Airraid Throttle Body Spacer: The Verdict
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 697
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From: Hudson River Valley, NY
Well one would think it would help since the tb neck sharply contours around the oil pressure sender so soon after the tb...I am thinking it would give the incoming air charge an overall smoother transition to the plenum...So I for one belive it would work to some extent....Of coarse removal of te tb provision would help....
Local autoparts store....I asked 6 inches of it at PepBoys and the guy gave it to me.
Yeah the TB sits in a funny location, but I can't put words to what this piece does mathematically or scientifically, but I think it added some SOTP horsepower, and I've said it before, I'll take all I can get.
Well one would think it would help since the tb neck sharply contours around the oil pressure sender so soon after the tb...I am thinking it would give the incoming air charge an overall smoother transition to the plenum...So I for one belive it would work to some extent....Of coarse removal of te tb provision would help....
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,029
Likes: 0
From: LITH, IL.
Local autoparts store....I asked 6 inches of it at PepBoys and the guy gave it to me.
Yeah the TB sits in a funny location, but I can't put words to what this piece does mathematically or scientifically, but I think it added some SOTP horsepower, and I've said it before, I'll take all I can get.
Yeah the TB sits in a funny location, but I can't put words to what this piece does mathematically or scientifically, but I think it added some SOTP horsepower, and I've said it before, I'll take all I can get.
BTW, went through Amazon instead. Was a total of $106.80 including shipping/handling vs Summit's less palatable ~$119.90
Last edited by 06 SS; Jan 19, 2009 at 12:45 PM.
TECH Regular
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 476
Likes: 1
Well I had a Summit Racing gift card laying around and I have probably everything I could buy for my MCSS from there so I decided to put the money towards the TB spacer. I installed it today and it was a 30 minute job and went rather smoothly.
I went for a cruise and noticed a whirling, whistling noise that comes from this thing that sounds like a turbo under load, and then once the car reaches a certain RPM, it sounds like the "turbo" blows off. I felt more power at the top end of each gear, low end felt about the same. However the top end of 2nd and 3rd are now a lot stronger and pull the speedo upwards much faster. If you have an extra 100 bucks layin' around then I recommend this mod.
I went for a cruise and noticed a whirling, whistling noise that comes from this thing that sounds like a turbo under load, and then once the car reaches a certain RPM, it sounds like the "turbo" blows off. I felt more power at the top end of each gear, low end felt about the same. However the top end of 2nd and 3rd are now a lot stronger and pull the speedo upwards much faster. If you have an extra 100 bucks layin' around then I recommend this mod.
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Verdad Gallardo Haha guys....I don't know if the results will be this stellar across the board. I tuned to spin my mill higher than stock along with a modded valvetrain (HS 1.8 Rockers/Comp Springs and Pushrods). So maybe I am seeing the full benefit of top end airflow?
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,029
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From: LITH, IL.
Still the stock springs, but my Crane Quick-Lift's open my valves faster, longer, and higher (at all points other than max lift) than your HS rockers. Hopefully I will see some measurable results.
Nah, just a professional skeptic 
Over the last year or so, I've been reading up on certain aspects of intake and exhaust manifold design. While the volume of the intake plenum is acknowledged to have an effect on performance, I haven't really seen anything conclusive on this, so am not totally convinced that a few extra cubic inches volume in the intake neck will really have much of an effect.
It seems to me that much of the "tuning" involved in intake manifold design is concentrated on the runner length and size. The thing is that the extra length/volume added to the plenum doesn't affect the frequency of standing pressure waves and harmonics in the runners: that is determined by the runner length.
Here's a couple of interesting links on the subject:
http://v8soarer.com/intakerunners/index.shtml
http://www.not2fast.com/gasflow/Lect...3_document.htm
Over the last year or so, I've been reading up on certain aspects of intake and exhaust manifold design. While the volume of the intake plenum is acknowledged to have an effect on performance, I haven't really seen anything conclusive on this, so am not totally convinced that a few extra cubic inches volume in the intake neck will really have much of an effect.
It seems to me that much of the "tuning" involved in intake manifold design is concentrated on the runner length and size. The thing is that the extra length/volume added to the plenum doesn't affect the frequency of standing pressure waves and harmonics in the runners: that is determined by the runner length.
Here's a couple of interesting links on the subject:
http://v8soarer.com/intakerunners/index.shtml
http://www.not2fast.com/gasflow/Lect...3_document.htm
I've been thinking of switching to the Crane's, how often do you have to tear the valve covers off and adjust them? I remember some sort of initial headache way back when with scarlett and the old crew.
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,029
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From: LITH, IL.
Never. Once I threw out the crappy directions Crane provided for the install and installed them just like any other small block. It did take a few weeks for the oil-restrictor pushrods included in the kit to stop making noise, but since then it is quieter than stock with the exception of a cold start on very cold days, then it takes about 15 seconds for them to quiet down. I have maybe 35K miles on them now (from memory). Never had the covers off after that.