Air Intake

[sparkplug]

What is the year and engine in your monte carlo.

[TBR]

I believe it is a 1996 with the DOHC 3.4.

[93JC]

I don't really understand how cooler air is going to yield any performance gains on a naturally aspirated motor.

Same reason it would on a forced induction engine.

[SVT_Power]

Same reason it would on a forced induction engine.

Albeit not as much

[giant_mtb]

What is the year and engine in your monte carlo.

What TBR said.  '96 with 3.4L.

[S204STi]

I don't really understand how cooler air is going to yield any performance gains on a naturally aspirated motor.

You're right, it does basically nothing at all besides sound loud and increase the Cool Quocient of your car.  The air is about 90 F by the time it gets into the engine at least, and cold air requires your engine to run richer to prevent lean misfire and hence you use more fuel, so it does nothing for efficiency and makes a negligible power gain.  Add a larger throttle body, race cams, and an expertly designed exhaust and then I would think about something like that, but I would rout it into my fender, which is basically where most OEMs get their air from anyway.

[280Z Turbo]

Same reason it would on a forced induction engine.

But intake temperatures don't really matter on an N/A motor because there's no boost or danger of detonation.

[93JC]

No danger of detonation my eye. Why do you think a lot of new engines recommend 91 (R+M)/2 gasoline?

The effect of cold air induction is proportionally reduced because the intake air in a forced induction engine will heat up substantially over the ambient as it's compressed. Cooling it with an intercooler will markedly improve performance because it's essentially returning the intake air to the temperature it began at (a little bit higher really). The idea of a cold air intake on a naturally aspirated engine is essentially the same thing, but the naturally aspirated engine will not achieve the same increase in power because the air is not as hot to begin with. It will theoretically provide for more power, but the gains in a naturally aspirated engine will be proportionally very small compared to strapping an intercooler into the engine bay of a turbo or supercharged car.

In any case all it really does is allow more fuel to be dumped into the intake charge while maintaining the stoichiometric ratio.

[Eye of the Tiger]

At least your warm-air intake may, increase fuel effeciency and lower emissions.
Warm air is less dense, and while lowering the volumetric effeciency so the engine will use less fuel to attain the proper a/f mixture. In addtion, fuel atomizes better in warmer air, which in turn makes a more complete burn, and thus less unburned fuel escapes through the exhaust.
You could also take the intake temp sensor probe and stick it between some radiator fins, then it will really lean out your mixture.
Maybe open up your spark plug gaps a bit.
Get some tall, skinny tires and run them a high pressure.
Tape off all the seams in the body.
Consider a water injection system. This will help counter the lean mixture as well.
Oh, I may have gotten a bit off topic...

[giant_mtb]

At least your warm-air intake may, increase fuel effeciency and lower emissions.
Warm air is less dense, and while lowering the volumetric effeciency so the engine will use less fuel to attain the proper a/f mixture. In addtion, fuel atomizes better in warmer air, which in turn makes a more complete burn, and thus less unburned fuel escapes through the exhaust.
You could also take the intake temp sensor probe and stick it between some radiator fins, then it will really lean out your mixture.
Maybe open up your spark plug gaps a bit.
Get some tall, skinny tires and run them a high pressure.
Tape off all the seams in the body.
Consider a water injection system. This will help counter the lean mixture as well.
Oh, I may have gotten a bit off topic...

Haha...the point you started talking about the skinny tires I was like...umm...what the hell? haha

[S204STi]

You could also take the intake temp sensor probe and stick it between some radiator fins, then it will really lean out your mixture.

That is a really silly idea.  Want to wipe out your catalytic converters or burn your exhaust valves then go ahead, but otherwise I don't think that is a reasonable plan.

[280Z Turbo]

Yeah, really!

There are at least a dozen other ways to adjust AFRs without doing something so drastic.