Engine performance hinges on car's intake manifold

September 23, 2008
10:20 AM EDT


NASCAR teams know that selecting the right intake manifold is the first step to maximum performance.

Whether you're in NASCAR or building an ultra high-performance street machine, you must have an intake manifold that will provide the power right where you want it.

Let's first understand the function of an intake manifold.



An intake manifold is one part of an engine that plays a very crucial role. A car's engine requires the right mixture of air and fuel to work efficiently. If this is attained, your engine would run very well. But still, without the intake manifold, your engine is of no use.

An intake manifold is a system of passages that carry out the fuel/air mixture from the carburetor to the intake valves of the engine. It is located between the carburetor and the cylinder head or cylinder heads on a late-model vehicle. The L-head engine's manifold is mounted to the side of the block and the I-head manifold is mounted to the cylinder head.

On aged cars, a carburetor sits on top of the intake manifold and sends both air and fuel to the cylinder head. On multi-point injected engines, the intake manifold holds the fuel injectors.

Intake manifold design has much to do with the adept operation of an engine. For smooth and even operation, the fuel charge taken into each cylinder should be of the same strength and quality. Therefore, distribution of the fuel should be as even as possible. This depends greatly upon the design of the intake manifold. Dry fuel vapor is a perfect form of fuel charge; however present-day fuel avoids this unless the mixture is subjected to high temperature. If the fuel charge is heated extremely, the power of the engine is abridged because the heat expands the fuel charge. So, it is better to have some of the fuel deposited on the walls of the cylinders and manifold vents. Manifolds in modern engines are designed like this so that the amount of fuel condensing on the intake manifold walls is reduced to a minimum.

Intake manifold failures, particularly those with leaks, may result in poor engine performance, engine overheating, or worst, severe engine damage. So, before this takes place, regular maintenance should be done.

And when it comes time to replace, Edelbrock has several styles of aluminum intake manifolds to fit different applications. Each style of manifold has characteristics that make it ideal for the application for which it is intended: Performer Manifolds (idle to 5500 rpm), Fuel Injection Manifolds, Victor Series Manifolds (3500 to 8500+ rpm).

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Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are the only real sports... the rest are just games........ Earnest Hemmingway