Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Airbox - Help needed to identify this picture

I have a Williams supplied ITG Cold Air Induction kit which I have just fitted prior to possibly getting an ECU remap.

It takes air from just above the radiator and through a flexible pipe to an oiled filter metal can fitted just above the exhaust manifold, which gets too hot to touch.

I thought I would modify it to get the coldest air from the front of the car (taking care with water ingress) and fully thermal wrap the filter can.

To try and understand the whole process of CAI I did a lot of internet research (99% of which is rubbish!).

My best take (so far) of the data available is;

1. Turbulence is not an issue for air intake as the vacuum pumping effect of the pistons overcomes it.

2. Turbulence can affect the temperature of the outside air intake, updrafts from hot engine areas etc.

3. Local turbulence (over the MAF) can affect it's accuracy but the greater MAF error effect is contamination (say from an oiled filter). Some cars have a cleaning cycle where a high current is passed through the hot wire to burn it clean.

4. Does CAI give a power increase?. I found very little data on this that could be regarded as objective and follows good experimental practice.

There is an argument that the colder air is denser (true) and thus has more Oxygen (also true) so it will produce more power by promoting a better burn (not true). The problem with that argument is that the fuel is already fully burnt as the ECU monitors the exhaust gases as a closed loop system.

It is possible that the ECU could be programmed to insert a little more fuel if the air is colder and thus give a little more power during acceleration (but only on wide open throttles) but that would also reduce the MPG of a standard car. So I suspect it is not done.

The only objective data I could find was an Australian YouTube channel that did a lot of different CAI tests on a rolling road. With most configurations they saw no change. The only repeatable increase they found was a 1HP increase (on a 200HP car) if they took the air intake hose out through the bonnet and in front of the rolling road air fan.

My gut feel is that low restriction air filters and "tuned" cold air intakes are probably not going to give any noticeable increase in power even with an ECU remap, But I did it anyway!