Maybe no body has thought of this or passed it off as a stupid question but does having an intercooler do anything for non-turbo cars? The point of an intercooler is to cool the air before going in the intake manifold. Well, wouldn't the same be true for an na car? Granted not as much air will be cooled due to not having the forced induction but the air that the engine does suck in will be cooled off some.

Or is there a minimal power increase and not worth the cost to persue such a mod. ie: cost to power ratio is too low.

 

Getting a cold air intake for n/a engines will get the air colder than passing the air through an intercooler. The intercooler can only cool down the air to the temperature of the outside air. A CAI gets its air from the outside, not passing through anything hot like a turbo, so it is as cold as it can get.


You can get a water cooled intercooler and fill it up with ice and water. This will get the air cooler than the outside air. An air to air intercooler will not help more than a CAI.