Variable length intake manifold

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Variable Length Intake Manifold (VLIM) is an automobile engine manifold technology. As the name implies, VLIM can vary the length of the intake tract in order to optimize power and torque, as well as provide better fuel efficiency.

Lower intake manifold on a 1999 Mazda Miata  engine, showing components of a variable length intake system.
Lower intake manifold on a 1999 Mazda Miata engine, showing components of a variable length intake system.

There are two main effects of variable intake geometry:

  • Swirl - Variable geometry can create a beneficial air swirl pattern in the combustion chamber. The swirls help distribute the fuel and form a homogeneous air-fuel mixture which ignites without engine knocking. At low rpm, the speed of the airflow is increased by directing the air through a longer path with limited capacity (i.e., cross-sectional area), but the shorter and larger path opens when the load increases so that a greater amount of air can enter the chamber. In DOHC designs, the air paths are often connected to separate intake valves so the shorter path can be excluded by de-activating the intake valve itself.
  • Pressurization - A tuned intake path can have a light pressurizing effect similar to a low-pressure supercharger due to Helmholtz resonance. However, this effect occurs only over a narrow engine speed band. A variable intake can create two or more pressurized "hot spots", increasing engine output. When the intake air speed is higher, the dynamic pressure pushing the air (and/or mixture) inside the engine is increased. The dynamic pressure is proportional to the square of the inlet air speed, so by making the passage narrower or longer the speed/dynamic pressure is increased.

Many automobile manufacturers use similar technology with different names. Another common term for this technology is Variable Resonance Induction System (VRIS).

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