is my intake supposed to stay cold even when the engine is hot?
 

i have a 99 civic lx. i bought an intake and put it on myself with no problems. it seems to be working fine but the piping is warm. not as hot as the engine, but still warm. on my friends se-r, his intake is always cold as ice. any help?

it's aluminum!! It doesn't conduct heat as efficiently as steel or cast iron. If it works, leave it alone!! Or like my old man used to say " If it ain't broke, DON'T FIX IT!"

you my friend have a regular air intake. your friend on the other hand, has a cold air intake.

Don't confuse the term "cold air intake" with the temperature felt on the outside of the intake tube. "Cold air intake" means that the tube is in a position to receive air in an area that is not inside of the hot engine compartment. By doing this the intake air is somewhat denser which may add more horsepower. It does not mean that the tube will be cooler than stock intake tubes.































Of course that tube is connected to the engine so it is not suprising that some heat from the engine will radiate onto the tube. How much heat on the tube is dependent on how insulated it is from the heat. Maybe in your friends SE-R the tube has some more insulation from the throttle body. Maybe your intake tube is over the exhaust area whereas his is on the opposite side of the engine. Maybe their constructed differently.































What really matters, then, is where the intake end of the tube is located; not how warm or cool it gets. If your intake end is in the stock location, it's not doing its job as a cold air intake. Street racers have been known to put ice on the intake of their engines to cool the intake air. But, really, it doesn't help that much at all.