats funny is your description of what it does is exactly opposite from what they say it does. They say it creates a "vortex" which sucks more air into the engine, not less.
XZeroII
Lifer
- Jun 30, 2001
- 12,572
- 0
- 0
Originally posted by: fivespeed5
I put 3 in my car, so I save $300!
I fill up an air compressor at home and stick it in my car when I need to go. I have a little spinner on the end of the hose and rev that baby up to like 15k rpms. I only fill up once per year.
Intarweb license and registration please.
Do you know I clocked you doing 25msec through the Sarcasm Stretch back there? I'm going to have to ask you to keep it over 120msec ok? I'll let you off with a warning this time, but next time it will be a citation for you.
Also what you're saying in effect is that more HP=more fuel economy. That is so dumb and wrong its hard to know where to end....how about here?
it might, but if you have a dirty air filter, it's all a moo point... that's right, it's a point a cow makes... a moo point.
<- misses Friends already.
<- misses Friends already.
Zenmervolt
Elite member
- Oct 22, 2000
- 24,514
- 36
- 91
By and large, yes. The advantage of a hood scoop is that it draws in the cooler air outside the car as opposed to the warm air inside the engine compartment. Now, if the non-hood scoop intake is wedged in and restrictive, there will be additional gains from a hood scoop because the intake air path will be less obstructed along with the air being cooler. As for the idea of a "ram-air" effect mimicing a supercharger, it's marketing BS. At best you'll get a couple extra HP at 100 mph. At legal speeds, you're not going to see any sort of supercharger effect.
ZV
Originally posted by: element
Intarweb license and registration please.
Do you know I clocked you doing 25msec through the Sarcasm Stretch back there? I'm going to have to ask you to keep it over 120msec ok? I'll let you off with a warning this time, but next time it will be a citation for you.
Also what you're saying in effect is that more HP=more fuel economy. That is so dumb and wrong its hard to know where to end....how about here?
No actually what I'm saying is the opposite.
Taking the EXACT same engine as the basis for this experiment lets just say that at 3000RPM it produces 220HP, now, if you INCREASE the airflow into the engine at 3000RPM lets just say it makes 230HP, and if you DECREASE the airflow it makes 210HP.
So, in order to cruise at 60 miles an hour, you will need to have the trottle at different positions for each scenario. Taking the non-modified intake as a baseline you would need to depress the throttle MORE with the restricted airflow and less with the non-restricted airflow.
This doesn't make any difference because no matter where your foot is the car only dumps in enough fuel to mix with the right amount of air. So essentially there is no difference between the three, because even though your foot is in the same position, your still cruising at a set speed, and the engine stil makes the same amount of power to keep you there. The only REAL difference is theres less high-end to work with because you restricted the airflow, so it can only open up so wide, and vice versa.
Also, if he was being sarcastic then it was VERY well guised, because thats almost line for line what everyone who believes in those things says, and it sure didn't sound sarcastic.
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