We’ve all seen infographics depicting how an engine operates, from old-school animations to the latest in computer-generated graphics that show us how every internal part plays a crucial role. As good as these can be, nothing’s better than seeing the real thing operating in real life. Well, that’s exactly what we have here: a GoPro camera inside an MK4 Toyota Supra’s intake manifold.
Warped Perception, a YouTube channel that is basically a paradise for auto enthusiasts and science nerds, shoves a camera inside the sports car’s intake manifold to give an interesting perspective on how air and fuel enter a cylinder, and the results are admittedly cool.
The guys claim to have gotten the idea while swapping out the car’s throttle body, though this isn’t the first time they’ve mounted a GoPro in a weird location. You might recall the tiny action camera inside of a tire to show just how much abuse rubber goes through while rolling down the road.
Bolted onto the Supra’s legendary 3.0-liter 2JZ-GTE, the camera sits on a custom jig looking directly down cylinder four’s intake runner, showing the valves and injector doing their jobs. On the left side of the screen, the throttle body’s butterfly valve can be seen modulating based on the pedal position.
And while we can’t exactly see the air moving, we can get an impression of the transition from positive manifold pressure to vacuum by watching fuel blowback and bits of fluid moving around the manifold. Eventually, the camera becomes heat soaked and shuts off to protect it against damage. But for the short time, while the camera is operating, it captures some clips of the very interesting perspective from inside of the Supra’s intake manifold.
Perhaps the most unexpected detail of all is watching the amount of fuel that is kicked back into the intake manifold while the car isn’t under boost. A gentle reminder of how advancements in engineering like direct injection help make cars be more fuel-efficient.
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