ITB Intakes Make The World Go Round
Hearing VTEC kick in is one of life’s joys, and it’s even better when announced with an ITB intake.
Perhaps it’s the aggressiveness of the changeover that’s so satisfying. Maybe it’s also the noticeable extra shove you get. But no doubt, the noise is what makes VTEC so much fun. And it is all amplified when each cylinder has essentially its own intake. Yup, ITB intake setups produce a great noise, that some may argue is better than exhaust noise.
Gears and Gasoline has modified their Honda S2000 to take an ITB setup, and the result is glorious. Like most S2000’s at this point, this one has a K20A2 in it now. Haltech electronics control the engine parameters, but it’s the filtering of air that becomes a central point to all ITB builds.
Because each throttle is independent, you don’t have a typical cold air intake tube. Or a mass air flow sensor or any of that. Instead you have four intake trumpets in a row. To properly filter them, a backing plate needs to be made, with a large external foam filter making sure the air stays clean as it goes into the cylinders.
The overall result is a sound unlike anything else. Intake nois ends up being incredibly muffled by most modern intake systems. Part of that is based on length, but it’s also on purpose. Most car’s intake noise is muted intentionally.
But with ITB intakes, the sound is amplified. And with short ram intakes, the power-band is changed, too. Most notably, at higher RPM‘s. Naturally this K20 is meant to spin to high RPM’s. In fact, this car’s nickname is “S-10,000.” Power that high up comes at a cost to mid range and low range power. But that was known ahead of time.
Ben Lin, the owner of the car says, “if a car is so inconvenient and so uncivilized, I don’t care if it has the best ITB sounds, if it’s so annoying to actually drive, you’re never going to experience that.” So despite it being K swapped and a monster of a car, project cars always have their quirks. But don’t let them keep you from enjoying your car. “Suddenly I don’t care about the stuff that’s not ideal about this car,” Lin concludes.
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