Serious question, does anyone else think cold air intakes on daily drivers are mostly wasted money?
I keep seeing guys drop $300 or more on a cold air intake for a car they drive to work every day, and I just do not get it. Last month a buddy put one on his Civic, swore he felt a huge jump, but when we ran it at the strip in Phoenix he picked up maybe 3 hp on a good run. The stock airbox on most modern cars already pulls cool air from the fender, so you are paying for noise and a shiny pipe, not power. I get that sound matters to some people and that is fine, but calling it a real performance mod on a stock motor is a stretch. If you want gains, a tune or headers will do way more for the same cash. Anyone here actually dyno their car before and after an intake and see a number worth the money?