It's time!! You just saved up enough money and its time to replace that crappy, restrictive air box with an aftermarket intake. But what do you choose, a cold air intake or short ram intake? A short ram intake is smaller, cheaper and easier to install so why go with a cold air intake? What justification do you have for spending more money, and more time installing a CAI? Being as brief as possible I will give you the main, most important difference.
There are inherent pros and cons of both intake systems, but the main difference between a short ram intake and a cold air intake is where the intake gets its air from. A short ram intake sits and the engine bay where the air temps are warmer due to the heat the engine produces while a cold air intake sits away from the engine bay, usually in the front fender where it can suck in cooler air from the outside. Sucking in cool air is important because cool air is denser than warm air, which means cool air molecules are closer together, so more air can fit into a given amount of space. An engine creates power by mixing and compressing air and fuel. The more air you can fit into a cylinder at one time, the bigger explosion you can create which in turn creates more horsepower. This is why a CAI is a wiser choice for making power.