The present work aims at analyzing the fluid dynamic efficiency of a four-stroke spark-ignition engine. Specifically, a production four-cylinder internal combustion engine has been investigated during the intake and exhaust phase. The experimental characterization has been carried out at the steady flow rig adopting the dimensionless flow and discharge coefficients. The analysis has highlighted the great influence of the valve lift on the volumetric efficiency of the intake and exhaust system. Furthermore, the global investigation has demonstrated that the throttle angle has a significant influence on the head permeability during the induction phase. Particularly, the throttling process effect increases with the valve lift. Finally, the work has shown that all experimental data can be correlated by a single curve if an opportune dimensionless plot is adopted.