Understanding Your Car's Air Intake System

The air intake system is a car part that needs fulland closing a flap.
attention all the time.However, you cannot accurately measure the
It is carefully built and tuned for an automobile toincoming air for the appropriate fuel mixture.
experience the maximum efficiency and power. It isNonetheless, for an idle car, you can use emission
the part of the internal combustion engine that is aanalyzer. Then, adjust the fuel mixture. Remember
powerful air pump. Its function is to increase thethat you cannot attain the right fuel mixture at higher
velocity of the air until such time that it travels in tospeeds.
the combustion chamber. This is done at the sameWhile some car manufacturers do not recommend
time while minimizing the turbulence and restriction ofcarburetor adjustments, some manufacturers
flow. The intake works by testing the flow of air onrecommend carburetor adjustments on a
a flow bench in the port design stage.dynamometer with the engine under load.
To tremendously improve the car's performance,Vehicles using fuel injection, air is drawn in through
extensive tweaking of the intake system is found onthe air intake. It is a long plastic tube that transcends
cars with turbochargers or superchargers thatup to the space for the air filter. The intake tube is
provide a pressurized intake system.long because it must make the air move in a fairly
Consumers nowadays mostly prefer modern cars.steady, coherent stream. Through the air filter and
And these cars also require a modern air intakethen followed by the air flow meter, the air passes.
system that has 3 major parts, namely an air filter,The vane type and the hot wire type are the two
mass flow sensor, and throttle body. In order totypes of AFMs. The first one contains a flap that is
reduce the noise that enters the cabin, more recentforced by the incoming air. More flaps are forced
cars now have silencer. This car part hinders the flowback when there is more amount of air that is
of air and creates turbulence that reduces totalcoming in. A potentiometer that is attached to the
power. In effect, many performance fanatics oftenflap sends a signal of voltage to the Power train
remove the silencers.Control Module (PCM). Behind the main vane is a
Specific lengths of air intakes are designed for the airsecond vane. This fits into a closed camber which
to vibrate and be available at a specific frequency.suppresses the movement of the vane. In effect, a
This assists the flow of air into the combustionmore accurate measurement is given. An Air
chamber. To minimize the restriction of flow at theTemperature Sensor, which functions exactly as it
cost of changing the pattern of the air intake for adoes in the carbureted engine, is also built into the
small net increase in power or torque, thevane AFM.
aftermarket industry now has larger throttle bodiesOn the other hand, the hot wire AFM utilizes a series
and air filters.of wires strung in the air stream. The wire resistance
In the case of your Daihatsu car, if you feel anyat normal operating temperature is held constant; it
damage in its air intake, the Daihatsu oxygen sensorwill allow a set voltage through it. The air cools as it
might be in trouble. Check your owner's manual andpasses through the hot wire. And during this process,
know how to solve.the wire resistance diminishes. As a result, it allows
As a car owner, you need to know other thingspassing through more voltage. The signal of the
about your air intake system. One of which is thevoltage then goes to the main EFI computer. There,
process of how the air and the fuel that needs toit allows the fuel mixture to be adjusted. And then,
burn get into the cylinders.from the AFM, it goes to the throttle chamber.
In a carburetor equipped engine, the air comes intoThe air that flows into the engine is controlled by the
the space for air filter. Air passes through the air filterchamber. The car comes in an idle mode when the
and then into the carburetor where the fuel isthrottle chamber is closed. A small bypass chamber
blended with it. Through the intake manifold, itallows a small amount of air to bypass the throttle
passes. And then it is drawn into the cylinders.plate and proceed into the engine.
The Air Temperature Sensor is the most advancedThe Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) and the Cold
part of the air intake system. This preventsStart Valve are among the other essential parts of
carburetor icing that might cause your vehicle to stallthe air intake system.
and die out. It also facilitates vaporization of the fuelAnd so this is how the air intake system works and
into the air stream. Moreover, it is used to gauge thehow air enters the engine. Having knowledge on this
temperature of air. It also allows cool air in throughwill lessen your ignorance when it comes to intake
the air horn or heated air piped in from around anmatters. A frequent owner's manual browsing will also
exhaust manifold. And this is done through openinghelp a lot.