One of the ways that you can make your engine more efficient while adding the power necessary for it to run well is by making use of a cold air intake. This allows cool air to be sucked into the engine compartment so that it would have cold air freely flowing while also making it more efficient in terms of fuel combustion. However, because the winter can be quite cold, is it bad for you to use a cold intake during the winter?
It isn’t bad to use cold air intake in the winter. That’s because the air that a cold air intake sucks into the engine compartment will tend to eventually warm up because of the heat that the engine produces. Moreover, the difference that a cold air intake makes isn’t necessarily too big to worry about regardless of the season.
While it might sound scary to allow freezing air to enter your engine compartment through a cold air intake, you have to understand that your engine compartment is also extremely warm especially when you have been running the car for a while already. That means that whatever air is allowed to get inside the compartment even during winter will eventually warm down. As such, you should have no problems using a cold air intake during the winter.
All You Need to Know about Cold Air Intakes
Is it bad to use a cold air intake in the winter?
For us to understand whether or not a cold air intake is bad to use for your vehicle during the winter, it is necessary to look at how it works first.
What a cold air intake does is that it actually sucks air from the outside so that it will flow into the engine compartment, which usually has warm air thanks to how engines can get really hot. What happens here is that you will be allowing the cooler air to take over the space of the warm air inside the compartment as the cold air intake allows air to flow freely in and out of the engine compartment.
In that regard, the engine will be able to run more efficiently and use its fuel in a more efficient manner as well because of how dense the oxygen is in the air that is colder. This allows the vehicle to perform better and more powerful thanks to the cold air intake.
But you also have to consider the fact that the engine compartment is quite warm as well due to the heat that the engine and all of the other parts are producing. So, whatever air gets inside the compartment won’t stay cold for a long time precisely because of how the compartment will eventually warm it down to normal levels. Think of it as putting ice on a frying pan over a stove as the ice will eventually become warm and will melt the longer it is exposed in the warmth of the frying pan.
In the same way, when you are using a cold air intake during the winter, the cold air intake may be taking in freezing air from the outside and into your engine compartment but the warmth of the engine will eventually tone down the frigid air to the point that won’t be as cold as it was when it originally entered the engine. In that sense, the temperatures of the air that enters the compartment won’t be freezing for a long time especially when the warmth of the engine will begin to pull down the cold air to normal temperatures.
Can a cold air intake damage your engine?
Similarly speaking, you may be asking yourself whether or not the cold air intake can damage your engine the longer you use it. Well, it certainly will not because what a cold air intake does is that it merely allows your engine to work in a cooler environment compared to how it usually works in a warm compartment with little to no airflow.
So, in that regard, when you use a cold air intake, you are not actually doing a lot to your engine because all that it does is that it makes the air inside the engine compartment cooler. In fact, it even allows the engine to work more efficiently and to use its fuel in a better way because the oxygen in the cooler air tends to be denser. This makes it completely safe for your engine as a cold air intake will not end up damaging it even if you use it for an extended period of time.
The cold air intake in the snow – Is it good?
But what if it’s snowing during the winter? Can it still be okay to use a cold air intake when it is snowing heavily? After all, the cold air that the cold air intake allows entering your engine might carry some snow with it.
As a matter of fact, it is still alright to use a cold air intake in the snow. Remember that a cold air intake also filters the water that may end up entering the air filter whenever it is sucking in the air into the engine compartment. This includes snow, which is also filtered way before it even has a chance to enter the engine compartment. That is why a cold air intake is still safe to use whenever it is snowing hard during the winter.
Do you need a heat shield for cold air intake?
Another accessory that can also be great at getting the most out of your engine is a heat shield. But is it necessary for you to use a heat shield for your cold air intake? Well, for starters, it isn’t necessary but it can be useful as well.
The purpose of a heat shield is that acts as an insulator for your cold air intake so that it will further make the air that enters your engine compartment cooler. In a way, it is simply an additional accessory you can add to your cold air intake but it won’t be necessary. But, if the summer heat is particularly hot, then you might want to consider using a heat shield.
Sources:
https://resource-center.meineke.com/understanding-your-vehicles-cold-air-intake/