Air intake is very important for diesel vehicles, whether it's a 6.7L Cummins engine or any other diesel engine, just like people need to breathe.
The only way to understand the whole process of air intake is to find out what's wrong with your car and how to fix it, as well as how to upgrade your air intake system to improve your car's overall performance, fuel efficiency, or horsepower.
Let's get to the point and learn about air intake step by step.
Initial Intake and Air Guidance
The cold air intake kit is the first step in getting air into the intake system, it contains an air filter and intake elbow to ensure that the air entering the system is clean.
Filtered air enters the intake elbow section.The air follows its designed path, and in general, of course, the shorter the path, the better, and the less turbulence, the better so that the air can flow more smoothly into the manifold and then maximize cylinder fill.
But don'tremember, the car only has so much space, leaving limited space for the intake elbow, so the design of the intake elbow needs to meet the most basic conditions.
Of course, the above is not hypothetical; I read in the 6.7 Cummins forum that an owner installed one of these kits on his DS 2007.5 6.7L Cummins and came up with a noticeable improvement: boost pressure went from 9 psi to 22 psi.
This is not only a case in point; it has been said, "I drove after making these upgrades I drove 275,625 miles after making these upgrades and gained a lot of driving experience from the 26 miles I had when I originally purchased it."
Function of the intercooler and intercooler tube
Next, the pressurized air goes to the intercooler for cooling.
The intercooler's job is to lower the temperature of the pressurized air, thereby increasing the air density and providing more oxygen for combustion, ultimately improving combustion efficiency and engine performance.
The most important thing is that after replacing the aftermarket intercooler and intercooler tube, the engine can still maintain stability under high load conditions for a certain period of time.
Effect of the intake manifold on airflow
Intake manifolds are an important part of the air intake system, and their task is to distribute air to all cylinders.
If you compare the intake system to a city road network, the intake horn is like a freeway split, distributing the airflow from the main road evenly to the side roads.
If the manifold needs to be better designed, it can act like a traffic jam, resulting in slow airflow.
It is no exaggeration to say that it determines pressure and air flow rate. If you want to minimize pressure loss or increase air flow, replacing the stock intake manifold is a must. Fit for a 6.7 cummins intake horn is worth it!
SPELAB has developed an 6.7 intake horn to fit 2007 to the current generation, which is designed to minimize pressure loss and increase airflow by replacing the material of the OEM manifold and increasing the intake ports by almost two times while designing it to keep the path as smooth as possible.
Learn more about fitting the “6.7 Cummins or 5.9 Cummins intake horn benefits”.
One owner of a SPELAB intake manifold who installed the improved fit for the 6.7 Cummins intake horn noticed an improvement in gas mileage when towing an empty 7x16 trailer for testing.
Fuel consumption on the trailer test improved from 13.1 mpg to 27 mpg, showing how improved airflow can directly impact fuel economy.
The Importance of Intake Plenum Delete
When replacing or upgrading the air intake system, it is recommended that the factory grille heater be deleted at the same time.
Choose SPELAB Billet Aluminum grid heater delete 6.7 Cummins for great prices and quality.
Of course, we still need to decide on a case-by-case basis. Here are the parts to consider:
Pros:
Lower intake temperature: removing the heat shield reduces heat buildup in the engine compartment, resulting in a lower intake temperature.
Reduced heat transfer: Reducing heat transfer around the engine prevents heat from building up on other components and reduces the risk of heat fade.
Improved engine response: lower intake air temperatures allow the engine to respond faster during acceleration, especially under high loads or high temperatures, with more consistent power output.
Disadvantages:
Environmental adaptability: if you are in an extremely hot environment (summer temperatures can easily exceed 40 degrees Celsius or more, e.g. Arizona, Texas), it is recommended not to remove the heat shield as it may increase the temperature stress on specific components, which can backfire.
Increasing air density to optimize combustion
Air density directly affects combustion efficiency. The denser the air entering the cylinder and the higher the oxygen content, the more powerful the combustion process will be.
It's like you're using more concentrated fuel. What can you do to increase air density? Here are some experiences shared by some enthusiastic car enthusiasts:
One trucker with at least 15 years of ownership reported that after replacing the air intake system, the vehicle's performance in cold conditions was significantly more consistent, and it no longer experienced cold-starting problems due to low temperatures.
Another trucker chose to upgrade his intake system to avoid grid heater bolt failures, which resulted in smoother engine starts in cold temperatures and reduced the high cost of engine replacement.
So in order to get higher density, our cold air intake system needs to bring in colder air. This complements the role of the 2 accessories above. It works even better in cold conditions.
Real-world data analysis and linkage to the fuel delivery system
In testing at a pressure of 15 inches of the water column, the SPELAB 6.7L Cummins intake elbow achieved significant airflow gains after the upgrade, which proved to optimize fuel efficiency and engine response.
When modifying intake fittings, it's a good idea to upgrade the fuel lines and high-capacity injectors at the same time. It is the only way to control the balance of the air-fuel ratio better.
Similarly, a modification of the delete system performed by a friend will also be replaced at the same time as the transmission. Otherwise, it will shorten its life due to overloading or other derivative problems.
Author's comment.
Each part of the intake system affects the other, and once you modify one part, then the other parts will be affected as well.
Therefore, you need to spend more money while you are able to feel the obvious effects of the modification.
Otherwise, it is prone to derivative problems caused by a part of the car being out of balance or sacrificing a part.
Therefore, many friends continue to modify the exhaust system even more after modifying the intake system.
But in spite of this, the pursuit of performance enthusiasts is still unrelenting on this tuning road, to this on the speed and performance of the charm!
