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Cold Air

by matty10354, December 21, 2006

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hey i got a quick question.i have a 2000 rolla and i just put my cold air intake on tonight. the way the tubing was bent forced me to put

the filter towards the back of the engine bay. will this be ok? it drove fine and runs fine but i know normaly you

want the filter in front of the car

What intake system did you use? In theory, a "cold air intake" needs to get away from the hot, less dense air of the engine. Maybe the manufacturer has done some research and found that this is the coldest spot in the engine bay.

What intake system did you use? In theory, a "cold air intake" needs to get away from the hot, less dense air of the engine. Maybe the manufacturer has done some research and found that this is the coldest spot in the engine bay.
well its kinda in the back right corner. not near the hot block or anything and it faces away. it was made for my year rolla but the curve of the tubing forced it there.

 

 

Is there an air vent right there behind the wheel? That could be the reason the manufacturer placed the intake in that position.

Is there an air vent right there behind the wheel? That could be the reason the manufacturer placed the intake in that position.
thats all i can think. its gotta be that way on purpose. it didnt come shaped or long enough to go down to the wheel well or behind the bumper. it runs ok and works ok so i assume it is just figured i would ask someone who knew.

 

 

its just a pipe with a filter on the end, as long is its not hooked to the exhaust manifold its fine.

Do you know the make of the CAI? Many aftermarket setups sold as CAI (Cold Air Intakes) are actually closer to SRI (Short Ram Intakes) in design. Not the most ideal setup - but still works. A "real" CAI will pull air from in front of the wheel, in the fender. Of course there are many variations of these systems - some look like SRI but are enclosed in a box to shield the intake end from hotter air (so called Ice Box intakes).

Underhood temps at speed tend to be very similar to what you might see at behind the grille or infront of the wheel. Only time this doesn't hold is at very low speeds or when you are sitting still - then heat soak will become more dominant there and you start sucking in hotter than ambient temperature air.

I just did a TRD drop in filter. The problem with SRIs is they might have gains at first, but when the engine bay heats up, you might not get any gain. You can even get a loss. CAIs can work, but in some rare cases, they don't because of any bends before the air meter. Depending on the air meter, if the air doesn't come it right, it doesn't get a good reading. Another thing I don't like about them, is the people who sell them give crazy HP gains. Up to 15-20HP. At most, you might get 5 flywheel HP. The only time you can really get 15-20HP is if the car has forced induction. Unrestricted intakes help out big time on turbo and SCed cars compared to a NA car.

CAI/SRI for the Corolla are not worth it IMO. Gains are very minimal (if at all) and whatever filter you end up using won't clean up the air well compared to a stock filter.

Though I largely agree, and have a stock airbox myself, the exception is a high-compression high-rev. engine like the 2ZZ. It really does pick up 16hp consistently from the injen CAI. Plus, if you were ambition and used the APEXi dry filter with it you would actually improve the filtering over a drop-in high flow (but not a stock filter).

actually i got the photo and info from the manufacturer and i have it in correctly. and i does produce a noticable gain. not any 20 hp or anything but enough that i noticed it right away. i wasnt expecting miracles so i am not dissapointed

Though I largely agree, and have a stock airbox myself, the exception is a high-compression high-rev. engine like the 2ZZ. It really does pick up 16hp consistently from the injen CAI. Plus, if you were ambition and used the APEXi dry filter with it you would actually improve the filtering over a drop-in high flow (but not a stock filter).

That's a pretty good sized gain indeed if it's dyno proven.

Though I largely agree, and have a stock airbox myself, the exception is a high-compression high-rev. engine like the 2ZZ. It really does pick up 16hp consistently from the injen CAI. Plus, if you were ambition and used the APEXi dry filter with it you would actually improve the filtering over a drop-in high flow (but not a stock filter).

That's a pretty good sized gain indeed if it's dyno proven.

I really doubt that any NA 4cyl could get 15 wheel HP on a SAE corrected dyno. If so, that is nothing short of amazing and it probably isn't so much due to the extra air flow, but any bends before the air meter messing up the readings and leaning out the fuel a little.

I really doubt that any NA 4cyl could get 15 wheel HP on a SAE corrected dyno. If so, that is nothing short of amazing and it probably isn't so much due to the extra air flow, but any bends before the air meter messing up the readings and leaning out the fuel a little.

I built one for my GF's car just before I left for Christmas. I tried it out and I think it may have made a small difference in power. Mine was a 2.25-2.5" transition on a 90 degree mandrel bend with a 2.5"-3" transition TIG welded on that with a K&N attached. It was mostly made from spare stuff I had laying around the shop. Looking at the stock airbox affair I don't think it's a significant restriction. If I had to guess I'd say 5-10bhp max. I don't have a lot of experience with this powerplant but the intake manifold looks pretty good for an econobox engine. I'd have to see the head and exhaust manifold to give opinions on those. Maybe someday I'll get one of those heads on the flowbench but other toyota heads I've done flowed pretty well from the factory.

-Michael

I have an 02 and bought an injen SRI a little while back . It was expensive and fits quite impractically (just as the original poster implied about sitting behind the engine) After the engine heats up, all possible benifits of my sri are pretty much thrown out the window. it sounds good and i would argue that it gives a bit of a power jump, especially at higher speeds.

 

I had some free time one day and decided to put the tubing from the stock intake back into the car too. i took some screen mesh, wrapped it around the epening of it and took some black duct tape to it (that way it will keep any little bits of debri from getting into the engine bay). Not sure if it helped much, but i can tell that it is getting better air flow while moving.

 

In conclusion, I wouldnt recommend it unless you just have an extra $200 laying around and you want to give your ride a little hum when you hit the gas.

 

Pros: some gain in throttle response and something pretty under the hood

 

Cons: Costly:after engine heats up seems to be a bit slower of the line as the result of sucking hot air

Bikeman982

I see a lot of Corolla air intakes for sale on e-Bay, but have never bought one.

I was thinking about it, but question if it is much of a gain.

Do intakes need to have a carb exempt number in California or do intakes not need a number (like only installing a muffler)? I bought a CAI from EL Prototypes and I'm afraid that I'm not going to pass smog.

Do intakes need to have a carb exempt number in California or do intakes not need a number (like only installing a muffler)? I bought a CAI from EL Prototypes and I'm afraid that I'm not going to pass smog.

 

Put the stock air box back on your car for the test.

You should know your state laws. From what I've read on car forums, I think your CAI does need a carb number.

anyone else have any say in this?

Bikeman982

anyone else have any say in this?
I think it would fail the CA visual inspection if it has anything but stock intake.

 

 

Dan_H

I see a lot of Corolla air intakes for sale on e-Bay, but have never bought one.I was thinking about it, but question if it is much of a gain.

I have a short ram intake on a 99VE. I've tried multiple 1/4 mile runs with stock, the short ram, and the short ram with a cold air hose. There is no acceleration improvement, even when a new K+N cone is compared to a stock filter with 20K+ miles on it. There might be a perforamnce gain with much larger, compressor fed, and/or higher reving engines that need a lot of airflow. I just keep the short ram on my corolla because the intake sounds decent at high throttle. I prefer having a bit of engine noise and intake valves chopping air sound better to me than an obnoxious muffler.

/Dan

I see a lot of Corolla air intakes for sale on e-Bay, but have never bought one.I was thinking about it, but question if it is much of a gain.

I have a short ram intake on a 99VE. I've tried multiple 1/4 mile runs with stock, the short ram, and the short ram with a cold air hose. There is no acceleration improvement, even when a new K+N cone is compared to a stock filter with 20K+ miles on it. There might be a perforamnce gain with much larger, compressor fed, and/or higher reving engines that need a lot of airflow. I just keep the short ram on my corolla because the intake sounds decent at high throttle. I prefer having a bit of engine noise and intake valves chopping air sound better to me than an obnoxious muffler.

/Dan

 

That still doesn't prove that a CAI doesn't produce a few more HP. At most, maybe 5BHP, but that isn't really going to change the 1/4 times.

Even if you did all your testing on the same day, and got the exact same 0-60' times, and drove perfect the exact same time, you still probably wouldn't get enough difference from a CAI or SRI alone to change your 1/4 times. You would probably get better fuel economy with a better intake though.

We've gotten 43MPG with a TRD drop in before.

Bikeman982

The shorter intake is supposed to improve fuel efficiency.

I personally wouldn't waste my money on cold air intakes. They seem to be nothing less than a scam like the electric supercharger, or those stupid "vortex" air spinning things which claim "20% more HP and 33% better MPG!". So by installing an air spinning, my fuel efficiency is going to go up to 50 mpg??? Pardon me, but that's bullsh*t. People who actually believe these non-sense claims are idiots. If these cheap products really worked, don't you think auto manufacturers would have used them?

Bikeman982

I personally wouldn't waste my money on cold air intakes. They seem to be nothing less than a scam like the electric supercharger, or those stupid "vortex" air spinning things which claim "20% more HP and 33% better MPG!". So by installing an air spinning, my fuel efficiency is going to go up to 50 mpg??? Pardon me, but that's bullsh*t. People who actually believe these non-sense claims are idiots. If these cheap products really worked, don't you think auto manufacturers would have used them?
I agree. I have not wasted my money on any of those gimmicks. I seriously question their ability to deliver what they claim.

 

I prefer to go with the stock equipment and keep everything tuned up correctly.



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