
As induction kits are probably one of the most popular modifications for car tuning projects we thought we should add a introductory article to explain what they are, what they do and the theory behind them.
An induction kit is quite simply an air filter. Most cars have air filters mounted in an air box. These filters are generally constructed of paper which filters out the particles from the air and prevents these from getting into the engine. The airboxes are designed to reduce the noise of the engine and have various vanes and angles cut to maximise this noise reduction.
Diesel Tuning for maximum power and torque
From a diesel perspective, anything that isn’t turbocharged is a waste of time from a tuning point of view. Similarly, anything that isn’t using electronically managed direct injection is a pointless tuning proposal so we are somewhat limited to modern Turbo Diesels.
Get rid of those two ointment bound flies and things get more interesting
Suspension settings, lowering and stiffening
On the track your priority is fast cornering and suspension plays a large part in this. Track conditions are quite forgiving and you can make some compromises like using hard suspension and lowering the car for optimum aerodynamics and a low centre of gravity.
This works well because tracks are fairly flat and you do not have a carrier bag full of eggs in the car from your return trip to the supermarket.
How to add a turbo to a non turbo car.
The basic reason for forced induction (turbo or supercharger) is not to increase compression or the maximum pressure in an engine cylinder, it is to increase volumetric efficiency (the efficiency of the engine at drawing in air) although forced induction is the most effective method of upping compression.
In computer games we just tick a box, and within seconds our car is fully turbocharged and running much faster. In the real world things are very different.