I know that a CAI is supposed to hurt your MPG- colder air, more gas, more power, etc.

But how much is it really affected? I would like to get a CAI, but I am not willing to kill my gas mileage in the process.

 

Actually, my mileage increased a bit with my CAI. At least sometimes it seems like it did. It definitely did not hurt my mileage.

I can still easily get 30+ mpg on road trips. And average 25 mpg in town.

 

You won't notice any difference in that respect. In fact, i've heard of mpg after installing a CAI improving. Don't worry about it. That should be the last thing on your mind.

 

the adverse effect is that you love the sound it makes, so you tend to be heavier on the gas so you can hear the 'growl' and thus you burn more fuel...

 

i still get the usual 28mpg with my injen cai. and i open it up and listen to the sweet sound it makes sometimes.

 

I track my MPG very carefully and the CAI made no difference. My city/highway driving is about 50/50.

In fact, if you do a lot of city driving the CAI may help mileage due to heat soak of the aluminum pipes. When it's 90 outside I can watch my intake air temp (IAT) climb up to 105 degrees at a long red light. I get 28+ mpg overall, but probably 50mpg right after a long stop.

 

it wont change much, but heres a rule of thumb:

cold air (dense air): more power, less mpg
warm air (less-dense air): less power, more mpg

 

whover told you that was lying. if you drive the same it should actually IMPROVE your mileage, not make it worse.

 

who ever told him that was semi-correct, and it will hurt his gas milage (very slightly... and only when its cold out)

cold air (dense air) is more difficult to break down than warm air.

cold air - more power, less mpg
warm air - less mpg, more mpg

 

The only reason you would see a drastic drop in fuel economy is if you drive with a lead foot, which you are more likely to do because it sounds so nice at 3k rpm.

 

break down?? what exactly do you mean by that... it doesn't get broken down at all, just compressed and ignited... you have it all wrong man...

 

read up and learn:

The colder/higher density air of the winter months will allow you to get more power from your engine, however, since fuel doesn't atomize as well with a cold intake charge, your mileage will suffer.

The warmer/lower density air of the summer months will reduce max power (sometimes dramatically so if high humidity is involved as well), however, because fuel so readily atomizes with a hot intake charge, there will be far fewer "rich zones" in the combustion chamber, allowing for more power to be derived from what air and fuel does make it to the combustion chamber.

So, if a hot intake charge yields more power from any given unit of gasoline, why don't you get more power from your engine in the summer time? Simple, your engine measures the weight of the air entering the engine, and then provides a given amount of fuel for every pound of air (typically something a bit over stoichiometric which is roughly 14.9 weight units of air to 1 weight unit of fuel). Since lighter air is entering the engine in hot weather, less fuel is pumped in via the fuel injectors, and so even though you're getting more power per unit of fuel, the max power of the engine is reduced.

 

you're talking about summer vs. winter. you can't use the same argument for an intake vs. no intake. that's rediculous. by increasing the air flow through the engine, you're in effect running more LEAN than you were before. the engine will compensate a little bit, but you will run slightly more lean than without an intake. is denser air harder to move? yes... but that's compensated by the higher flow of an aftermarket intake.

the ONLY way an intake will hurt your mileage, and almost ANY vehicle, is if you're driving harder than you did before you put it on.

 

really? so the CAI is controlling your a/f ratio alone? dont think so... its alot more than that buddy

and im not just saying summer vs winter. a CAI will pull cooler air than a SRI, so its the same concept

 

i never said that the cai is controlling your a/f ration alone, did i? your'e fighting a losing battle. you WILL get better gas mileage with an intake. end of story.

 

what's next, you get more power from premium over regular??

 

You kids are silly...

 

i agree... this is a very silly "argument". haha