Can Naturally Aspirated Engines Be Tuned?
2 Answers
Naturally aspirated engines can indeed be tuned. A naturally aspirated engine is one type of engine intake method, which relies on atmospheric pressure to force air into the combustion chamber without the use of any supercharger, providing power support for the vehicle. The intake method of a turbocharged engine differs from that of a naturally aspirated engine. Turbocharged engines are equipped with a turbocharger, which consists of two parts: an exhaust turbine and an intake turbine. The exhaust turbine is connected to the exhaust manifold, and when the engine reaches a certain speed, the exhaust has sufficient energy to drive the rotation of the exhaust turbine.
My naturally aspirated Accord has been ECU-tuned with modified ignition timing and fuel injection parameters. The most noticeable improvement is the faster throttle response, and acceleration above 3000 RPM feels smoother, but the horsepower gain is only about 7-8 HP. Naturally aspirated engines rely on RPMs for power, so tuning doesn't squeeze out as much performance as turbocharged cars—overdoing it can even damage the engine. I recommend getting a professional dyno tune and avoiding changes to the base air-fuel ratio. By the way, intake mods make a bigger difference—after swapping to a high-flow air filter, the RPMs climb noticeably quicker, making city driving much more fun.
