Good morning Scotty, thank you for all the videos! I have 2020 Challenger with 3.6l V6. I am thinking of installing cold air intake. Reasons: I live in an area that has been very prone to heavy rain and flooding. I know that the air intake is located low to the ground (why on this car????) and I would like to reduce the chance of drowning the engine. I am not going off roading or deliberately going through deep water, but I have been in the situations where I had to drive through deep puddles or flooded areas. Yes I know this is not the car for that. I am not looking for additional horsepower or performance, and I am planning to use MOPAR OEM parts. Is this a good idea? if not, what is the next best option? This is my daily driver and only vehicle. Thank you!!!
The Mopar intakes aren't made that well and actually will cause a loss of power and are more likely to ingest water. They are an open element design, meaning the filter is exposed in the engine bay and sucks in hot air. This design causes your IAT's (Intake Ambient Temperature) to increase, causing the car to run hotter at idle and in traffic. Hotter air means less power and efficiency.
An aftermarket intake is not going to help you with driving through high water. The Challenger has what is called a "snorkel" intake tube. This is a long plastic tube that comes up and connects to your airbox. Unless you are going pretty hard on the throttle, you're not going to suck water all the way up that tube into the box.
If you want a good cold air intake, you want a closed box design like the aFe. However, in your case, I would leave it stock and save my money.
