You may want to add a cold air intake to increase the power and performance of your car. But when installing one, you may also wonder if a cold air intake makes the exhaust louder.
A cold air intake can make the exhaust sound slightly louder. That’s because of the increased airflow to the engine and more engine power, which means more air leaves through the exhaust.
Nevertheless, the pronounced sound that you hear after adding a cold air intake actually comes from the engine’s mechanical parts. Though it may feel like there is an increased sound in the exhaust, most of the noise is in the engine in the front of your car.
The change in sound is because the new intake can be wider and have more space to pass sound through it. That causes the car to sound louder and more aggressive than the sound with the stock intake.
What is cold air intake on a car?
A cold air intake is an aftermarket intake that brings relatively cooler air to the engine’s combustion compartment. Cold air intakes are longer and wider than stock intakes, and the air filter is placed outside the engine.
An air intake is a car component that brings air to the combustion chamber. Every car comes with a stock air intake attached to the engine.
The wider tubes in cold air intakes enable an uninterrupted cold and dense airflow with more oxygen. This improvement in air supply increases your car’s engine power and fuel efficiency when you install a cold air intake.
How can cold air intakes make the exhaust louder?
Cold air intakes are wider than stock intakes. And a wider intake means more air to the engine, which supplies more oxygen to the combustion chamber. Therefore, it will cause more air and exhaust gasses to leave through the exhaust pipe.
By increasing the air discharge, cold air intakes may cause the exhaust to sound slightly louder. Otherwise, there is no difference in the exhaust sound when you change the intake.
Exhaust sound depends on its length, shape, and other exhaust parts. A longer pipe means a quitter system, and a shorter pipe means a louder system. You can change your exhaust sound by modifying the exhaust pipe and other parts.
When the exhaust system is the same, but you changed the intake, it has not much to do with how the exhaust sounds except a slight increase.
Does a cold air intake make your car louder?
Your car always makes a lot of noise when you ignite and drive it. If your vehicle is turbocharged, then the sound is even louder. A car contains many systems to reduce the sound you hear. However, the sound depends on how much it gets passed from the mechanical engine.
Along with improving your car’s performance, a cold air intake also increases your car’s sound since it opens up the engine. Also, it adds to the engine power, making your car louder and racy, which leaves a more satisfactory experience.
Generally, the diameter and length of a cold air intake are higher than a stock intake. For this reason, after adding a cold air intake, your engine gets more air which is also cooler.
The cooler and denser air adds more power to the combustion chamber. As a result, your engine runs a bit hotter with added power and sounds more powerful.
Do cold air intakes make noise?
A cold air intake brings cooler air into the engine and combustion chamber, boosting engine power and efficiency.
Cold air intakes make noise, which is produced in two ways. One is the sound of air rushing through the intake, and the other is the sound of the mechanical engine components. A cold air intake with a wider diameter increases both the sound of air getting inside and the engine’s noise getting outside.
That’s because cold air is denser and contains more oxygen than the same amount of hotter air. When there is more oxygen in the combustion chamber, it can increase the engine power resulting in a more mechanical roaring of the engine.
Furthermore, a cold air intake doesn’t contain as much shielding as a stock intake. Also, most of the cold air intake uses a wider diameter tube. So, it allows you to hear more of your engine’s natural sound than a stock intake.
Best Sounding Cold Air Intake
Now, as you know how a cold air intake changes the sound of a car, it’s time to look at some of the best of them which can improve your car’s sound. Here we’ve done the research and listed some for you-
K&N Cold Air Intake Kit
K&N cold air intake adds ample airflow (up to 50% more than stock intake) to the engine and increases the horsepower. The intake is easy to install and, after instalment, requires no maintenance up to 100,000 miles.
Also, it comes with a ten-year or million-mile warranty. Along with improving acceleration and throttle response, it will improve the sound of your car.
K&N Cold Air Intake Kit (larger)
Another top-notch cold air intake from K&N that has all the features of the previous one with a larger size. This one will increase the horsepower and torque of your car.
The air intake can protect the engine by preventing harmful particles with a lifetime air filter which requires no cleaning up to 100,000 miles. It will improve the sound of your car and make a satisfying growl during acceleration.
FAQ
Will a cold air intake make my turbo louder?
The answer is no. A turbocharger is a device that can boost an engine’s power by pumping additional air into the combustion chamber, mainly when you speed up your car. However, a cold air intake doesn’t increase the turbo sound more than it already is.
Are cold air intakes bad for your car?
Generally, cold air intakes are a safe upgrade to enhance your vehicle’s efficiency and performance. Though an inefficient cold air intake system can cause some problems, with correct installation, care, and maintenance, you can avoid these problems.
Final words
Cold air intake doesn’t directly affect the exhaust, but it can make it sound a bit louder. You can improve your car’s sound by replacing the stock intake with a good cold air intake.
I hope this article helped you learn does cold air intake make exhaust louder. You may also want to see my article bigger exhaust tips make your vehicle louder and if you have Borla exhaust in your car then you can check out does borla exhaust get louder.
If you’re also interested you can check out the comparison in X-pipe, H-pipe, Y-Pipe. Which is louder.
