Helix Power Tower Plus
Throttle Body Spacer

found this on the web and did a little research on it. iv read a few good things on it. has anyone ever heard of or used this?

from the web:

http://www.streetandperformanceelect...ptp/hptpfd.htm

Helix Power Tower Plus
delivers:

* Up to 22 hp gains*
* Up to 4 miles per gallon gains*
* Up to 25 ft lb gain in Torque*
* Easy installation
* Quiet Operation
* Performance benefits across entire power band*
* Environmentally friendly with cleaner fuel burn
* Fifty States Legal (C.A.R.B # D516-2)
*Performance level may vary among applications and driving style


do you think that throttle body spacer will be a waste of money?

 

I was told Throttle Body Spacers were a waist of money for our rangers

 

I would like to see those gains in person. By adding volume to the intake manifold you will lose low end torque. You'll pickup 'some' horsepower...however with our engine, it doesn't rev high enough to really see that gain. Can't see why it'd be a 4mpg increase mod, doesn't seem do-able.

"*Performance level may vary among applications and driving style"

I'd say waste of money. But I'm no professional or 3.0L guru. Carb spacers are extremely popular with carb setups, but that has to due with fuel mixture as well. But since fuel is injected right into the runner, gains are nowhere near the same..

 

ya, thats what i thought. i always heard that throttle bodys were a waste. i thought this one may be different... oh well, thanks for the help

 

all I know is it makes a lil whistle sound... expensive whistle I must say...

 

Hit the nail right on the head.. No workey.

 

I have heard alot of mixed reviews on throttle body spacers.

I would like to hear from someone with first hand experience.

 

How does an increase in volume decrease torque?

I know when people design manifolds they use helmholtz's property a lot and that dictates that a larger chamber volumes and longer runners have a lower resonant frequency and thus are better for low end.


However, I agree they are worthless.

 

Because a throttle body spacer increases plenum volume, not runner length. You gain torque by having longer runners, having lined up air that is ready to enter the cylinder. Turbulent air that is just hanging around in the intake will not aid in low end torque. Rather higher rpm performance. Just because the air is behind the throttle plate doesn't mean it automatically flows into the runners...making them 'longer'.

Comparison:

a 10'x10' room (intake) with 15 people (air) in it, and one single door (intake valve). If you have everyone standing wherever they want and everyone has to get out NOW, what happens? They dogpile at the door to get out (or get past the valve). That is an example of increased plenum. Air is there just kinda 'hanging out' and then has to go into the valve.

Say you have a 10'x3' room (runner) and have 15 people lined up (air), and one door (intake valve). They'll sure get out much faster, right? That'd be velocity, where you get your torque from.

Now if someone were to have an intake manifold spacer, like the 5.0s commonly get, that'd help torque. Since it is increasing the actual runner length

 

A buddy and I installed a throttle body spacer on his Tahoe (can't remember what year, but it has the 350, or 5.whatever).

He had NO gains whatsoever. No horsepower increase, no torque, and definitely no fuel mileage gains.

After he installed a CAI, reprogrammed his computer, and a new exhaust system, he saw gains. So we decided to check something out, and take the spacer out and see what happens.

On a dyno test, after removing the spacer, he saw more power, mreo torque, and he also noticed a 1 MPG increase. The power and torque weren't a significant increase (maybe 5 for each, I don't remember), but enough to rule out the spacer.

I'm sure that a TBS will REALLY help on a heavily modified engine, but if you're just doing a couple of small mods, then I wouldn't waste the green on it.

 

Are you familiar with helmholtz resonance?

Your people in a room example doesnt apply here because the people are not a resonating fluid leaving the room at a certain frequency.

 

But it does apply to the slapped together intake manifold of the 3.0 which is what is being discussed. No doubt something designed around the helmholtz theory will perform better, but since most manifolds (on low-end vehicles) aren't designed that way, it's not quite a fair comparison...