CAI or SHORT ram intake?

[dsp26]

A WAI will be less restrictive due to less length and amount of bends in the pipe. However, you are pulling air from the warm engine bay. This is where a CAI comes in, cold air=dense air=more O2=more power. This is why dyno testing shows the results they do. However, there is one thing that needs to be taken into consideration, when the car is actually moving the air in the engine bay is not just sitting around getting hot, the intake temperature starts to drop. There is a great thread on an Altima forum where a guy actually put a digital thermometer in the intake to get readings. He tested a CAI, WAI, and a WAI with a tube feeding outside air to it(this is the type I find works the best). What he found was that the CAI stayed the most consistently cool, where as the WAI would get heat soaked at low speeds and at idle. However, when moving the WAI with the feeding tube would quickly drop to the same temperature as the CAI. Even the WAI by itself, got within 5°F of the CAI, but it took a bit longer. So what that info suggests is that even the WAI, while moving, ingests nearly the same temperature air as a CAI, and does it in a far less restrictive path. From what I have seen, the only disadvantage to running a WAI is heat soak, which believe me, sucks on a hot day in traffic. But adding a feeder tube to bring outside air to the WAI, pretty much solves the problem. The benefit to running a CAI would be the consistency, and a tad bit more midrange power(havn't figured this one out yet).

there is a reason alot of people on here suggest getting a a high flow replacement panel filter.

"arse dyno's" don't tell much.

a CAI is useless in summer.... low end bog from extended path with extra bends as well as hot air. A true CAI consists of the following items:

- Aluminium pipe (less heat transfer despite how hot it gets)
- Heat wrap around pipe
- Thermo spacers
- Bypass valve


also for those of you who switched to a CAI... its not the CAI itself that gave you the arse noticable gain, it's the resulting metal induction pipe that you would have had to get fabricated. get a straight metal one fabricated to stock specs leading into the stock box and you will have your biggest gain there. Factory induction hoses are restrictive..... especially the "ribs"

i personally dynoed ~4wkw gain from just changing to an aluminium pipe over stock induction hose as well as AFR leaning from 13.8 to 14.3:1 which is testament of the extra airflow... i didnt bother measuring AFM voltage at that point.....