I have seen that a lot of members here have bought the Throttle Body Spacer for their Titans. I personally believe that it is just another gimmick. The AirRaid description states that this "atomizes" the fuel and increases the horsepower and torque in the low RPM ranges while increasing fuel mileage. Prove it!
Supposedly, the helical grooves are supposed to swirl the air into the intake manifold to create a better air fuel mixture. In actuality, those grooves will only create turbulence in the intake air making a whistling sound. That is all.
The Titans engine is very efficient and I would doubt any successful swirling of the intake air would do any good or bad to the air fuel mixture let alone increase power.
Increased throttle response. Some SWEAR that their vehicle is more "snappy" when the the throttle is applied like say from a stop. This is either because the driver wants to feel a difference, so he does, OR, if there is actually a difference in throttle response, it could only be that the increased volume inside the intake manifold makes for a stronger vacuum (but not increased negative pressure) pulls the intake air harder creating an increase in air velocity. This in theory will make the intake air slam into the cylinders harder and causing that sudden surge of acceleration. Though this is probable, its unlikely due to the minute increase in manifold volume and any effect will probably be unnoticeable.
I've tried to find dyno proof that the TBS actually works, let alone does anything and yet find nothing. The only excuse I ever got was that the gains were so low in RPM that it could not be measured on a dyno. I for one know that you could do a dyno measurement as low as 800RPM, so that excuse is as worthless as t!ts on a nun.
The reason I bring this up is because I had a discussion with a one of the guys at work about his Titan. He asked if I wanted to buy a throttle body spacer off him. I said no. He asked why and I told him that I thought they were a gimmick and they didn't work. He told me he wished he never bought it and that it was a waste of money. He said he felt NO difference in throttle response, no change in fuel mileage, and no power increase. Only a whole lot of whistling.
I've wanted to bring this up in the past but never got around to it since I didn't have anything to really support my argument until I spoke with the guy at work. Straight from a Titan owner that was displeased with the AirRaid TBS.
If anyone surely believes that the TBS helped in anyway, voice your opinion, but I will remain a non-believer of this product until I see a legitimate measurement showing the improvements this spacer claims to produce.
i've added them to a 94 Mustang GT, a 1998 corvette and my current 05 V-6 Mustang and they do work. mileage increased in all three. you are increasing the phlenum volume by 100cc. i usually buy the knock-offs on ebay for half the price of the major companies.
When I was shopping around for intake and look at the AEM I noticed some system come with TBS. I inquired into it and what AEM say was they test all intake system with and without the spacer, if they see a benefit with a spacer one would be included with that intake system. The one for the Titan didn't come with one so I guess they didn't see anything.
On a different note, the gain from it is very low that's why you won't feel it or pick anything up on a dyno since it's down low, but the guys who go to tracks or measure their times all report a lower 0-60 time, not much but still lower.
To huffhuff and baseballfanz. Thanx for the replies.
huffhuff- Im glad you are happy with the your TBSs on your other vehicles, but what did they do when you said "they work"? Increased throttle response? More torque? Did you see a difference on a dyno? As for the fuel mileage, how much did you gain? Do you think there is a possibility that the increase could be due to different driving habits or conditions?
I know that it does increase the plenum volume, but a few questions to that,... (1) why does only 100 or so cm make that big of difference when it only adds less than 1% of the original volume? (2) If the volume makes such a big difference in performance, why don't manufacturers create huge plenums? (3) If creating more volume in the plenum really helps, why do they make the spacers so small? ...And last but not least, was it worth the money?
Hope to hear from you soon. :thumbsup:
baseballfanz- This is interesting. I will take a look at the AEM site myself. As for dynos, it can still be measured (no matter how low it is) and if will increase a 60 foot time, it will show on a dyno...BUT, the way I see it, if they installed a spacer and slightly improved a 60" time, to me it looks like they just got better at launching and the spacer did nothing but improve confidence. Then again, that's what I'm trying to find out. If they actually work or not.
Keep 'em coming guys. I really would like to clear this up if I can. :cheers:
One of the guys at the Raleigh meet dyno'd and saw a 10-12 HP gain at the dyno site, just 15 minutes after the initial run. Better than I expected. I see the majority at the race track use them, but that is evidence, not proof...