Throttle Body Spacer Explanation.....

[5.0Flareside]

ok guys. i saw this on another site and it was just super good of an explanation. i wish i could explain it like this but i aint as good with words so i copied and pasted it here............

perhaps you are asking yourself - "What does a TBS do?"
Well, a TBS essentially lengthens the intake runners. This gives the air/fuel more time to mix prior to entering the cylinder.

A better mixture results in a more even & cleaner combustion...which equal more power.

But TBS ONLY work on carbuerated vehicles. And certain early EFI vehicles that utilized a Carb shell with 2 fuel injectors placed inside...aka the Chevy TBI.
now, perhaps you are asking yourself - "Well, why won't the TBS work on my truck?"
it doesn't work due to the way modern Fords, hell all cars work. They work on the principle of direct injection (injector sprays directly into cylinder) or the injector sprays fuel into the intake immediately prior to the intake valves.

now the TBS is roughly 2-3 feet away by the air filter and maf typically. And on the 5.4 3v motor, the TBS gets bolted directly to the top of the intake below the MAF.

So if the injector is spraying gas (atomizing it) at the cylinder, and the TBS is some distance away...there is no way the TBS is helping the air/fuel mixture mix better.



at best case, a TBS is having no affect on your motor. Worst case, it has an effect on the reading the MAF is sending to the PCM...or even worse, the TBS is changing the air flow after the MAF that isn't accounted for and the engine is running the risk of a lean condition.








moral of this long freaking post: TBS are worthless. They are pretty paperweights.

 

[mrfixit]

I'm sorry, Chris, but whomever wrote this is not just wrong, but slappable wrong.
First, he seems to want to compare apples and oranges, here: TBI is throttle body injection. TBS is a throttle body spacer. Never confuse the two.
I don't think this guy has been closer to a flow bench than an article in a magazine. On many, but not all, vehicles, Throttle body spacers help to increase the venturi effect, streamlining the air flow and reducing turbulence as it enters the intake plenum. Whether this streamlining occurs before or after the Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF) doesn't throw the reading off, nor will it throw off the fuel delivery- in fact, it assists in a better blend, while fuel delivery adjustments are calculated by a combination of readings- most of which are post-combustion and can only be benefitted by the Throttle Body Spacer and its effects.

I'd love to go one, but I need to get ready for church here. And I am not criticizing you, just the "article". Beware of "explanations" that don't cite testing and results, especially those who come to conclusions, such as "XYZ product is a worthless paperweight" -if your papers are blowing around, I guess even a paperweight has worth, right?

 

[F 150Cobra]

it sure helped on my carbed engine

 

[5.0Flareside]

yes it does help on Carb'd engines..... cause air and fuel meet at the same point. where as on EFI the air meets the fuel right before it goes into the cylinder. so either way the TBS aint gonna help the air fuel mixture much if any.

 

[mrfixit]

yes it does help on Carb'd engines..... cause air and fuel meet at the same point. where as on EFI the air meets the fuel right before it goes into the cylinder. so either way the TBS aint gonna help the air fuel mixture much if any.

To the contrary- the venturi effect only mixes it better- No "injection" spray is perfect, so the added effect is reported to cut down on the formulation of droplets and dead pockets. The more blended the fuel is with the air, the more complete the combustion. the longer you can keep that fuel mixing with the air, the better the end result.

All this being said, the exchange of opinions is what we are all about- And I've been wrong before, so it could happen again sometime soon.

On a side note- when you pull a "Copy/Paste" from another site, you might want to eliminate any off the words that are hyperlinked- ADWORDS and such. just highlight them and overtype the same word and you'll kill the link just fine.

Those links in that posting are to a NASTY spyware/gaming site that took me a day to wipe off my wife's computer once... I hate them

 

[1970Custom]

To the contrary- the venturi effect only mixes it better- No "injection" spray is perfect, so the added effect is reported to cut down on the formulation of droplets and dead pockets. The more blended the fuel is with the air, the more complete the combustion. the longer you can keep that fuel mixing with the air, the better the end result.

That might be true on a TBI system but on a direct/multi port injection system
that puts the fuel into the system just before it enters the combustion chamber then a 1" piece of aluminum between the TB and the intake inlet isn't going to do anything especially when the holes in the TBS are the same size as the TB itself... Only way to get a true venturi effect is if the holes are tapered down from the size for the butterflies because just having something in the way will just cause turbulence and disrupt fuel flow...

 

[mrfixit]

I thought we WERE talking TB/TBI, not MPI or MPDI.

 

[5.0Flareside]

well the quote i posted basically said that Chevy's TBI and any Carb setup the TBS/carb spacer works. but in a EFI setup like most modern Post-like97ish.. TBS are not worth the money. cause they only extend the distance the air has to go. were with a carb/TBI the spacer works cause the extended distance the AIR AND FUEL have to go gives them more of a chance to better mix to cause a cleaner burn.

 

[1970Custom]

but in a EFI setup like most modern Post-like97ish...

There's where your wording made a mess, TBI is still EFI just a primitive version of it...

Newer EFI is better referred to as MPFI...

 

[5.0Flareside]

yeah i know. dam crappy wording skills i have.

 

[F 150Cobra]

well EFI is just a word to describe the system.. it doesnt say wich setup it is

Electronic Fuel injecton

Throttle body injection is a type of Electronic Fuel Injecton same as Multi port Fuel Injecton

 

[mrfixit]

yeah i know. dam crappy wording skills i have.

I do hope you realized that I was NOT picking on YOUR wording, at all- the article was where I was aiming at. I also try to point out that I was only citing observations, nothing more. I respect YOU and everyone else in here- and you all have impressed me with your knowledge...











OK, with a FEW exceptions, but they know who they are!

 

[5.0Flareside]

haha i know Tom. its no biggie. ever so often members have differing opinions and both have reason to back them up. IE: this thread.

 

[mrfixit]

My son's old blazer had that early TBI- was just like a hollowed-out carb, and the injectors were mounted on a bar across the top, spraying into the throat. Used to call it a 2 point shy of 8 Vee-Sicko, or the Bowtie Barbecue. A spacer helped that one, smoothed out the idle at least. just for what it's worth LOL

 

[1970Custom]

...the article was where I was aiming at...

Um Tom...

But TBS ONLY work on carbuerated vehicles. And certain early EFI vehicles that utilized a Carb shell with 2 fuel injectors placed inside...aka the Chevy TBI.
now, perhaps you are asking yourself - "Well, why won't the TBS work on my truck?"
it doesn't work due to the way modern Fords...work. They work on the principle of direct injection (injector sprays directly into cylinder) or the injector sprays fuel into the intake immediately prior to the intake valves.

.... Just sayin...

 

[mrfixit]

"only" is wrong. it's either ONLY or isn't ONLY. he needs to pick a side with a declarative.

 

[5.0Flareside]

it also says AND certain early EFI vehicles that utilized a Carb shell with 2 fuel injectors placed inside...aka the Chevy TBI.

 

[mrfixit]

Lose3/Lose. Time to move on.

 

[1970Custom]

"only" is wrong. it's either ONLY or isn't ONLY. he needs to pick a side with a declarative.

Well, TBI is a glorified carb...

Lose3/Lose. Time to move on.

Nuf said...

 

[crowman2010]

I actually just installed a TBS on my truck, and the gains are there. I have a friend that owns a shop with a dyno in houston, I dyno'd it before my CAI installation, and after. Then I installed the TBS and had it dyno'd again....the CAI and TBS combined for a 52HP+ and 56Torque+.....I say they work

Im new to this site so i will upload the data sheets when I figure it out