Variable inlet tracts

Post by **Peetee** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:41 am

Can anyone point me to a web page that illustrates variable lengths inlet manifolds? I'm curious as to how they change without disturbing the airflow.

Post by **Axolotl** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:27 am

There's a brief description and some pics of the Rover V6 variable inlet system here:-

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?r ... iable.html

But it's more about why it goes wrong and how to fix it, than how it is supposed to work in the first place. Basically, it has multiple butterfly valves or chokes that operate to lengthen or shorten the inlet pipes. No idea how the airflow is smoothed.

You're welcome to come and take mine apart when it breaks

.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:41 pm

Seems over complicated - and v expensive to fix the daft problem! Glad I don't have one of these nightmares!

Post by **Axolotl** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:39 pm

It's not a nightmare while it's going, just when it goes wrong

.

I don't think it's much different from most other modern lumps. They all seem to have their own quirks. None of them seem to be the sort of thing you can attack with a handful of spanners and a couple of screwdrivers and hope to come away with a working engine at the end.