Today we’re going to take a closer look at another piece of your vehicle that’s often overlooked when it comes to upgrades. If you want to build a truly magnificent custom rig, you have to think about every aspect of the vehicle. And that includes your air intakes. When it comes to improving how well your build performs, a high-performance air intake system is an invaluable upgrade over the stock systems that most vehicles feature. Keep reading to learn exactly what an air intake system does, the negatives your stock system will likely suffer from and the benefits you could have from upgrading to a high-performance air intake system.
What Does an Air Intake System Do?
The engine in your vehicle is essentially equivalent to a big air pump. The more air it’s able to breathe in, the more fuel it’s able to burn — and, by extension, the more power it can produce. A vehicle’s air intake system is what’s responsible for drawing in external air, filtering it through and delivering it right into the combustion chamber of the engine. Aftermarket intakes are capable of improving the system’s airflow, reducing any restrictions and ultimately helping your engine to operate more efficiently.
Negatives of Stock Air Intake Systems
Now, we’re not saying manufacturers skimp on the air intakes they ship their vehicles with, as they do design them to meet a wide range of needs. Fuel efficiency, emissions compliance, noise reduction and cost-effectiveness are all at the forefront of their minds when engineering the intakes that their vehicles include. The end result is an intake that’s reliable, quiet and optimized for the average driver.
But if you’re building a custom rig, you likely have very different priorities than these, such as enhancing performance. Here are a few of the negatives that make stock air intake systems subpar when it comes to performance:
- Restrictive design
- The systems that manufacturers design their vehicles with typically use narrow tubing and convoluted pathing in order to reduce engine noise. While this is a great strategy, it can create unnecessary limitations on airflow, which you don’t want in a performance vehicle.
- Paper filters
- A majority of OEMs use filters made from paper to reduce costs for the consumer. While these filters are plenty capable of trapping debris, they also further restrict airflow.
- Heat soak
- Rather than pulling air from the cool exterior of the vehicle, most stock intakes draw air straight from the engine bay, where temperatures are already quite high. The hotter the air your intake absorbs the less power it’s able to produce.
Benefits of High-Performance Air Intakes
Aftermarket air intake systems, especially those designed for high performance, are instead engineered with maximizing airflow and reducing intake temperatures as their main goals. Here are some examples of how they counteract the drawbacks of stock systems that we just discussed:
- They utilize larger, straighter tubing to minimize the bends and restrictions, thus allowing air to flow much more freely.
- Instead of paper, most high-performance intakes will utilize filters made of cotton gauze or foam, which not only offer better airflow but are also usually washable and, therefore, reusable.
- Lastly, most aftermarket systems will completely relocate the intake so that they can draw cooler air from outside of the engine bay, thus increasing oxygen density and combustion efficiency.
Upgrade Your Air Intake at Glover Customs
It’s important to keep in mind that upgrading your air intake system will not only enhance your performance in these ways, but they may change other aspects of your vehicle as well. For example, the new tubing will increase performance, but will also lead to more engine noise, which could be a positive or a negative depending on your opinions. To discuss all of the changes that upgrading to a high-performance air intake system could bring to your vehicle, get in touch with us right here at Glover Customs. We’d love to hear your vision and see what we can do for you!