The Ultimate Guide to Types of Blow-Off Valves

You can upgrade your vehicle in many ways, from changing your engine to installing a spoiler. This article will look at one of the popular upgrades many people make to their vehicles, blow-off valves. These valves are a great way to improve and protect your engine with a single modification. Here’s everything you’ll need to know about the different types of blow-off valves.

What Is a Blow-Off Valve

To understand everything we’re going to talk about, you should first know what a blow-off valve is and why it’s important for cars. These valves hook onto the intake in your engine and lead away to the valve’s main housing. When your engine gets a sudden boost of energy, the blow-off valve helps alleviate the extra pressure on the system. This is very important for protecting your engine, especially if you’ve any modifications that affect your engine intake or use a turbo.

Why It’s a Good Investment

This mod is crucial for a vehicle because it helps protect your car from unnecessary damage. A sudden increase in pressure can help your engine produce more energy, but too much pressure can cause permanent damage to the engine. So, these mods help you reach the speeds you want while helping to protect your car.

Types of Blow-Off Valves

There are two types of blow-off valves you need to know about when you want to get a valve for your vehicle. Knowing the difference between these two options will give you the information you need to make an informed decision for your car. The two types of blow-off valves are recirculating and atmospheric valves.

Recirculating Valves

Recirculating blow-off valves attach the intake of your engine and help alleviate pressure as all blow-off valves do. However, they divert this energy back into the system after relieving it from the system, delaying the energy and safely reintroducing it back into the system. This has several benefits while still protecting your engine from excess energy that may damage it otherwise.

Atmospheric Valves

Atmospheric blow-off valves don’t use the same method of diverting the energy back into the engine, instead dispersing it back into the atmosphere. This means you don’t get the same power in your engine as the energy doesn’t come back once the blow-off valve releases it. However, these valves are very popular and do a great job protecting your engine.

The Differences Between the Two Types

While the differences between these two valve types may seem obvious, it’s important that you know how these differences impact your vehicle. This next section will tackle all the big differences that come with choosing one valve over the other and how it may affect your choice in the end.

Noise Level

The first big difference between these two vehicles is the sound that the valve gives off. These valves are pretty loud when removing the excess pressure in your vehicle, but atmospheric valves are a bit louder. Because the energy travels back into the engine with a recirculating valve and the sound suppressors in the vehicle can help, these valves are a lot quieter in practice. However, both valve options are audible, even with noise suppression.

Setup and Parts

When setting up these valves inside your vehicle, the atmospheric valve is much easier to install. It only needs to connect with the engine’s intake, while the recirculating valve must also connect to the engine itself. This means it takes up more space and uses more parts, which can be a problem in tight spaces.

Engine Needs

Every engine is a bit different, just like every car is unique. Sometimes your choice isn’t your own because your vehicle only works with one type of blow-out valve. For example, some cars use a MAF-type system, which won’t work with atmospheric valves as the engine controls airflow differently.

Better Protection

When it comes to which valve offers the best protection for your car, the atmospheric valve provides the most protection. These valves can handle more pressure and don’t need to put it back into the engine. However, unless you’re looking to transform your car into a racing vehicle, you likely won’t reach the point where recirculating valves aren’t as protective.

The Stock Choice

It’s important to note that most vehicles come with a valve already installed. In most cases, street vehicles use recirculating valves as their default choice. Most vehicles use these valves because of the lower noise, which is appealing for most street vehicles. However, you should consider upgrading your valve, even if it’s the type you want, as the stock valves are only meant to work with your vehicle and won’t handle more stress than the base model. This means upgrading your vehicle in any way or driving too fast can overpower the stock valve in your car.

Hybrid Blow-Off Valves

While it’s crucial that you understand these two styles of valves, there are other hybrid styles worth considering. These hybrids offer a mix of the two types of blow-off valves. There are many different hybrid options out there that you can look through to find your perfect match, but here’s what you should know first.

Minimizing Deficits and Benefits

While hybrid valves are great options, they take the middle ground between the recirculating and atmosphere valves. This means they aren’t as good as either option in their benefits, but they also don’t suffer from the negatives as much.

Which Should You Choose?

Now comes the big question and the whole reason why you want to know everything about blow-off valve types. Which one should you choose for your car? Sadly, there’s no one answer that’ll work for everyone; recirculation valves are great for people who drive on the street but still want a bit more performance. In comparison, atmospheric valves are perfect for people who want to push their vehicles hard. But it may depend on what fits into your car.

Now that you know all this information about blow-off valves, you’re ready to look for an upgrade for your car. Soon you’ll have a new valve to help you get the most out of your engine and vehicle. All you need now is to pair it with other upgrades to maximize your vehicle’s potential.