Ram 1500 Cold Air Intakes Explained

Drawing fresh air from the outside of the engine bay to get colder air into the engine is one of the oldest practices in the book. Colder air is more condensed and contains more oxygen; more oxygen means more power.

In the glory days, carburetors sat directly on top of the engine’s intake manifold.  To get cold air to the engine, a hood scoop was installed. During the 1960s when performance was all the rage, Chrysler six-pack cars were offered with hood scoops as a factory option. In fact, they even used a gasket around the air cleaner assembly to make sure the carburetors could draw in a much of the fresh air as possible. A cold air intake system is a modern take on this.

For earlier Dodge Rams, you may wonder why the change—especially when you consider Magnum engines are essentially updated versions of the engines from the 1960s (the 5.2 being the 318 and the 5.9 being the 360.) Much of the layout is the same, but now the throttle body sits on top of the intake manifold where a carburetor used to reside.

While a hood scoop does allow fresh air to flow into the engine compartment, it’s important to take note engine compartments aren’t airtight, and cold air already flows in from other areas. Factory air induction units are designed to take advantage of this, which is why instead of an air cleaner being located directly on top of the throttle body, a series of tubes run from it to an air box located in the front of the engine compartment. 

For modern Rams, the intake is redesigned with the throttle body on the front of the manifold, which means this air induction design is an absolute must. An aftermarket cold air intake is simply an upgraded version of the factory air induction unit. 

A quick rundown of the benefits to using a cold air intake in the modern air induction style are as follows:

• Improved fuel economy
• Improved performance
• Better fitment (factory hood can stay intact)

If the modern air induction units are technically designed to draw in cold air, why bother revamping it? The first reason is these designs use airboxes at the end of the intake tubes. The airbox contains the air filter and can restrict airflow to the filter. This is less than ideal as less air, even if it’s colder, means less performance.

Some cold air intakes do utilize an airbox but most simply remove the airbox altogether. Instead of a flat paper element air filter, they use a conical air filter which allows air to be drawn in from all angles. The rest of the induction unit is also replaced making for better flow. This means more cold air, delivered faster.

On late model Ram 1500s, you’ll find cold air intake systems still utilize an airbox. There are a few benefits to this design, one of which is added filter protection. These new boxes allow for maximum airflow within its capacity. Some of them may even have open passages around all sides of the airbox, allowing airflow from all angles.

Cold air intakes for Ram’s come in many different shapes and sizes. One of the biggest differences in the styles of air filters is the filter type. Some filters are oiled and some are dry. Oiled air filters are far less restrictive than dry filters.

They allow more air to pass through them. More air means more contaminants, and oil is used to collect these containments and hold them in place. This design has some clear advantages over its counterpart, but it does add an additional step in the maintenance procedure due to needing more frequent cleaning. This can be a bit of a pain and may be deemed unnecessary by some.

Rams are the poster child of the American truck and are likely to find themselves on dirt roads regularly. Dirt roads and big tires mean there will be a lot of contaminants in the air. More dirt particles will be sucked up by the oil in the air filter faster. For guys who spend a lot of time in the dirt and still want the benefits of an oiled filter, pre-filters can be installed to minimize the likelihood of having to take everything apart. A pre-filter looks a lot like a bag that slips over the oil filter, creating another barrier. It’s a super cheap and easy upgrade and can help ease maintenance. 

A cold air intake is a very rewarding upgrade. It allows for better airflow and maximizes the air induction system’s potential. You may be wondering what other upgrades can you make to capitalize on this or what combinations work. Allowing more airflow means you can ramp up the engine’s capabilities to draw in more air.

In most cases, computer programmers designed to boost horsepower are messing with the ECU’s fuel tables to make for a better burn. Adding more air makes for an even better burn. 

It’s also good to take into consideration that engines run on three key elements: fuel, air, and fire. Upgrading the three is how real performance is gained. You’ve got the cold air intake, which of course handles air, and the computer programmer that handles fuel and fire. Computer programmers will adjust the engine’s timing to get the spark to fire at just the right time. Though, they can only do so much. 

A hotter spark ignites more of the fuel mixture faster. This makes for a bigger more powerful bang. How do you do this? You simply add hotter burning spark plugs. These upgrades are all fairly affordable and are the sure fire way to ramp up your Ram in an afternoon’s time.

If you still need a little more oomph, try upgrading to a better flowing exhaust. Just like you, an engine needs to breathe. And a big part of breathing is exhaling. Moving spent fuel out is just as crucial as getting cold air and fuel in. An exhaust upgrade is a bit more pricey, and professional help is recommended.