Throttle Body Spacer

[bigjohn82]

Anyone tried the Helix Throttle Body Spacer yet? Im gonna get a throttle body spacer here within the next month and from the ones ive checked out this Helix(89.95 via JC Whitney) one seems to be the best. It states up to a 4mpg gain as well as 22horse, however we all know that varies among vehicle type and driving style but still sounds worth trying to me. If anyone has any feedback on it or knows a better one let me know. Thanks.

[BleedDodge]

I don't know anything about that, but if it gets results as good as it claims, I'd try it. If it cost a bit more, I'd be reluctant towards buying it just in case it didn't do anything, and then you would have lost the money you used to purchase it with...

[bigjohn82]

Yea id totally agree with you on being reluctant cause if it cost more and did nothing it would be a waste of money, kinda like buying that stupid tornado thing, but for only 90 bucks it seems worth trying. My uncle has worked at an autobody garage since he got out of high school which was like 15 years ago around and I went to see him the other day and asked him about things to improve the horse power and gas milage. He suggested this place he went to for exhaust as the guy put something similar to a flowmaster(gives the same sound affect and according to him freed it up quite nicely but he couldnt recall the name) with custom dual split side-out pipes cause they didnt have a kit for his truck for a meer 175 bucks, so I plan to go there for my exhaust now. The things he said about trying to improve performance was the hypertech computer(i think this was it) which is what he put in his 04 Avalanche, as well as the throttle body spacer. He said he plans to get one soon too and I trust him so if hes willing to put the money out for one im sure it will help somewhat. Im going to order one up at the end of the month when I get paid so once I get it on and see what it does ill be sure to let you know.

Anyone else got any info or opinions on this?

[bigjohn82]

With a little bit more research I found that most throttle body spacers are about the same as those tornados things. A not too costly said to "improve" things that actually do little if anything at all. I found this while searching and found it pretty funny myself:

Throttle Body Spacers (Primarily the "Helix" style):

These spacers do not provide any gains in HP at all. They claim to increase TQ and MPG but we tested one and it gained nothing. The Dyno showed no gains in HP or TQ. We also had contacted one of the manufacturers for their comments on them and here's the direct quote (from email):

--------------------------------------------

From: AirAid Info
Subject: Re: AIRAID.COM Contact Form
Date: Fri, 09 Mar 2001 09:20:36 -0700

Dear Sir, thank you for your inquiry in our products. The spacer makes no HP on the Dyno. It makes all of it's power in torque in the low end. If you haven't noticed any power on the Dyno or the track then it's doing what it's supposed to. You would not see any gains down the 1/4 mile or increases on the Dyno. The idea of the spacer is to improve overall drivability and fuel mileage. In most cases when people install a bolt on part they expect better mileage and power, what happens is they are into the throttle a lot more than before trying to test performance and that's when the decrease in mileage happens.

Sincerely,

<Airaid Technician>
-------------------------------------------

Points to look at:

"The spacer makes no HP on the Dyno. It makes all of it's power in torque in the low end."
"If you haven't noticed any power on the Dyno or the track then it's doing what it's supposed to."
"The idea of the spacer is to improve overall drivability and fuel mileage."
So...it doesn't make any more HP, is not supposed to help in 1/4 mile performance (or on the Dyno), and is mainly for mileage and bottom end Torque. Well, Dyno's show TQ figures and there were no changes, mileage stayed the same, and 1/4 mile performance wasn't affected on the several others who have tried it (including us). They also are still not able to explain how the spacer keeps the swirl effect through the two turns (90 degree and 45 degree) in the intake plenum of the Dodge Ram/Dakota/Durango manifolds.

While the Throttle Body Spacer showed no gains on the 3.9/5.2/5.9L Magnum engines, the 4.7L engines have been reported to show noticeable gains from the spacer. Why? It's a much more efficient intake system with less restrictions than the Magnum engines. It may work just fine for the 4.7L crowd but we'll look into this at a later date for Dyno and long term MPG testing.

So now my question is how many of you would advise against getting this Helix T-Body Spacer?

[BleedDodge]

Well, that gives me this idea:

Why not try and make a more efficient intake system, one like the 4.7 has, and then install this throttle body spacer? That might be something to think about...

I noticed on another thread that you discovered a different way to make an intake, with those parts from Home Depot. You might be onto something...

[bigjohn82]

Yea when I read about the home brew intake set up I was kinda baffled. I thought "could this really work and get the same affect as the $250+ intake I was considering buying?" Well for about 50bucks id say its worth trying to me but I may look into getting something better then black plastic tubing if there is anything else usable. Im going to get together with my cousin and run this "build it yourself home-brew" intake set up by him and see what he thinks. Im sure we could come up with something pretty affective and if you got any insight into making one the best possible way let me know, like maybe an idea for something other then black plastic tubing to try to get it to be more CAI like.

Also I dont think ive ever really seen or read about the 4.7 intake system. Whats different between that and my 5.2 system?

[BleedDodge]

I've read it that it was different, but I've never seen one. I guess it's less obstructive of air movement and so therefore it's a lot more efficient, but I have no details.

Maybe someone else has something to add?

[tommychau]

Originally Posted by BleedDodge

I've read it that it was different, but I've never seen one. I guess it's less obstructive of air movement and so therefore it's a lot more efficient, but I have no details.

Maybe someone else has something to add?

I guess that is why the 4.7 replaced the 5.2 engines because of efficiency. I think the 5.2's and 5.9's share the same barrel type intakes. Hmmm, I wonder if the 5.2's and 5.9's got the newer style similar intakes like the 4.7's, what would the HP/torque gain would be if any and possible increase in mpg?

I heard alot of good things on Mopar's M1 performance intake manifold for 5.2's and 5.9's. I am seriously thinking of replacing my beer barrel intake for that Mopar M1 intake before I decide to go to the cold air intake conversion! Replacing the intake manifold will give me much better efficiency in breathing for my 5.9. Also, Fastman's throttle bodies would be a nice addition to the M1 intake as the throttle body is bigger to allow more incoming air! Then top all that off with a Mopar cold air intake to complete the engine's ability to breathe!