For many folks, an air intake kit is often the first performance upgrade they’ll do to their car or truck.
That’s because, not only do they have a noticeable effect on performance, they’re also relatively easy to install. For those reasons, enthusiasts generally consider an intake kit to be a “gateway mod” that gives gearheads their first step on the performance upgrade path.
That said, there are some things to know when installing an air intake kit to ensure the best performance and reliability. Some might be obvious, while some are things you might not consider—particularly if this is your first go-around with automotive performance upgrades.
So we’ve assembled a handful of tips to help you out. Even if you’ve done this sort of upgrade before, it’s worth giving this list a once-over, in case there’s something you might’ve missed.
Pre-Tip: Buy the Right One!
Let’s get this out of the way first—because though it may sound like a no-brainer, it’s trickier than you’d think:
Make sure you’ve got the right air intake kit for your particular application.
In other words, don’t just shop for a vehicle type and don’t just shop for an engine type—you’ve got to consider both. Make sure you’ve got the correct air intake kit for both your specific year, make, and model, along with the engine it’s equipped with.
Yup, sounds obvious, but it’s something that is occasionally overlooked and certainly warrants a mention here. Now, without further ado…
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5 Air Intake Install Tips
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1. Inspect The Filter Element First
It’s good practice to inspect any air filter element prior to installation—whether it’s part of a brand new air intake kit, or you’re simply replacing the degraded one on your current system.
You want to make sure that it is clear of any grit or debris—large or small—before you go bolting it in your engine bay. We’ve heard horror stories of folks installing an air intake kit with a hunk of cardboard, or a piece of plastic or foam packing material still stuck inside. They turn the key and in an instant, that stuff gets sucked down the plenum and into the engine. Suffice it to say, that’s a situation you want to avoid.
Also make sure there’s no errant residue or gunk on the filter element itself. Contaminants on the filter can get stuck to your mass airflow sensor and cause a range of issues too. Oh, and speaking of your MAF…
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2. Protect Your Mass Airflow Sensor!
Treat your mass airflow sensor (MAF) with all the care of a Fabergé Egg.
MAFs are delicate, precision sensors that don’t like vibration, moisture, contaminants, or grit. And since they’re directly responsible for how your engine’s computer calculates your air/fuel mix, your MAF is really, really important.
There’s a good chance that your air intake kit will require you to remove and relocate your mass airflow sensor. It’s usually not a difficult job, but you absolutely need to exercise care to ensure you don’t damage or contaminate the sensor.
That also means that you should make sure that it’s happy and safe in its new home. If your intake tubing is rubbing against something that vibrates or making contact with a heat source, it could seriously shorten your MAF sensor’s lifespan. More importantly, an improperly installed MAF can cause all sorts of headaches like erratic idle, sluggish acceleration, and a bad air/fuel mix.
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3. Prevent Rust & Sharp Edges on Exposed Metal
Though we’ve encountered this less and less lately, some air intake kits require you to trim away small sections of metal, cut down a bracket, or widen a hole. These mods are almost always easy and innocuous, with no serious alteration to the vehicle, but it does mean you might be left with sharp, exposed metal edges.
This presents a double-whammy of a problem. First, those edges are sharp and could abrade any nearby wires or hoses—or slice up your mitts as you work around the engine bay. Secondly, any exposed, unpainted metal is now at risk of rust and corrosion.
Whenever you cut or trim metal, make sure to grind down the sharp edges and hit the area with a rust preventative coating. Placing a rubber boot or grommet on the edge can also help too.
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4. Don’t Over-Oil (or Over-Clean) Your Filter
Many air filter element materials require periodic oiling as part of their maintenance schedule, which often means oiling an air filter element with purpose-made air filter oil may be part of the installation procedure too. Make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully. Putting too much oil on your air filter element could result in excess oil getting sucked into your Mass Airflow Sensor, where it can cause improper readings or potentially cause permanent damage to the delicate sensor inside.
Same deal with cleaning and washing your air filter. If you use too much cleaning solution and/or don’t wait for it to dry completely, you could cause similar issues with the MAF.
If you haven’t caught on yet, your MAF is really, really important to your vehicle’s ECU and Air/Fuel mix, so you want to make sure it stays happy.
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5. Allow the ECU To Tune & Adapt
When you first install your air intake kit and start the vehicle, you may notice unusual behavior from your engine. More often than not, it’s a result of your ECU adjusting to a new set of readings from your mass airflow sensor.
So don’t be shocked if your idle is a bit low or erratic at first, and you may notice atypical behavior from your engine, like “hanging” a bit on deceleration—again, your engine’s computer is re-calibrating itself to the change in airflow from the new intake kit.
That said, if you’re experiencing these issues after more than a few miles (or key cycles), then it could point to something awry with the installation. If that happens, it’s a good idea to go back through each installation step to ensure things were done right and all appropriate connections were made, then confirm all the couplers between intake tubing sections are tight—excess air coming in between tubing joints and unplugged vacuum lines are common culprits here.
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Bonus Tip: Add a Bypass Valve
If you’re running a true “cold air” intake kit, there’s a good chance it’ll relocate the air filter element outside of the engine bay. This often means that it is positioned lower to the ground, where there’s a greater chance it could suck-in water from a really deep puddle, ditch, or pothole.
Sucking a lot of water into the intake can cause hydrolock, and it’s killed many innocent engines. An air intake bypass valve is a smaller filter placed upstream of the main filter. If the main filter becomes submerged in water, then air is drawn through the bypass valve instead, avoiding the dangers of hydrolock.
Many kits that relocate the air filter lower than the stock airbox are designed with bypass valves already, but if yours isn’t, adding one is a smart bit of insurance.
We dedicated an entire article to bypass valves, check it out here: Prevent Hydrolock with a Cold Air Intake Bypass Valve
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As mentioned at the beginning, an air intake kit is very often the first serious upgrade many enthusiasts make to their vehicles. That means we have oodles (yes, oodles) of tech information, buyers guides, and FAQs on them. Click the links below to learn more.
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