The design and operational variables of inlet and exhaust systems are decisive to determine overall engine performance. The best engine overall performance can be obtained by proper design of the engine inlet and exhaust systems and by matching the correct turbocharger to the engine. This paper presents the results of investigations to design the inlet and exhaust systems of a stationary natural gas engine family. To do this, a computational model is verified in which zero dimensional phenomena within the cylinder and one dimensional phenomena in the engine inlet and exhaust systems are used. Using this engine model, the effects of the parameters of the inlet and exhaust systems on the engine performance are obtained. In particular, the following parameters are chosen: valve timing, valve diameter, valve lift profiles, diameter of the exhaust manifold, inlet and exhaust pipe lengths, and geometry of pipe junctions. Proper sizing of the inlet and exhaust pipe systems is achieved very precisely by these investigations. Also, valve timing is tuned by using the results obtained in this study. In general, a very high improvement potential for the engines studied here is presented. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.