Thread: CAI vs WAI: Myth?

if you read some of the stuff posted in other threads people claim WAI is better on VE cars etc.

Overall in a purely thumbs up/down case as a general rule of thumb I would prefer WAI definitely on an SE-R.

Yeah, a couple years back there was a pretty long debate on the issue. As far as the de issue goes, i would definitly say that the cai produces more overall power. The power band would start around 3800 rpms and stay strong all the way up to 6500 rpms or so. whereas the wai would start around the same rpm but die off around 5500 rpms.

this is a good topic to have for the ves..... i guess the best a both worlds is to have a vent or scoop in the bonnet over the wai and make a box for it......but then not all will run to hack the bonnets

a wai or cai shouldnt effect your air fuel ratios

when i did a dyno test on wai and cai with a integra type r we made a little bit more with the hot air then cold.

Both setups are good, but you must understand that they do have their own limitations.

CAI
Pros

• Sits outside of the engine bay, thus has access for colder air
  

Cons

• Rain, puddles, or car wash can have negative affects on your Motor
• Piping is too long, and if it's not properly designed all the bends create turbulence in the piping.
• Possible heat soaking with all the piping that sits in the engine bay
  

RAM Air
Pros

• Pushes air into the intake, the fast you drive, the more goes in. Helps over come vacuum thus helps gain power
  

Cons

• To really have this working well you can't have a filter, thus dirt can fly in
• Rain and other water will affect this more then it does a CAI
  

WAI
Pros

• Shorter Piping, less bends, provides a comparable results to the CAI even in though it sits inside the hot engine bay
• Safer if you live in a rainy climate
  

Cons

• Hot engine bay air make this version of the intake be only comparable to CAI, but not better
  

WAI + Flow Stack - I personally did not see/feel that great of a gain on CAI with Flow Stack, so I'm not listing it
Pros - Only Pro's no cons here

• Reduces the turbulence in the intake, and helps MAF get more accurate readings
• About 5whp gains over regular WAI setup
  

Sectioned Off WAI
Blocking off the intake and directing cold air into engine bay, flow stack is a great plus for this setup too
Pros - Only Pro's no cons here

• Putting a heat shield between the intake and rest of the engine bay, will help keep hot air out, thus you get the benefit of short piping with few bends, and cold air.
  

i would think that heat soak would be #1 issue with wai verses cai, thus the CAI is completely avoiding heat soat, altho with alumimum in a hot area such as the engine bay, heat soak is going to be there but minimum compared to a intake that is sitting inside the hot engine bay, and depending on your setup if you were to be running a AITS the WAI could possibly become a problem if they heat soak becomes excesive. giving you excessive ait intake temp readings.

the benifit between cai and wai is that altho there could be a excessive ammount of piping routes for the cold air, you could DEI wrap the piping to lessen the heat soak, where as you really couldnt help the heat soak issue on the WAI unless you constructed the sheild out of carbon fiber or something that isnt going to amplify the heatsoak such as a ALUMINUM box or somthing to that effect, thus just increasing the wais heat soak and almost acting as a oven.

On my datascan last year running at the track my underhood temps got just about 200*F.

A cold air intake would prob net me 20whp at that point. Right now I just have a filter mounted on the turbo, but in the future I am going to route the filter to the fender well.

Good call GT2871RBLUBIRD, I remember hearing that air travels too fast to get heat soaked, then after I started looking into it, noticed that heat soaking happens pretty instantly, like in an Intake Manifold .

But my point behind the heat soaking comment for CAI; with WAI your already sucking in warm air, but with CAI your trying to get cold air, but heat soak brings the temperatures up to be similar of the WAI anyway, thus your not taking advantage of all the cold air and making a WAI more comparable.



Wait did you switch to blow though? Otherwise MAF doesn't like to be too close to the fender/outside air being pushed in