Cold air intake experiment

How much difference in temperature is there between the following locations?

1. Short Ram Filter Location
2. Cold Air Filter Location
3. Open Air Filter Location

I decided to test this out for myself with a GE temp monitor with external probe. I currently have a cold air intake on my 96 Civic LX which positions the filter under the passenger side headlamp, behind the front bumper. I was considering cutting a hole in the front bumper to cool down the air where the filter was sucking, and I wanted to know if there was a large enough difference between the outside temp and the inside bumper temp to be worth it. While I was at it, I decided to test if the Cold Air system was even worth it. The answers are, the Cold Air System is worth it, cutting up the front bumper to cool down the air to the Cold Air System is not.

Here's why:

*All stop temp's were recorded after 5 minutes of parking.
*All moving temps were recorded after 10 minutes of 40mph cruising.

Outside Stop Temp - 92 deg F
Outside Moving Temp - 85 deg F

CAI Stop Temp - 101 deg F
CAI Moving Temp - 87 deg F

Short Ram Stop Temp - 138 deg F
Short Ram Moving Temp - 89 deg F

There is something very important to note about the measurements above. I only had to drive about 700 feet before the CAI temp reached it's lowest point of 87 deg, I had to drive 4 miles for the Short Ram temp to reach it's lowest point.

The short ram filter location takes a very long time to cool down while driving, and it heats up very quickly when you stop. In contrast the cold air system (CAI) filter location cooled down quickly while moving, and was slower to heat up.

If I was pushing the engine, I bet the short ram location would have been even hotter, even while moving.

Therefore the cold air system is worth it, but cutting a hole in your bumper for it is not. Unless you build a ram air chamber, but that is a different story. ;-)