aluminum intake manifold

[aust ek coupe]

whats the big thing about the aluminum intake manifold? i was looking on craigslist list and this civic ex has and this is the second time ive heard of it and seen it. is there any real big power difference between the metal ones and the aluminum ones?

[Brian]

could be for weight.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, aluminum cools faster so it will provide cooler air

[justin]

Was it a stock IM?? Maybe the guy had a custom IM made.

[gotrice93]

i don't know much about intake manifolds but, It might be that since it is aluminum it can be polished really easy resulting in a super smooth finish allowing for better air flow.

[JetBlack]

Generally it's for weight. At least in the Mustang world, let's say you have two identical setups except for what they are made out of.

One is cast iron block.
Cast iron heads.
Cast iron intake.

The other is all aluminum.

In a drag, the aluminum one may cross the finish line half a second faster than the iron one.

The aluminum driveline-car might weigh 450 pounds less.

Summary, cast iron weighs about 450 pounds per cubic foot.

Aluminum, 170 pounds.

[aust ek coupe]

Was it a stock IM?? Maybe the guy had a custom IM made.

i dont think it was stock.

[Backwoodz Tuner]

Yeah I gotta agree with everyone else. Probably the weight issue , but I thought they were all aluminum from the factory though. Cause I was thinkin I don't remember ever seeing a cast iron or steel made Intake on a Honda, I could be wrong so don't quote me on this. Could yoi score a pic to post up for us to see?

[Backwoodz Tuner]

I agree.aluminum disapates heat faster. Cooler oxygen more power. Like they say for every 10 degrees you can make your engines intake air cooler,you can gain 1% more HP.

[Brian]

it's not so much that you gain HP with cooler intake temps, it's preventing the loss of HP.

Here is a great article about it...
http://bankspower.com/techarticles/show/22-Cool-Air-Equals-Power