Nobody ever seems to talk about these. Supposedly, there is about 8 hp to be had by using their TB. It is definetly a nicer TB in terms of how it is sealed up, the bearing configuration and the materials used - so getting one is not a complete waste. But I still wonder about the 8 hp claim. Ford did not do eveything perfect on these rigs and there is evidence of that in the factory exhaust and the heads at the very least. So the good old "well, Ford engineered the original TB for these rigs so it must work well" thing does not work. They do cost about $375 new / retail, so they arn't all that cheap and that may very well have something to do with why so few people use them and discuss them around here....I seem to recall something about flareside_thunder using one though...

This is what they look like:



I am seriously thinking about adding this to my to do list for the van.

I know a lof of people put on on the 4.0 SOHC explorer engines on an explorer forum. No one ever dynoed one that I was aware of back then. It was all speculation.

I think the one they were using was for a mustang GT (5.0).

I seem to remember a user on another site installing a bigger throttle body on his truck and see NO difference in performance. Junior did install a bigger throttle body on his rig but I think he installed some other parts at the same time so it'd be hard to figure out if it's the throttle body adding performance. Perhaps I'm wrong, we'll have to wait for him to post

My guess is that the throttle body would pretty useless unless you've got other components to compliment it, like ported heads, longtubes, possibly bigger injectors...

but what does the performance trottle body do? bigger tubes? of better flow? or?

and ive heard adding a 460 trottle body to our 351 also makes cheap hp.

GrimReaper6696 said:

but what does the performance trottle body do? bigger tubes? of better flow? or?

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Remember the basic principle... What goes in, must come out. So if you're flowing more air/fuel INTO the combustion chamber you need to be able to flow that same amount of exhaust OUT of the combustion chamber.

The stock throttlebody is dual 52mm I think, enough for over 1000cfm airflow which is equavalent to about 600hp. You have to do quite a bit to one of these motors to make it flow more than that, so these oversized throttle bodies rank right up there with throttle body spacers in tems of money well spent.

ya know, its nice to think about adding power and all, but it comes to a point where you need to ask does it make sense?

You may gain 8 hp, but how much of that will you feel especially if you have a highmileage engine.

No motor company is perfect, never heard of "ford made it therefore it works" ive heard quite the opposite, generally about cars though not the trucks.

To share a short story, ive been thinkin bout doing alot of work to mine. Headers, high-flow cat, plugs, ford racing wires, shocks, front coils, etc, etc..

well i ditched the header idea.. its an engine with 184k miles and those manifolds have been there from day one, god knows what will happen if i take them off.. , saves me 150 bucks..

my wires are fine so ill just go with plugs, another 50 bucks saved.

my shocks are still nice, dont bounce excessively another couple hundred saved.

high-flow cat, well i need to do that, original is on it now, may be time to replace it =)

catch my drift though? if it aint broke dont fix it..

That's your opinion, Nex.

Taking those manifolds off and replacing them with headers will give you a nice power gain, wonderful sound (ask me how I know?).

Your shocks aren't overly bouncy, but are you looking for a firmer ride? More stability? All depends on your way of looking at it..

How old are your wires? How do you know they're fine? There is such a thing as preventative maintenance..

TheRoadVirus said:

That's your opinion, Nex.

Taking those manifolds off and replacing them with headers will give you a nice power gain, wonderful sound (ask me how I know?).

Your shocks aren't overly bouncy, but are you looking for a firmer ride? More stability? All depends on your way of looking at it..

How old are your wires? How do you know they're fine? There is such a thing as preventative maintenance..

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exactly, but still, some of those things can be costly.. my wires dont ark and have been there for 40k miles

ride wise im not looking for anything, just was lookin at preventative, but there fine.. know what i mean. I just get far ahead of myself..

But not your intriguing me bout the headers.. i reallllly wanted to do it cause id get more torque and sound.. is it worth it? ive been told the gaskets will leak all the time and will need replacing... this true? i was looking at the ones from summit racing

use the proper header bolts and they will not back out. the problem is rarely the fault of the gasket. It's almost always the bolt backing out and creating a weak spot.

Ryan

Use the proper copper gaskets and it won't leak, don't use the cheap paper gaskets that come with them.

I've been told by my good friends who own and operate an exhaust shop that the paper ones are more than adequate as long as you stick to the locking header bolts... In addition, any imperfections in the metal of the copper or header or block will create a hole for exhaust leaks. The paper ones crush under pressure and mold into the finer spots leaving fewer opportunities for exhaust to get any velocity at all through the connection.

Not to argue, but it's a credible opinion to the contrary.

Ryan

YES, I did do it to my truck...at that point in time I only had exhaust and an underdrive pulley.....I noticed a considerable top end gain...took some low end but gave a good amount of high end........but ya....I'd think that it'd compliment other mods such as porting high flow filter etc......Chris you beat me to it dude.....don't buy the cheap ones and you won't have a problem....by cheap I mean factory manifold gaskets (what?are you an idiot????) I have the paper ones on my truck...of course...I also sprayed them on BOTH sides with copper spray gasket....just to give it a little more seal......Later

JR

Longtubes are well worth it, I love the sound x100! Listen to these guys and you'll have no sealing issues. Which ones were you looking at? Flowtechs? Those are what I have, as do many others.

TheRoadVirus said:

Longtubes are well worth it, I love the sound x100! Listen to these guys and you'll have no sealing issues. Which ones were you looking at? Flowtechs? Those are what I have, as do many others.

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no i was looking at the Summit Racing headers, shortys... i may go the extra 60 bucks and get the flowtech.. im goin shortys cause i want to keep my existing cat back.

Shorties will show little-to-no noticeable gain, and they're more prone to leaking than stock manifolds. Save your money if you're not going to go for the longtubes.

Skandocious said:

Shorties will show little-to-no noticeable gain, and they're more prone to leaking than stock manifolds. Save your money if you're not going to go for the longtubes.

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what about shortys and a new highflow cat?

Well I changed both my stock cats out for Magnaflow hi-flo cats and didn't notice a difference in power. I also changed to a straight pipe at the same time so the sound was a lot different, but truck didn't seem to pick up any power. So I'm guessing that a combo of hi-flo cats (no added power) and shorties (no added power) will make.... no added power. LOL!

in all the descriptions shorys are said to give more torque... i think i have a leak in the manifolds anyways, some black spots on them

Haha dude, do you listen to everything the descriptions say? Get on ebay and the tornado things that go in your intake duct claim like 20 hp or some stupid crap. Read between the lines