When manufacturing any vehicle, engineers carefully calculate the temperature conditions of the engine, as well as the size, shape, number, and location of the air intake holes needed. If the engine begins to overheat, you should look for the fault, not try to get it more cold air. However, if the engine has been modified, installing an additional air intake on the hood may be an objective necessity. So today I’m going to tell you if you can drive a car with a broken air intake. Let’s go!
Air Intakes on The Hood Can Be Divided Into Two Types:
- For the intake of fresh air from the street. Such an air intake may be necessary to cool the horizontally located intercooler on a turbocharged engine.
- For drawing hot air out of the underhood space. Cold air enters the engine and the hot air is exhausted through the slots in the hood.
Air intakes can be made in the form of holes and slots in the hood or as separate protruding parts, which are usually made of plastic or fiberglass. If there is no real need for additional cooling of the engine compartment, but you want to install an air intake to give the car a more aggressive look, you can use decorative air intakes or just do not cut a hole in the hood. Keep in mind that a lot of dirt and debris can get into the underhood space through the air intake. A protective mesh will not be superfluous. If you are wondering how much horsepower does a cold air intake add to your Ford F150, you know that probably quite a bit because it depends on the characteristics of the air intake itself.
Supply of Cooled Air
Oxygen is required for combustion. If the engine doesn’t have its own oxygen source, this oxygen must come from the surrounding air. The amount of oxygen available for combustion, and therefore the maximum power output of the engine, depends on the ambient temperature and the local static atmospheric pressure. Generally, cooler, denser air produces more power, and warmer, thinner air (e.g., on a hot day or at higher altitudes) produces less. The engine compartment of a car is very warm indeed. The normal operating temperature of a typical water-cooled passenger car engine is well above 70 C, and an air-cooled engine can be much hotter. The heat radiated by a running engine quickly warms the air around it. Since most car engine compartments are enclosed and fairly cramped and have little opportunity for heat dissipation, the air in the engine compartment is usually considerably warmer than the outside air. If the engine draws air from under the hood, the high temperatures will reduce the density of the intake charge and therefore reduce the useful power of the engine.
Thus, the obvious solution to this problem is to add a cold air intake duct that allows the engine to draw air from the cooler and the denser air out of the engine compartment. An efficient cold air system can neutralize much of the power loss caused by high under-hood temperatures, potentially increasing engine horsepower by 5% or more. Therefore, driving without an air filter will cause dusty air to be sucked into the engine, and this dusty air will prohibit the formation of a thin film of oil between the moving parts, which is definitely bad news. The engine will be subject to a lot of wear and tear and will result in engine damage! I hope this article was useful for you. Have a nice day!
