Hey guys. New to the forum, but I am interested in getting a cold air intake for my 1998 Legacy Outback Limited. Has anybody had any experience with a CAI in a similar Subaru. Also, what brand should I look to get?, noticeable differences?, where should I buy?

 

Thanks!

Usually (on our cars) cold air intakes (or, more correctly, LOUD AIR INTAKES) are actually HOT air intakes. It sucks in hot engine bay air (which is less dense than cooler outside air), yielding LESS power/fuel economy than stock.

 

A lot of the aftermarket intake setups are useless. The intake from the factory on our 2.5s (sort of "ram air") is actually quite efficient.

 

CAIs do, however, sound super cool on boxer motors... I love that throaty growl....

Alright. Thanks. I had just been reading up on them and they sounded pretty awesome. Better gas mileage, more power, cool sound. I was hoping it'd work for me as well. So, really no advantages from using it besides the noise?

Well, I won't promise you won't get more power or fuel economy, but based on the science/mathematics behind it, the likelihood of increased performance seems low.

Ok thanks. Just looking for a cheap way to have a little more fun while driving.

I've used a CAI from Cosmo Racing on other vehicles and they are excellent, cheap too. Here's a link for ya:http://www.cosmoracing.com/search.asp?searchstring=subaru

 

They have short ram (hot air) and real CAI.

Get some sort of intake that pulls air from the fenderwell. Louder/more power/real cold air.

Thanks guys! and what do you mean by getting an intake that pulls from the fender wall?

If you look at your stock airbox setup you will notice that it disappears behind the inner fender on the passenger side. With an actual cold air intake the piping is routed through the hole in the inner fender and the filter element mounts on the end, keeping it out of the engine bay and thus getting colder air. The downside is that you are potentially setting yourself up to hydrolock your engine should you decide to go blasting through some deeper puddles. A short ram intake has the filter element inside the engine compartment, usually where the stock filter box sits. Although you don't get any cooler air, you are not at risk of swallowing lots of water. Perhaps the only way to compromise is to fabricate an isolation box for the filter element to sit in and provide an air duct to blow colder air front the front (like the fog light hole in the bumper). Depends on whether you want a clean factory look, or a weekend autocross warrior image.

Supposedly with all these after-market intakes, whether CAI or short under hood intakes, you get less restrictive air flow. All of these use some variation of a oiled fiber filter.

 

Nice idea on a racing engine. Not so good on a modern street car.

 

It is possible you might ( stress might), see a very small increase in WOT ( wide open throttle), high rpm power, you will most likely see less in the lower and mid range. You will also loose fuel efficiency.

 

I have experienced this myself on BMW motorcycles with boxer engines, as well as Honda car .

 

The car manufacturers spend lots of cabbage on engineering and tuning the induction and exhaust systems, while meeting pollution specs. If there were a cheap way to add just a couple horse power or 1/2 mpg, they would be all over it.

 

Now, if you are running straight headers or other kind of open exhaust , you might see some power increase.

 

But if you are one of those people that care less about real performance and like the loud sound instead, go for it.

 

Back in the 60's and 70's guys would just flip the top of air filter cover over and screw it back on- leaving about a 1 inch gap of exposed filter. It made a noticeable, WAAUUUUGH when you stood on it and the secondaries opened up. All show and no go was the typical remark.

The Cosmo CAI goes into the fender. No more chance of hydrolock than the stock intake.

I have one on my 98 Outback with a 5spd and noticed a big difference in power above 3k. Originally the car would fall on it's face at 3k and above but with a ebay intake for the 99 Impreza 2.5 cut to fit and the snorkus in the fenderwell removed I can now pull with no falling all the way to red line. Cost was $50 compared to the Weapon R intake that is 5x as much. Check out sl-i.net for more info.

Thanks a ton guys. This info has been very helpful!

Hey guys. New to the forum, but I am interested in getting a cold air intake for my 1998 Legacy Outback Limited. Has anybody had any experience with a CAI in a similar Subaru. Also, what brand should I look to get?, noticeable differences?, where should I buy?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Your car already has a cold air intake from the factory, and it works fairly well, especially if you drive through deep water.

 

 

nipper