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AFE Throttle Body Spacer…..LOVE IT!

Caballonegro

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There has been countless discussions on If these throttle body spacers work at all. Having some mods (straight piped, 87mm throttle body, S&B CAÍ, HemiFever Tune) I figured it was a worth a try.

Anyways, I chose the one I found with better reviews, the AFE Silver Bullet and WOW, it made such a difference. The day before, I had installed my RETRAX Tonneau cover and it added some weight. It kind of felt like I had a full tank of gas at all time. After Installing the spacer, it made that up and more.

For $135 it’s worth a try for anyone. I have no idea how much power it is but it really made a difference for that little bit of money .
 

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Aseras

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"tests were performed on Ford 4.6L 3-V, GM LS, and Mopar HEMI V8 applications using a Dynojet 248C dynamometer. The tests consisted of a baseline dyno run, cool down period, and a repeat test after the spacers were installed. None of the spacers produced any additional horsepower or torque when tested. The only notable change was a loss of 4 horsepower to the tires on the Mopar application with the spacer installed. An additional test was run after removing the spacer, resulting in a return of the lost horsepower."

Spend twice that and get a 10lb bottle of nitrous that will actually do something.
 

Caballonegro

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"tests were performed on Ford 4.6L 3-V, GM LS, and Mopar HEMI V8 applications using a Dynojet 248C dynamometer. The tests consisted of a baseline dyno run, cool down period, and a repeat test after the spacers were installed. None of the spacers produced any additional horsepower or torque when tested. The only notable change was a loss of 4 horsepower to the tires on the Mopar application with the spacer installed. An additional test was run after removing the spacer, resulting in a return of the lost horsepower."

Spend twice that and get a 10lb bottle of nitrous that will actually do something.
I don’t know if you understood, in my case it made a world of difference. I actually tried it over watching and reading reviews.
This is coming from seat of pants. In other words, I would not take it off.
 

BowDown

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What these devices do is add plenum volume to the intake. That 1/4" spacer isn't going to add enough volume to make a difference.
If you feel it did, great but they dont do anything
 

Ramjack

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"Confirmation bias occurs from the direct influence of desire on beliefs. When people would like a certain idea or concept to be true, they end up believing it to be true. They are motivated by wishful thinking." (Psychology Today)

We've all had it happen to us as well.
 

scottmoyer

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Is it possible that the spacer is doing something in conjunction with the other mods he's done and that spacer IS improving his seat of the pants effect?
 

Caballonegro

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What these devices do is add plenum volume to the intake. That 1/4" spacer isn't going to add enough volume to make a difference.
If you feel it did, great but they dont do anything
I’m telling you, you should try it, it takes 10 minutes install. I seriously didn’t put any tools away because I was prepared to take it off . It blew me away. Here’s the thing, my brother In law spent 1000$ putting shorty headers on his Chevy and he felt more a difference with this on my truck.
Anyways just my personal experience.
 

Caballonegro

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Is it possible that the spacer is doing something in conjunction with the other mods he's done and that spacer IS improving his seat of the pants effect?
That’s what I was told before getting it, if my truck was stock, it wouldn’t have done anything.
Most people got nothing, but they did get the whistle, I got the opposite. Even though I wanted the whistle.
 

BowDown

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I’m telling you, you should try it, it takes 10 minutes install. I seriously didn’t put any tools away because I was prepared to take it off . It blew me away. Here’s the thing, my brother In law spent 1000$ putting shorty headers on his Chevy and he felt more a difference with this on my truck.
Anyways just my personal experience.

Man, i've built and raced cars all my life. I has a Z06 with a 700hp stroker motor in it, I've done all this and the only time a spacer has worked was on single and dual plane carbed intakes that already have short runners. Plenum spacers on modern OE intakes designed for torque/volume dont work.
 

BowDown

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Is it possible that the spacer is doing something in conjunction with the other mods he's done and that spacer IS improving his seat of the pants effect?

How much plenum volume do you think a 1/4" tall 2.5" round spacer gives? I'd say if you put that truck on a dyno, it have the same or less power with the spacer vs without regardless of mods, its just not enough or even significant volume
 

BowDown

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Caballonegro

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How much plenum volume do you think a 1/4" tall 2.5" round spacer gives? I'd say if you put that truck on a dyno, it have the same or less power with the spacer vs without regardless of mods, its just not enough or even significant volume

it could be just throttle response but I’d still pay the 135 for what it had done.
 

Aseras

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Yeah you know take 1/4" of slack out of a tradional throttle cable might give a quicker response. Not so in a modern drive by wire vehicle.

My advice since you've already go it is to tap it for a nitrous hookup and then your *** and your smile will not mistake any performance gains.
 

Caballonegro

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Yeah you know take 1/4" of slack out of a tradional throttle cable might give a quicker response. Not so in a modern drive by wire vehicle.

My advice since you've already go it is to tap it for a nitrous hookup and then your *** and your smile will not mistake any performance gains.
Alright alright your right , I don’t feel anything, you win, your YouTubing and googling wins. I lose..you win!
 

Mountain Whiskey

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There has been countless discussions on If these throttle body spacers work at all. Having some mods (straight piped, 87mm throttle body, S&B CAÍ, HemiFever Tune) I figured it was a worth a try.

Anyways, I chose the one I found with better reviews, the AFE Silver Bullet and WOW, it made such a difference. The day before, I had installed my RETRAX Tonneau cover and it added some weight. It kind of felt like I had a full tank of gas at all time. After Installing the spacer, it made that up and more.

For $135 it’s worth a try for anyone. I have no idea how much power it is but it really made a difference for that little bit of money .
I am not here to bash on your opinion. I have never tried one of these but have heard both sides.

Question for you, I see in your signature that you have an 87mm TB. What size is this? Does it reduce back down from the 87? I (once again "have heard") that bumping up the TB size can create a lag. I wondered if this necked back down to negate the 87mm TB, taking the lag out. Just a thought. It makes me wonder if you would feel the same bump with the stock TB.

Hey, responsiveness and feel account for a lot. Many people dish out for Pedal Monster or similar add on and swear by them. They don't show a difference on a dyno either, just responsive feel.
 

Caballonegro

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I am not here to bash on your opinion. I have never tried one of these but have heard both sides.

Question for you, I see in your signature that you have an 87mm TB. What size is this? Does it reduce back down from the 87? I (once again "have heard") that bumping up the TB size can create a lag. I wondered if this necked back down to negate the 87mm TB, taking the lag out. Just a thought. It makes me wonder if you would feel the same bump with the stock TB.

Hey, responsiveness and feel account for a lot. Many people dish out for Pedal Monster or similar add on and swear by them. They don't show a difference on a dyno either, just responsive feel.
I upgraded to a 87mm, I guess the spacer is 85mm
That was the only question I had when ordering it. I liked the bigger throttle body, didn’t really feel a lag, but it opened up the engine a lot.

the opinions are all over the place so I decided to try it myself. I can see it not showing much a difference if your all stock.
 
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Mountain Whiskey

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I upgraded to a 87mm, I guess the spacer is 85mm
That was the only question I had when ordering it. I liked the bigger throttle body, did really feel a lag, but it opened up the engine a lot.

the opinions are all over the place so I decided to try it myself. I can see it not showing much a difference if your all stock.
Thanks. I appreciate the opinion of someone that is actually using it. 👍
 

Jack.

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I just installed the throttle body spacer the other day too, and like you I also have the s&b cai, catback, and ported 87mm tb. I will be honest I did it initally to get that whistle sound but with my box currently plugged up due to the more hot weather it doesn't sound as loud as I was hoping but I did notice a slight improvement to my mpg and power. Could be placebo tbh but I do notice something different lol.

I also wanted to ask , did you run into any fitment issue with your s&b cai? I noticed that after the spacer it does sit a bit higher (obviously) but the part where the filter does on doesn't seem to be as nice of a fit. My filter feel off on me the other day ☠️ as well and I noticed the rubber bottom part of the filter is actualy now touching the bottom of the box instead of having that small space like it used to. @Caballonegro
 

theblet

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They won’t help much or at all on a dry flow intake manifold. You would need to dyno it and check the AF ratio and resulting hp/tq to really see if there’s any affect.

But hey, it’s cool to tell people you have it. Kinda like CAI. If you like having it, go for it.
 

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