Does any one have one on theirs?? what kind.. does it wrk?? would u recomend it?? pros and cons.. let me know thnx

I've been looking at these too, anyone that's dealt with them, please share

Wat type u wana get?? im lookin at the jet brand.. like 87 bux i think... but dont know if its an advantage or disadvantage..

I have apoweraid TBS (http://www.airaid.com/200-580_chevy.asp), it makes a whistling/turbulance noise below 2000rpm. It doesn't fit well with the K&N FIPK (http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=57-3017-2). Makes the hood bulge up a little. I Have Granatelli MAF on it too. (http://www.performancemarket.com/performance/basket.php?brandid=492&partid=318&makeid=5&modelid=46&year=2001)
These items were usd on 3 Blazers now and I think it breathes easier.
Horsepower is expensive. I would read up on other folks testimonials. My opinion on it is it's not a much needed item.
I got it through JC Whitney.

I could make that same thing (without the stupid swirl) for probably around $50 for the complete kit. The only thing that swirl does is create that whistle. Nothing more. Throttle body spacers do work if what you are looking for is more low end torque at the expense of high end torque/power.

I designed and sold TBS kits for Dodge 3.5L & 3.3L v6s and typical gains that I saw through customer reviews of my spacer were a nice kick in the pants off the line and 2-3mpg increase in mileage on the 3.5L and around 1-2mpg on the 3.3L. Not bad for a $50 expense.

The hardest part of these spacers is milling in the o-ring groove. There isn't a paper gasket made for this throttle body.

Is it normal to have a thin layer of oil baked to the underside of the throttle blade?
My intake manifold is wet with oil, and it creeped up to my TBS.

That oily layer is from the EGR valve and it is just combustion by products. It is normal for todays engines with Exhaust Gas Recirculators (EGR).

It's a sloppy design. I noticed today my Impala 3.8 litre (or liter) has oil on the IM too.

Pretty much any late model vehicle (from like '90 on) has this problem. It is a direct result of the EGR system which is there to reduce the NOx emissions and does a very good job of it too.

speaking of EGRs, My Impala failed the first emission test it had last year and they said it was the secondary air pump and EGR valve.
I got aquote of the EGR at a dealer and it was over $300.00. The parts guy said to get a 2nd opinion and I did. It threw no codes and I didn't need a thing. I think I'll be going to the latter shop for state inspections.

Back to the trottle body spacers. Don't waste your money. GM spent millions designing it into your engine, its called Vortec. All 4.3L engines are vortec's.

throttle body spacers only add up to like 10 hp for tbi motors but i have a cpi and i cant find one do they make one for cpi 4.3L or not? does anyone know?

Nope, save your $.

i put a tbs on my 92 350 tpi fullsize and i noticed a big difference but all i ahve heard is to stay away from tbs on these cause they dont even mix the fuel up there... and the spiral is then useless cause it supposed to create a better mixture of fuel and air.. and if only air is being pulled through it it makes it completely useless

One of our fearless mods summed it up earlier this month. (swartkk)

The way a TB spacer works is by increasing the volume of air between the throttle blade and the valves. A TB spacer will effectively move the torque curve lower in the rpm band. It will do this at the expense of higher RPM torque, but if you think about how much time you spend at 3500+rpm... [sm=burnout.gif]

yeah what he said

Does it give you better gas mileage? That's all I am wondering. I want to get the K&N FIPK by the end of next month and always see Throttle Body Spacers on sale too. LEt em know thanks.
Mitch

Does it give you better gas mileage?

Yes it does. If I'm not hard on the motor.

Throttle Body Spacers give more time to mix before it burns up in the engine. i'm plannin on gettin it when i get back to work come summer.

That is only true for TBI or carb motors. With the CPI or SCFI motors, the fuel is injected directly ahead of the intake valve. The length of the intake path before the injector has nothing to do with the fuel/air mixture.

regardin the tbs im thinking of getting one soon... i wanted the smooth one, but i want some whistling noise.. so im goin with the jet one..

ORIGINAL: swartlkk

I could make that same thing (without the stupid swirl) for probably around $50 for the complete kit. The only thing that swirl does is create that whistle. Nothing more. Throttle body spacers do work if what you are looking for is more low end torque at the expense of high end torque/power.

I designed and sold TBS kits for Dodge 3.5L & 3.3L v6s and typical gains that I saw through customer reviews of my spacer were a nice kick in the pants off the line and 2-3mpg increase in mileage on the 3.5L and around 1-2mpg on the 3.3L. Not bad for a $50 expense.

The hardest part of these spacers is milling in the o-ring groove. There isn't a paper gasket made for this throttle body.


What is it you do exactly? I guess it depends on what machine you are working on but the o-ring groove wouldn't be a problem unless you are doing this on a bridgeport. I was considering making one of these and a mold for the gasket in class for a project, though I would have just cut it on the hurco. Unless your real quick on a bridgeport it would probably be cheaper to buy one rather then spend the man hours to cut one. Anyhoo, nice to see someone else that is in manufacturing I always feel like the lone guy trying to explain to a bunch of desk jockeys what a die is.

I should have been more clear. With any small quantity production of something, the cost goes up proportional to the complexity. I was merely stating that due to the o-ring groove, the spacer would be more expensive.

I am a currently a manufacturing engineer. I went to school for mechanical engineering and grew up on a cash crop farm where we built whatever was necessary to do the job at hand.

Nice, thats exactly what I'm going to college for. And yes, understandably so cost will go up on job-shop/small run production I should just drop a VM1 in my garage and I would have halmf the machined parts I want. Now where can a college student find an extra 40K?

Believe me man, I wish I had a nice CNC mill. Heck, I'd take a regular bridgeport and a good machinist lathe. At work, I do machine programming on our 2 Doosan VLCs as well as our 2 OKK HMCs. We also have 2 Daewoo HLCs, 2 old Okuma HLCs in a cell with a Haas VMC, and a Mori Seki cell that consists of a Mori Seki HMC and a Mori Seki HLC. But being a production factory with a union...

For those of you wondering what all of the three letter words in caps mean...
Crib Notes:
CNC ==> Computer Numerical Control
VLC ==> Vertical Lathe Center
HLC ==> Horizontal Lathe Center
HMC ==> Horizontal Machining Center
VMC ==> Vertical Machining Center

I recently put the Trans Dapt spacer on my K-5. Initial results from very limited data increase of 2.75 MPG. May be several months for accurate data. But if this result holds up it will have paid for itself by the time I'm convinced the data is accurate. I believe some of the gain is due to creating space between the manifold and the TB, less heat. I don't feel any difference in HP.

Hey guys. i have a '90 S10 Blazer, bored 40 over, dual exhaust, K&N filter, edelbrock air cleaner. i just bought a TB spacer and im having a little trouble making it idle back down. the throttle sticks and i have to pull it back with my foot. i have adjusted the TV cable...but it's still not right. any suggestions, besides ditching the spacer?

is there a spring that might not be hooked up

ORIGINAL: cody32401

is there a spring that might not be hooked up

Possible but I don't think so. This sounds like it might have either a vacuum leak with the TB/Spacer/Intake seals or your TPS and IAC need to be readjusted. Check the computer for codes, it will lead you in the direction you need to go...

you need to readjust your tb spacer. your throttle blade is making contact with the spacer causing it to stick. easy fix. also a tb spacer will do more for your low-mid range torque.


To put it simply, velocity in the combustion chamber makes additional torque. This is the speed at which the air and fuel mixture enters and exits the engine. Increase the speed and you will increase the engine's torque output.

The throttle body spacer adds velocity by effectively improving the vacuum response to the TBI or carburetor. The throttle body spacer, effectively increases the runner length of the intake manifold while at the same time increasing the overall plenum volume.

This, in turn, also acts to prevent any of the air-fuel mixture from hitting the bottom of the intake manifold and bouncing back up to scatter in the intake manifold increasing overall performance and throttle response.

I was just reading something online that a TB spacer does nothing for vortec engines... I just want better gas mileage, i don't care about HP/torque because i don't need it. I have my dads truck if i need to do any heavy duty hauling, but because of my blazer and its gas mileage, i need better

my 89 k1500 got 1mpg with a helix power tower spacer the whistle sounds awful this is with 35 " bfg muds i think mybe better on stock for mpg gains

what happens if the EGR plate is removed..

1mpg? Wow I bet that sucked, anywho, so is it plain pointless to get a tbs for the vortec blazer? I want to get better gas milage but the money saved on a tbs is better spent somewhere else if it doesn't even work on a vortec.

I also have a Helix Performance Throttle Body Spacer on my 2006 4.3L. Don't buy it if you're looking for thisbig jump in horsepower. As far as torque is concerned though, I was able to notice a difference in the rear wanting to break loose. The throttle response is better and gas mileage went up a couple mpg in conjunction with a cold air intake and better exhaust system.

For those who say that it doesn't work, you may have been expecting something out of it that it's not necessarily designed to do.

It costs around $90 from JCWhitney and you'll make that up in no time with the effective gas mileage.