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Need More Power and the Ability to Filter Out Lots of Dirt? A K&N Cold Air Intake Can Help
Need More Power and the Ability to Filter Out Lots of Dirt? A K&N Cold Air Intake Can Help
May 12, 2017
K&N cold air intakes are designed to feed your engine more air thus giving it more power
Off-roading in your truck can be a very liberating experience. Being out in nature, the wind in your hair, and dirt and dust scoring the linings of your pistons. Wait, what was that? The last thing you want to worry about when enjoying a nice OHV trail or while rock crawling is whether or not your engine is getting clean air. Besides the inherent danger of off-roading to your body panels, as hard as your engine works, it shouldn’t have to suffer because of a dirty air filter.
The paper OEM filter and corrugated air tube that likely came with your truck from the factory worked well for what the engineers needed. However, enthusiasts are often left scratching their heads and asking, “who designed it like this?” Unfortunately, engineers are under a lot of constraints when manufacturing a vehicle. Everything from time and money limitations to keeping the sound levels and power numbers at the correct levels often plague engineers during the build. That is why companies like K&N Engineering offer solutions like cold air intakes.
The install of a K&N cold air intake takes around 90 minutes and can be done with common hand tools
Cold air intakes, also known as cool air intakes and performance air intakes, are usually made of a plastic or metal tube, an air box or heat shield, and a filter. Together, these components provide a less restrictive, more direct path for the air to the engine. This accomplishes a couple things; first it allows more air into the engine with less effort, and second, it lessens the turbulence of the air. More air with less turbulence can mix more efficiently with the fuel from the injectors. This makes for a more complete burn of the fuel and a stronger combustion in the cylinder. Bigger bang = more power. These systems typically show an estimated power increase of anywhere from 10-15 horsepower. Pretty good for a bolt-on system!
Another part of the cold air intake equation, besides getting more air into the engine, is the quality of the air. As stated before, these systems typically have a heatshield or air box to separate the air filter from the engine bay. The air in the engine bay is quite warm, while the outside air is relatively colder. Cold air has more oxygen molecules than warm air. The mass airflow sensor in your vehicle can detect the temperature of the air and inject more or less fuel as necessary.
One of K&N's newest series of cold air intakes is the Blackhawk Induction line of intakes
Since we are talking about air quality, we might as well talk about the filtration benefits of the filters attached to these cold air intakes. The K&N filter included with most of their intake systems is a pleated cotton filter media. It consists of several layers of cotton soaked in a special type of oil to help trap contaminants before they can do any harm to your engine. These filters are made of a high-flow cotton gauze media, therefore they let in more air. Another great thing about them is that they are washable and reusable. No more throwing away paper air filters after a long trail ride because they are packed full of dirt. The K&N filters are also guaranteed to last with the K&N 10-year/Million Mile Limited Warranty.
K&N offers several different cold air intakes for vehicles depending on individual needs. These vary from a traditional oiled cotton media to a non-oiled synthetic media. The choice is yours. So if you need a boost in power and the ability to filter out dirt and dust before it reaches your engine, check out K&N to see all the intakes and other products they have to offer.
