FallenAngelHIM
Well-Known Member
okay, so we have all heard the arguement and claim from SPE, OBX, and anyone else who makes throttle body spacers about what they do. throttle body spacers are engineered and designed with a screw like interior so that the air hitting it will cause the air to spiral, thereby causing more efficient air flow. this also allows more air to be sent into the engine for a more efficient combustion. does it work? will it increase HP? nobody seems to know. those who make claims and arguements usually have no experience with them, do not own one, or are just making empty statements. so i decided to do a real test myself and purchased one from theinspire.
i have yet to install it but i have the actual throttle body spacer and presented it to several physics student at the University of Miami. i took them to my car and presented the engine bay area in question. i explained what an SRI is, where the spacer is to go, and what the throttle body does. i asked several questions about theories and concepts of a the composition of air.
for those that do not know, a SRI or short ram intake is a replacement for the stock air box. without getting into detail, an SRI basically provides a solid pipe for more air mass to travel into the engine.
the physics student told me that if the pipe was cut cleanly (meaning mandrel bent) and the inside diameter of the tube is smooth, air will travel smoothly inside without turbulence. the less turbulence air mass encounters, the quicker it will travel. at the same rate, the longer the pipe, the more time it takes the air mass to get into the engine. it was also explained to me that if at all possible, a pipe that had no bends and was completely straight would be able to get a more efficient air mass seeing how the air mass would require no bending.
when i presented them with the thottle body spacer i told them the concept behind it and what it was to do. this is where the idea of expanding the length of the passge for the air mass comes in with negative reactions.
the answer given to the theory of air being able to spin in a whirldwind like motion once it hits the corkscrew throttle body spacer seemed completely absurd to the physic students. the suggestion that air can be molded to spin when traveling at such a speed was laughable. they thought i was joking but then when i showed them the OBX box they knew i wasn't. without being told the effects of installing the throttle body spacer, one of the students made the comment that the only thing to change would be the sound of the engine. it was explained to me that the air, once it hits the throttle body spacer, would encounter turbulence from bouncing up and down upon the ridges. the air does not function like water where it is shaped by the area it is enclosed it. air is more free-moving. the turbulence caused by the airmass hitting the ridges of the spacer would only cause some sound dynamics to change.
think of when the wind rustles through the tree. you hear a whistling or howling sound. if the same wind comes from a few feet back with no trees, you don't hear the wind moving. the same principle applies to when one whips a rope in the air. the road slices through the air causing turbulence to occur making a distorted sound.
therefore, a throttle body spacer would create turbulence to change the sound dynamics of air entering into the engine. at the very worse, it will actually DECREASE air efficiency entering the engine, but not so much that it would cause a loss in HP.
the only conceivable way air mass would swirl as SPE or OBX suggests is only if the winding corkscrew was one big long screw instead of the 5-threaded screw that is on most spacers. a one wide thread MIGHT possibly be able to cause the wind to detour into some slight swirling motion.
it was concluded by the physic students that the throttle body spacer would do nothing but the smooth flow of the air by creating wind turbulence and cause a change in sound dynamics. in other words, you won't gain any HP but only get the cool swirly sound.
i have yet to install it but i have the actual throttle body spacer and presented it to several physics student at the University of Miami. i took them to my car and presented the engine bay area in question. i explained what an SRI is, where the spacer is to go, and what the throttle body does. i asked several questions about theories and concepts of a the composition of air.
for those that do not know, a SRI or short ram intake is a replacement for the stock air box. without getting into detail, an SRI basically provides a solid pipe for more air mass to travel into the engine.
the physics student told me that if the pipe was cut cleanly (meaning mandrel bent) and the inside diameter of the tube is smooth, air will travel smoothly inside without turbulence. the less turbulence air mass encounters, the quicker it will travel. at the same rate, the longer the pipe, the more time it takes the air mass to get into the engine. it was also explained to me that if at all possible, a pipe that had no bends and was completely straight would be able to get a more efficient air mass seeing how the air mass would require no bending.
when i presented them with the thottle body spacer i told them the concept behind it and what it was to do. this is where the idea of expanding the length of the passge for the air mass comes in with negative reactions.
the answer given to the theory of air being able to spin in a whirldwind like motion once it hits the corkscrew throttle body spacer seemed completely absurd to the physic students. the suggestion that air can be molded to spin when traveling at such a speed was laughable. they thought i was joking but then when i showed them the OBX box they knew i wasn't. without being told the effects of installing the throttle body spacer, one of the students made the comment that the only thing to change would be the sound of the engine. it was explained to me that the air, once it hits the throttle body spacer, would encounter turbulence from bouncing up and down upon the ridges. the air does not function like water where it is shaped by the area it is enclosed it. air is more free-moving. the turbulence caused by the airmass hitting the ridges of the spacer would only cause some sound dynamics to change.
think of when the wind rustles through the tree. you hear a whistling or howling sound. if the same wind comes from a few feet back with no trees, you don't hear the wind moving. the same principle applies to when one whips a rope in the air. the road slices through the air causing turbulence to occur making a distorted sound.
therefore, a throttle body spacer would create turbulence to change the sound dynamics of air entering into the engine. at the very worse, it will actually DECREASE air efficiency entering the engine, but not so much that it would cause a loss in HP.
the only conceivable way air mass would swirl as SPE or OBX suggests is only if the winding corkscrew was one big long screw instead of the 5-threaded screw that is on most spacers. a one wide thread MIGHT possibly be able to cause the wind to detour into some slight swirling motion.
it was concluded by the physic students that the throttle body spacer would do nothing but the smooth flow of the air by creating wind turbulence and cause a change in sound dynamics. in other words, you won't gain any HP but only get the cool swirly sound.
All it did was make a cool whistling noise at lower RPMs, and create a quiet BOV sound when you step off of the pedal. So IMO, I wouldn't get one, waste of 100 bucks or w/e you have to pay.
