What is an Intake Manifold?
An intake manifold is the last part of the
air intake system which guides air into the engines cylinders. It is sometimes covered by an
intake manifold cover, but if you look under the hood of your vehicle, you can find the intake manifold by following the
air box, which contains the
air filter, go past the
mass air flow sensor (MAF) and throttle body. On most newer vehicles, the intake manifold is found directly after the throttle body. The intake manifold is typically made of aluminum or cast iron, but they are sometimes made of composite plastics in very new vehicles.
What does the Intake Manifold Do?
An
intake manifolds primary function is to evenly distribute air into the cylinders of a direct-injection engine. If the engine does not have direct-injection, then the intake manifold distributes the air-fuel mixture to the engines combustion chambers. Having the air or air-fuel mixture evenly distributed is important for the engines efficiency and performance. It is the internal diameter and shape of the manifold that creates the different flow dynamics of the air/air-fuel mixture.
How does an Intake Manifold Work?
As air is forced through the air filter and metered by the MAF, a small charge of air is created. The throttle body is one big butterfly valve; on one side of it is the charge of clean air ready to be burned in the engine, on the other side is a vacuum which is created by the cylinders retracting into the engine block. The intake manifold holds this vacuum and as the throttle body opens up, the charge of air is quickly sucked into the manifold and distributed to the engines cylinders for combustion.
Primary Intake Manifold Components
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