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What Is an Intake Manifold Runner?

BY RICHARD ROWE

Engines have been around for a long time -- longer than some of the sciences that
explain how they actually work. In the early days, figuring out the size, shape and
design of things like intake manifold runners was mostly a matter of trial and
error. Modern understanding of things like fluid dynamics and acoustics have solved
some of the puzzles of yore, and allowed us to start tuning engines to be the best
that they can be.

Intake Runners

Engines with more than one cylinder need a way of distributing air -- and fuel, in
the case of carbureted engines -- from a single inlet to the various cylinders.
Typically, air will enter through a single hole and go through a throttle valve
plate that can open and close to control the amount of air that goes in. On a
carbureted or throttle-body-injected engine, the fuel goes in right before the
throttle plate, so the plate passes both air and fuel. After the valve, the air --
and sometimes fuel -- goes into a central holding chamber called the "plenum,"
which acts as kind of a reservoir. A series of tubes or channels in the manifold
distribute the air-fuel mixture from the plenum chamber to the individual
cylinders; these are the "manifold runners." Carbureted engines need very straight
runners, because the fuel droplets in the air don't like to go around corners. The
length, inside diameter, volume and shape of the runners are absolutely critical in
terms of power output, and where in the rpm range the engine makes that power. Air
pressure going into the engine through the runners bounces back off the head's
intake valves when they close like a spring. The pressure waves shoot back up to
the end of the runner, and come back down; each of these bounce cycles is known as
a "harmonic." If you open the intake valve at just the right time, you can catch
the pressure wave on the way back down; the pressure waves shoves air through the
valve, much like a supercharger. But this supercharging effect only works in a
certain rpm range, and the pressure waves can bounce back and forth two or three
times before the valve opens again. The length of the runner determines how long
the harmonic takes to get back to the intake valve. For this reason, long runners
will "supercharge" the engine at low rpm, and very short runners will do it at high
rpm. The height, width and volume of the runner determine how much air can go
through, which dictates top-end horsepower.
by Taboola

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What Does an Air Intake Resonator Do?

BY RICHARD ROWE

To the average hot-rodder, intake resonators go on the same pile as smog pumps,
catalytic converters, exhaust gas recirculation valves and charcoal canisters. But
imagine which pile the resonator would end up in if that same customizer knew it
was more than a plastic muffler -- it's actually an important part of the engine's
intake system, and may add a fairly significant amount of horsepower.

Design and Construction

The resonator itself couldn't be simpler in design; it's basically just an

expansion chamber or wide spot in the otherwise-smooth intake pipe. It may or may
not contain some kind of baffle or plate, depending upon the design and the intent
of the designers. Resonators come in two types: In-line resonators are open
chambers that sit in the intake tube, while side-branch resonators are chambers
that sit next to the tube and are connected to it via a small duct or channel.
The Common Misconception

Most hot-rodders and car enthusiasts think of intake resonators as simple mufflers
in the intake tube, devices designed to siphon all the awesomeness out of a car's
sound track to appease soccer moms and senior citizens. That makes it a prime
candidate for the "chuck-it" school of auto modification. After all, it's basically
just a plastic tumor growing off of a tube that should by definition be as smooth
and blemish free as possible. While sound control is indeed part of the resonator's
job, the sound control itself is really more of a side effect of its primary
purpose.

Pressure Wave Harmonics

Air flowing into your cylinder head's intake port doesn't move in a straight line
while the valve is open, then politely stop in its tracks to await another valve
opening. When the valve closes, the moving column of air slams into it, then
compresses and bounces back like a spring. This pressure wave travels backward at
the speed of sound until the intake runner opens up or it hits something, and then
it bounces back toward the cylinder. This is the "first harmonic." The pressure
wave actually bounces back and forth two or three more times before the intake
valve opens again.

Intake Tube Pulses

The resonator in your intake is technically known as a Helmholz resonator, an

acoustic device used to control pressure wave harmonics. Air bouncing back out of
your engine and into the intake tube doesn't do it in a single pulse the way it
would in a single intake runner; the multiple pistons put out pressure waves at
their own intervals, and some of those are going to try to bounce back in while
others are going out. The result is a "clog" or high pressure area in your intake
tube that ultimately limits airflow through almost the entire rpm spectrum.

The Resonator

Adding an expansion chamber to the intake tube forces air coming back out of the
engine to slow down to fill the cavity, thus expending a great deal of its energy
and slowing the pressure wave reversion. This slowdown allows fresh air to flow
toward the engine without fighting pressure reversion waves the entire way, thus
aiding in cylinder filling. Since these pressure waves are essentially sound,
giving them a place to expend their energy before exiting the air filter box ends
up dampening the intake noise and quieting the engine. Thus, the resonator helps to
make the engine paradoxically quieter and more powerful.

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