Topic: Does a Throttle body spacer really do much?

[RT]

can you make your own spacer? what would a good material be to do so.

[sharpxmen]

can you make your own spacer? what would a good material be to do so.

yes you can, not sure how good will turn up though. You can get very nice finish with a good drill press and a boring head.

stainless

...aluminum and nothing else (there's really no other option, i mean you could make it out of steel but I don't see the point not to mention being more challenging to machine it)

but now the question is why would you go thru the trouble to save $25 - the raw material for the spacer will cost you something like $12 or so.

[cz777]

Ideally, you would want laminar airflow (this means no turbulence at all) to go straight into the cylinder.  This would mean a polished surface with very few and slight bends, but considering the intake manifold, this is impossible.  As for the vortex inducing TBS, I have yet to see one that really works, but at least the he helix ones (I have one on because I could not find one without it) do not block the flow of air as the tornado ones do...

well this is very true ! this is why i did the MPI manifold to the TBI system -you look at the TBI manifold V__O__V ...the ""V""s feed two cylinders at one time and the straight lines feed the v runners ..talk about  turbulence ! i did make the adapter shape like a upside down funnel /   \ 1 3/4 ''at top 2 1/4 ....   

[Jeffy]

yes you can, not sure how good will turn up though. You can get very nice finish with a good drill press and a boring head.

stainless

...aluminum and nothing else (there's really no other option, i mean you could make it out of steel but I don't see the point not to mention being more challenging to machine it)

but now the question is why would you go thru the trouble to save $25 - the raw material for the spacer will cost you something like $12 or so.

In the old day's they used to make them out of wood.  I don't think I'd use wood though.  Maybe something like delrin plastic would work.

[sharpxmen]

In the old day's they used to make them out of wood.  I don't think I'd use wood though.  Maybe something like delrin plastic would work.

not plastic, would warp in time, bakelite or maybe delrin too and teflon if you want to be expensive. I thought part of the whole deal with the spacer was to be made of AL (can't remember but i think i read that somewhere in the past).

[Jeffy]

not plastic, would warp in time, bakelite or maybe delrin too and teflon if you want to be expensive. I thought part of the whole deal with the spacer was to be made of AL (can't remember but i think i read that somewhere in the past).

This isn't your toy grade plastic.  There are many different types of plastics out there.  Delrin is supposed to have a working temp of 160-180* F.  Never checked the temp at the TB but I doubt it's anywhere near that.  If you wanting to go expensive then it would probably be Vespel, Torlon, Fluorosint, Peak, etc...  They can handle continuous temps of 500* F or more.  Ultem is only 350* F.  Celazole is probably the king at 500-750*F.  The advantage of plastics is that they can be milled like AL but without the need for tools that cut metal.  The Aerospace industry has been using these plastics for years.  Supposedly used in the semiconductor industry as well.

I don't see any reason why the spacer has to be AL.  Al's probably cheaper which is why it's common.  An AL spacer will soak in heat from the engine, that's about it.

[Bounty Hunter]

My 62mm spacers are aluminum.  It's inexpensive and easy to machine.  And since Jeffy mentioned the aerospace industry using high-zoot plastic, the machinist that machines my 62mm throttle bodies and spacers does a lot of work for Boeing and it's all done with aluminum.

[Txmooseman]

I recently installed one of Bounty Hunter's 62mm TB & spacers and it's made a significant difference in my 2.5's performance. No more "lurching" on take-off, better acceleration (especially in the 3-4K rpm band), and I can shift into 5th at lower rpms. I can also stay in 5th on small hills where I previously had to downshift. I couldn't be happier.

[jfrabat]

This isn't your toy grade plastic.  There are many different types of plastics out there.  Delrin is supposed to have a working temp of 160-180* F.  Never checked the temp at the TB but I doubt it's anywhere near that.  If you wanting to go expensive then it would probably be Vespel, Torlon, Fluorosint, Peak, etc...  They can handle continuous temps of 500* F or more.  Ultem is only 350* F.  Celazole is probably the king at 500-750*F.  The advantage of plastics is that they can be milled like AL but without the need for tools that cut metal.  The Aerospace industry has been using these plastics for years.  Supposedly used in the semiconductor industry as well.

I don't see any reason why the spacer has to be AL.  Al's probably cheaper which is why it's common.  An AL spacer will soak in heat from the engine, that's about it.

Delrin is hard as nails, and whill take temp abuse, but it is difficult to machine because the plastic keeps wraping around the bit and sometimes it breaks it.  I machined a spring guide for a 1000 fps air rifle, and it was not so easy.  Also, delrin is VERY slick; it actually feels as if it had oil in it, which means you better tighten it good or it will work itself loose.