Ok I was looking into getting a cold air intake and a throttle body spacer for my vechicle..I was reading and it ays they improve my fuel economy..but my friend said that it didnt help his truck at all it actualy made it worse..( He has a 2004 Dodge 2500 5.7 liter Hemi Ram)..now do you guys think it will improve fuel economy or make it worse??

 

Best way to improve fuel economy:




Other wise I think anytime you open up your intake or allow more air in, you should be able to gain a little but I would bet it to be a very trivial gain. What is pretty common sometimes is that you put on some add-ons and then all of a sudden your puting your foot in it more to see if it's got anymore HP gain or your listening to the air intake and peeling out at stoplights and things like that. I would think that would be more of the reason for loosing gas mileage. "The new hot rod" syndrome.....

 

A more free flowing intake that still draws in cold outside air should aid the engine in being as efficient as possible.

The theory behind TB spacers is that by increasing the volume of air between the intake valve and the throttle body, you will theoretically lower the RPM where peak torque occurs at. You won't increase peak torque, but just shift the whole torque curve lower in the RPM band. So your off idle torque will slightly increase while your high rpm torque will decrease. On motors that have a high RPM torque peak, this should be slightly beneficial. The 4.3L has its torque peak down so low and runs out of breath up at the top end as it is (stock) that a TB spacer really shouldn't really have any 1/4mi or MPG differences.

Best advice I can give to regain lost mileage is to make sure that your truck is operating as efficiently as possible. Make sure your tires are up to the proper pressure, the smaller the contact patch, the lower the rolling resistance. When was the last time you did a tune up? Try rolling into the throttle and drive it like there's an egg under the gas pedal. Use as little brakes as possible. Coast to stop signs. ETC, ETC...

 

Where do you guys buy your TB spacers? They are pretty easy to install correct?

 

I don't think that a TB spacer is a good answer for the '96+ CSFI VORTEC 4.3L V6 since the injectors now sit inside the manifold. The TB spacers most available were designed for the older TBI units to increase air/fuel mixture between the valve and the manifold therefore increasing HP. With the new CSFI design the air fuel mixture is predetermined with the MAF/IAT/MAP sensors so a Spacer is outsode of the loop of all but the MAP sensor. So as you can see most of the sensors needed to affect hp/mileage would not see the increase involume...only the O2 sensor would be able then to adjust for changes in the air/fuel ratio...

And since TBI systems did not use a MAF or IAT sensor adding an extra inch under the TBI wouldaffect the amount of air/fuel mixture since the fuelis added before the spacer, so more volume would mean more fuel into the cylinder...

 

Ok...well I guess I wont be going with a TB spacer then lol.

 

And avoid the Tornado thingy too.
Your Vortec engine already creates the Vortec. Actually thats waht the Vortec means.

Best gains are to induce more COLD air into the engine, and open up the exhaust so it can breath out the spent gases faster. There are points where going bigger actually has the opposite effect.

 

Your best bet for better economy is to have a properly running engine, correct air pressure in the tires, and getting rid of any excess weight.

 

So, are you saying that I need to go on a diet?

 

LOL. Would help the suspension as well! LMAO. Atleast in my case.