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Top CAIs?

The longer, smaller and more bends a tube has the more restriction. Air is restricted [no matter how slightly] by the side of tubing[correlated with length], directional change and width.

Lets start with width as it ties into most everything else. Lets replace air with water as its flow characteristics are smiler. Trying to pass a X amount of water through a tube of X width will take a certain amount of time. That time will decrease as the width of the tube gets bigger up to a point. [1]When the tube is big enough the time it takes for the water to flow through will level off and stop increasing. This is the optimum size. Big enough to allow said amount of water to flow through but not clumsy or oversize.

The sides of tubing also restrict flow. Air is rubbing against the sides causing friction the friction restricts flow. The rougher the side of the tube is and more perpendicular groves [slits, imperfections etc] are to the flow the more restriction you will get. Longer tubes cause more restriction and less flow. If the tube is really long it will even cause a lag in the time that outside air gets to where it needs to.

Directional change is more obvious. anything changing direction will slow down to some degree it is all depending on the severity of the direction change.


Now with all this said it may seem like a hot air intake is the way to go, short tube, no direction change and only TB width to worry about. BUT their is one major factor we must include.

Colder air is more dense and therefore more can fit in a defined space. Think of why we drop pulleys we want an optimal amount of air to be inducted into the engine.

With that being said a a FWI seems like the best choice which is the opposite of the above logic. It takes the air from outside the engine bay where the air is virtually ambient.

So whats really the best? Experiments need to be conducted to measure the optimal volume of air that the engine takes in under different rpm's while keeping the ambient air a constant. Then different HAI's, CAI's And FWI's need to be tested to see which provides with the volume it needs closest to the optimal a measured above. Then the IAT's need to be tested to see what induction method runs closest to the optimal temperature. Different materials have to be taken into consideration also as heat soak is a big problem with different applications. The intake that provides the engine with the most volume and the coldest air wins.

So who wants to run the tests any takers? There are countless setups and countless intakes made. The combinations are endless. WHats the best for a stock Gp may not be so for even a slightly modded one.

Moral of the story, no one has/will test every setup AND intake and never will. This is most likely because it is not that big of a deal. Differences in HAI's, CAI's and FWI's are made apparent upon testing and the differences between products of the same nature are so trivial it doesn't even matter.


Still have to add my opinion, i feel if the wizaired drops temps to near ambient [even after running the vehicle for lengths of time] as some people claim then that's the way to go. Cant get colder then ambient [without an i/c, spray etc.] On the same hand if the FWI's give an optimal amount of volume then that's the way to go [Remember 1]. If you are running an intercooler and your IAT's are optimal then a HAI is the way to go.
 
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Wow well put and very thorough, nice. I'm still sticking with my theory that a CAI/FWI is the most beneficial to mildly modded setups above a 3.2" pulley, for them I believe it's Cold Air > Flow since they wouldn't be flowing enough air to cause the intake to be much of a restriction. On the other hand I believe that more heavily modded setups (sub 3.2" pulley) would benefit more from a HAI since I think that for those setups it's Flow > Cold Air as they flow a lot more air to the point that the other intakes cause a restriction. Whether that restriction is caused by the size, length, amount of bends, or even the amount of space it has to "breath" (another factor commonly overlooked), I still think there is some type of restriction present that is hindering flow of these higher horsepower setups to the point that the colder air available with them doesn't matter as much as the increased flow of a proper HAI. I could be wrong but that's how I see it.
 
flow & hot air < Flow & cold air



You can have both. :)

Which is where stuff like the Wiz, JMB, and now the TDC intake come in. They all get cold air with 4" intake tubing. Like TDC has been saying, 4" tubing offers extremely lower restriction to the air flow. The much cooler air offered more than makes up for any slight restriction.
 


well ill put it this way. i had a HAI. there was the stock tubing, maf, filter. it felt really bogish. okay now i have stock tubing, maf, filter going into a wizair box (my tubing tore up) and it runs MUCH better.

now my car is stock so im problew not asking for crazy amouts of flow but the cold air DEFF makes a big difference.
 
Ok stupid question. For those who make there own, were are you putting the computer since it is located in the air box ?????
i bought a few little things to do mine and well that was my problem and i dont feel safe in leavin it sit in there with no protection............thanks:th_scratchhead:
 


Heres a few pics of mine, black bungie strap wrapped from inner fender bracket to bracket on other side of overflow jug.
4"PVC pipe painted gloss black, along with the factory air duct and i cut 4 ribs off of it.

If you cant tell its actually standing straight up, works very well.
 
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