Benefits Of Individual Throttle Bodies

Individual Throttle Bodies: A Comprehensive Overview

In this article, we will delve into the world of individual throttle bodies and explore their working principle, advantages, and limitations.

A Simple Setup: Four-Cylinder Engine with a Single Throttle Body

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Let's start by examining a simple setup, where a four-cylinder engine is paired with a single throttle body. This is a configuration that most vehicle manufacturers are familiar with. The air intake pathway is long and winding, which makes it less efficient than other configurations. The throttle body sits at the end of this pathway, and its sole function is to regulate airflow into the engine. When the throttle pedal is pressed, the throttle body opens, allowing air to enter the engine.

A More Efficient Configuration: Four-Cylinder Engine with Individual Throttle Bodies

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Now, let's move on to a more efficient configuration, where each cylinder has its own individual throttle body. This setup may seem complex at first glance, but it offers several advantages over traditional configurations. In this setup, the air intake pathway is shorter and less winding, which improves airflow efficiency. The throttle body for each cylinder sits at the beginning of the air intake pathway, rather than at the end, as in the previous configuration.

How Individual Throttle Bodies Work

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So, how do individual throttle bodies work? In this setup, a cable or electronic motor drives each throttle body to open and close it. The throttle pedal is connected to a cable that controls all of the throttle bodies simultaneously. When you press on the throttle pedal, all of the throttle bodies open, allowing air to enter the engine.

Tuning Individual Throttle Bodies

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One of the challenges associated with individual throttle bodies is tuning the air-fuel ratio for each cylinder. Without a massive intake manifold with vacuum lines, it's difficult to determine the optimal air-fuel mixture. To overcome this challenge, a vacuum box and map sensor are used. The vacuum box collects vacuum from each throttle body, while the map sensor connects to the vacuum box and provides feedback to the engine computer.

The Advantage of Individual Throttle Bodies

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So, what are the advantages of individual throttle bodies? One of the most significant benefits is that it's a simple and cost-effective setup. This makes it an attractive option for vehicle manufacturers looking to save costs without compromising performance. Another advantage is the ability to size the system according to power requirements. By using individually tuned velocity stacks, engineers can optimize airflow for specific RPM bands.

Reduced Pumping Losses

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Individual throttle bodies also offer reduced pumping losses at partial throttle. In traditional configurations, a large intake manifold draws air through a long pathway, which creates a vacuum that must be overcome by the engine's pumping action. In contrast, individual throttle bodies only draw air through a short pathway, resulting in less pumping loss and improved efficiency.

Instantaneous Throttle Response

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Individual throttle bodies also provide instantaneous throttle response, making them ideal for high-performance vehicles. When you press on the throttle pedal, the atmospheric pressure outside the engine is transmitted directly to each cylinder, allowing for rapid airflow and improved performance.

A Word of Caution

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While individual throttle bodies offer several advantages, they're not without their limitations. One of the biggest challenges is tuning the system to optimize power output across different RPM bands. Engineers must carefully design the intake manifold and velocity stacks to ensure optimal airflow at specific RPM ranges.

In conclusion, individual throttle bodies are a complex yet efficient configuration that offers several advantages over traditional setups. By understanding how they work and optimizing their design, engineers can create high-performance engines with improved efficiency and responsiveness.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHello, everyone and in this videoWe're going to be talking about how individual throttle bodies work, and so I've got two drawings here on the leftWe have a four-cylinder engine with a single throttle body and then on the right we have a four cylinder engine with individual Throttle bodiesSo looking here on the left, a very simple setup. Which you're probably all very familiar withYou have your air intake you know this is going to be a much longer winding path for most vehiclesthen you've got your throttle body that goes into your intake manifold and then into your engineNow with an individual throttle body as the name suggests each cylinder has its ownThrottle and so you can have this intake manifold just like this setupAnd the you know air intake and all that you won't have that throttle body right there before the intake manifold insteadYou'll have one place at each of the intake Runners for each of the cylinders and in this case. I've drawn itSo you've just got your cable for your throttle cable driven, or it could be an electronic motor thereThat's going to be opening and closing thisuntil all of those will open and close togetherDepending on you know where your foot is on the throttle pedalNow some of the differences between theseOne of the things that can be tricky which you may wonder is how do you tune the Air fuel for a setup like this?Where you don't have that you know massiveIntake manifold with the vacuum which you can determineSo what you'll do isyou'll actually tap in vacuum lines into each of these intake Runners here andAll of will to a vacuum box, and then you can have a map sensorWhich will connect up to that vacuum box if you're unsure about how map sensors workI do have a separate video explaining that but that's how you will tuneIn this example the Air fuel ratio of this system. Now, you know, what is the advantage of this system? WellIt's simple and it's cost-effectiveAnd that's why almost everyone uses this and you can size it accordingly for power. On the other hand hereYou're going to have the biggest difference between these two is that in here you have a partial vacuumLeading up to that throttle body when you're at partial Throttle versus in this systemYou have atmospheric pressure resting in your intake Manifoldyou don't even need this you could honestly just remove that completely you know you have to worry about filtering in that scenario, butyou don't need this part of the system. The point is if you have atmosphere pressure directly outside each of these cylindersVersus in this case, that atmospheric pressure when you floor it has to travel all the way into the cylinder rather than traveling fromRight here to right here. So you know that's one of the big advantages of this individual throttle body setupIs that you have Instantaneous throttle response because the second you press on that throttle that atmospheric pressure is right thereand it goes right into your cylinder. So great to have that throttle response you're also going to have reduced pumping losses atPartial Throttle because instead of drawing a vacuum through this giant area right hereInstead you're only going to be filling up this volume in each of theseIntake Runners before you get to that throttle body, so you're going to have a very small vacuum in comparison less pumping lossesSo this can be more efficient at partial Throttle. Now again as I mentioned you can removeThis intake manifold here and in doing that you can improve the air flow for each of these cylindersSo you can make it easier obviously. There's no restriction coming in so that can be a horsepower benefitYou don't have those bends winding through that air intake if you do you know eliminate this whole systemso from an efficiency standpointIt does make sense. Now which of these systems is going to make more powerAnd that's really not a question where you're going to save this one or this oneReally it comes down to sizing so you could have a very large intake manifold system on an engine thatIsn't restrictive at all and would allow for maximum horsepower at high RPM?And you could have a very restrictiveYou know small individual throttle body system, and so that at higher RPMs that wouldn't work out so you can have you knowIndividually tuned velocity stacks for these where you make it very efficient for a certain RPM bandBut you don't want to just say that you know inherently this is going to have more power than thisBecause that all comes down to the sizing of you know the piping in thereAnd so you know one's not necessarily better than the other from a power standpoint you are going to getInstantaneous throttle response you have the instant throttle response with this which will be great you'll definitely notice thatAnd then you're going to have reduced pumping losses so more efficient at partial throttle. At wide open throttleYou know it really depends on the setup one's not necessarily going to be better than the otherYou just have to tune for what you're going for high power high RPM means you're going to want you knowShorter length intake Runners, you're going to want larger intake Runners high power at lower RPMYou're going a lot longer runners, a bit more restrictive system, so it's more turbulent, you get quicker airflowSo thank you guys for watching and if you have any questions, or comments feel free to leave them below\n"