Is A Throttle Body Spacer Worth It? 

Thanks...I just ordered six! All going into the same car. Huge gains here I come!!

something else. I installed one of those twirly air intake spacers and the air was spinning so fast that a black hole was formed.The whole complete car was sucked into the intake manifold.

I had a throttle body spacer on my 98 chevy ext cab 4x4 with a 5.7 vortec 350 small block. It helped out with the eco but also gave a lil better throttle response to the motor. I had a 3" spacer the spacer is manufactured to create better fuel and air mixture into the manifold so yes this aftermarket part does help in a small way

Guys, everyone is crying that this doesn't do anything... on it's own, you're right. A spacer is part of a system (CAI, Ported Throttle Body, Spacer, Cams, Headers, Performance Muffler, Tune). This guy has most/all those things, so for him it works, yes. If your car is all stock, it won't.

great video, thanks for sharing information about throttle body spacers.

I'm pretty sure the idea behind a tbs is that it increases the volume of air inside the intake manifold, which creates a stronger vacuum pulling air into the throttle body. What this does is that it tricks the mass airflow sensor into thinking there's more air coming in than there actually is, which forces the ecu to adjust accordingly. This is where your power gain comes from. I doubt it will improve your fuel economy though

6:54 Conclusion.

Yeah but the aluminium blue color makes your engine bay look nice.

The way I see it, it is one small component of a bigger system. So no single thing is going to make a huge difference. Just like saving pennies, eventually the benefits add up.

I installed a Helix power tower throttle body spacer on my 99 Blazer 4.3L Vortec V6 and I promise it makes a BIG difference. I would recommend at least a K&N filter with it. I also cut the small short inlet pipe to allow more air in the filter box. I upgraded to a CAI on mine so it helps but CAI really don't do much but allow more air flow in. I've also installed headers on mine with some improvement.

Oh thank you. I added this spacer to my car and now it will lift the front wheels of the ground.

Thanks for your informative thorough video. Was ready to buy spacer and install on my 3.6 Jeep Wrangler. Like you I have a cold air intake and performance exhaust system. Which made my Jeep considerably faster... But being an old Gearhead as I am, We always want more POWER.. Great video.. Thanks from Chris

Sometimes the seat of your pants feel is just fine and I appreciate your take on this product. My only issue is people calling SUV's and crossovers "trucks."

As previously mentioned, on old Carb cars the TBS works great and give real results. On a Fuel Injected system its practically useless. You're better off with a good quality "Cold Air Intake" and some plugs/wires. For big performance gains you'll need to focus on the internals of the engine.

Thanks for the info! Keep up the good work buddy.

I had one of these dolls pictures on my 2003 Dodge Dakota with a cold air intake and a muffler. it sounded freakin sweet shifting gears with the 5-speed!

I would do a tune before coming to a conclusion, anyways nice video man subbed!

From what I have researched on it seems the style of the intake manifold can affect the gains or no gains you could get. That and other types of mods might be the main reason there is such gap on yes and no gains along with natural factors(humidity,temp ect). I can not for the life of me remember the name of the fluid effect but generally you have 2 streams, the inner and outer. The inner stream is where most of the volume comes from and the outer is the slower moving volume. What this device mimics and tries to do is alter the outer stream flow pattern. What this allows is the inner air to move around a corner more efficiently. As any kink or bend in flow direction will restrict the flow to a certain point. If your intake manifold has no bend or curve after the throttle body you may not see any difference as the air flow has no restriction other than the surface itself. Generally, polishing and removing any casting marks will lessen any restriction the surface gives to the flowing air before the point of fuel mixture. Some say this swirling effect allows the F/A to mix better, but I highly doubt that, not in a non carbed fuel injection. The effect created behind the TB is lost and/or diminished greatly as soon as it enters the main part of the manifold, plus fuel is added further down the line in injection systems not at the throttle body. If there is any increase to mix it would be minimal in my opinion. I would like to note that with a carburetor or EFI carbs will benefit from a tb spacer as it gives more time for the air and fuel to mix. I have theorized that if you create this same effect again at the top of the intake runners you could see a noticeable difference. How much of a bend and the length of the runner would probably affect this greatly along with the amount of air you can agitate without restricting air flow. How to go about this is another matter. A lot of intakes do not allow access to the top of the runners. There is generally enough room to polish and port match them, but you are generally out of luck to attempt this unless you have the ability to cut the manifold open and weld it back together or it is accessible by a removable panel. Luckily on my car the upper intake is in two parts and gives direct access to the top of the runners. I am searching for a junk yard upper and lower and I am going to attempt to create this effect on the runners along with port matching, removing casting marks and polishing. There is more than enough meat on the runners to engrave a swirling pattern in them. Unfortunately I do not have the funds to be able to pay to have several tunes and dyno runs along the way to test each thing I do to the intake. I can only test the final tune and dyno against known numbers with the same mods (aside what I do to the runners). I am no mechanical engineer nor a master in fluid dynamics. So if anyone reading this can correct me or give me tips to go in the right direction let me know.

I have a jet spacer for my 2003 GMC envoy 4.2,but i used it for installation of nos jets on the spacer worked perfect.

Fair and balanced review! Thanks!

I've used a few of these in the past, on fuel injected vehicles, and I've noticed it makes more of a difference with inline engines. and they also become more responsive over time as the computer 'relearns' itself. i got better mpg's and better low end torque. just my experience tho.

Great input. I was hoping for a dyno comparison but if your butt dyno only feels marginal throttle response increase, it's likely an actual dyno run would show the same. Like so many "cheap" performance parts throttle body spacers are for those who are truly trying to squeeze every last pony out of their motor. Not really intended for the bolt-on crowd. Good info., thanks for sharing.

I put on on my f350 v12 and I got an extra 50mpg to the tank. Helped out alot considering i had a 6inch lift and 33in tires.

Had a TBS on my 03 gmc sierra 5.3l vortec and i loved mine, it did make a whistle noise that was very audible, i liked it though, between the Aftermarket intake system making a audible sucking noise mixed with a whistle from the TBS it gave the motor a more performance built sound to it, it did seem to add maybe 1mpg on the truck, but its a cheap little part to help improve throttle response if you buy the spacer kits that actually are grooved like a gun barrel so it works to "speed up" the induction and increases the total air took in while making it mix with the fuel more rapidly and easier. If your spacer is a block of metal, its wrong, if your CIA is not in a box that is ported to take in air from the outer edge of the engine bay you have a hot air intake not a cold air intake. my 5.3l vortec had an AFE CIA with my TBS (forgot brand) and i ran a bullydog tripple gt tuner on it and i pulled away from other gas burners off the line and held it, when i had my 40l6e built by Jasper that had a heavy shift kit, 16 kevlar clutches instead of the stock like 4-6 it has, high volume oil capacity and high fluid flow kit with trans cooler, better valve body and planetary gear, it cost me around $4,000 total in labor and parts using my own Core, it became a shit show when racing, walking them constantly. IF your gonnna buy parts BUY CORRECT AND QUALITY

on a 2000 4cyl wrangler thats grossly underpowered it was a major improvement

The better option but still a small gain would be ditch the spacer and put a thermal gasket in it's place. It will help reduce intake temps which will give a small amount of power. In my opinion getting the spacer by itself is just making your intake even longer. Plus a thermal gasket that size is around 20-30 instead of paying 70+ for the spacer that does nothing

Great video, thanks for sharing. Keep up the great work.

Enjoyed the video. I really liked your presentation.

For this product to work, one of these two things would need to happen. 1. It would have to increase the volume of air feeding the engine at any given moment. 2. It would have to increase the air velocity during a part of the rpm range or throughout the whole rpm range. This product can not do either of those things, from an engineering standpoint. I dont care what you think you feel. It just isnt possible. Any felt increase in power is purely placebo.

It worked on my 05 3.5 L Tacoma 2WD. Robbed my top end speed but improved low end torque and acceleration. I also had it Unichipped with a Volant CAI, NGK Iridium plugs, magnaflow exhaust. I got it down to 0-60 in 7.06 seconds but I Rolled it 7 times haha. I miss my Taco.

Thanks for the video. A longer pcv tube which generates more volume at the throttle, should produce the same effect.

TB spacer helped move my TB to a more desired location. That's about it though. Just pulled it forward a bit.

Basically it makes your intake manifold volume greater and puts the throttle body further away from the heads. The air now has to travel further to get into the head. It may just essentially take away horsepower on the top end to give you torque on the bottom end. The difference may be 1-2 ft tq.

I noticed a great improvement on my lifted Jeep Wrangler with the 4.0 inline 6 and 5 speed manual transmission because the engine struggled to spin the 33's at highway speeds in 5th gear without the spacer but after installing it I was able to use 5th gear and that made a huge jump in mpg. I also had many other upgrades on that Jeep as well including K&N air filter, Flowmaster exhaust and other similar bolt on accessories as well so I am sure those were a factor as well. Good luck

Good video Jeff, I like your honesty.

Nice presentation, excellent commentary and good job on your mechanic skills...

You should have try the Tornado, that improves fuel MPG from 0 MPG to 00.0 MPG, or better yet Slick 50 which reduces friction by not starting car or truck,......best vehicle I ever own that is good in fuel mileage, economical, low cost (no add ons) very low maintenance and environmental friendly is ........

Installed one on my 2017 GMC Sierra. Noticed minimal response to acceleration and lighter throttle feel. Overall, truck feels it goes with less effort. This combined with CAI, muffler delete and a chip tune.

This was very helpful. thanks!

I had a 1996 Grand Cherokee 4.0 6 cyl inline and it always had issues pulling our tent trailer. I installed a short ram intake and a throttle body spacer and after that pulling the trailer was not a problem.

I stopped taking the video seriously when he pointed his "cold air intake" located in the engine bay LOL

You could also remove the screen from the front of your MAF sensor. Then take all the slack out of your throttle cable, and you will see a pretty good difference. I dont know if you have a throttle body butterfly restrictor, my 4.3 chevy v6 had one. I removed that as well, and my Astro van was a little quicker than normal. Then it got stolen, never got it back.

I'm so glad I have an actual auto instructor to ask if this works, because this video didn't explain much at all

I had a 2000 gmc Sonoma with the 2.2l that I polished the throttle body, installed spacer, k&n drop in filter and modded the air box and I noticed a increase in power and mpg. the best mod I did to increase power and economy was removing the mechanical crank fan and installing electric fans. with all that done, I was getting 28mpg which is substantial compared to 23mpg average when I first got it! imo all those mods were worth it..

Yes there's a nice aggressive tone on mine as well under wide open throttle. The Bullydog Platinum GT just enhanced that with even better throttle response on the premium tune but didn't see any difference in MPG yet

Have you considered using multiple spacers? I think that could be a fun before and after with some repeatable, measurable testing...

jus wat i needed to know! thanks brotha

I put one on my '89 chevy 1ton and mpg went from 10mpg to 12 mpg. So in my experience it did help a little.

Put one on my 95 ZJ. I can say that I felt a good improvement. I don't have any numbers or any of that. Just saying that for me it worked and also got a little better gas mileage.

I work in R&D/Tech support for BBK and have tested many different throttlebody spacer's on many different late-model V8 applications. None of them have added even one horsepower and a few of them on Mopar applications have dropped up to 4 hp. These are real world controlled dyno tests. It's a bit of a shame really. These things are so easy to make with all of our capabilities but we can't and won't make them because they don't do anything for the customer. They're great for making money but we won't release anything that doesn't make real rear wheel horsepower. In some cases where our throttlebody is larger than the intake manifold's inlet, we do include a spacer that helps adapt the two different sizes with a smith transition but they are not standalone throttlebody spacers. Keep in mind that my comment doesn't apply to carbed motors. Only late model EFI.

Thanks for making this video it was great.

Thanks for the review, nice to know it made a little difference. I plan on an adapter for a larger throttle body. Should gain more than just throwing on a spacer with stock size throttle body.

I machined my own a few years back. It did nothing that I could tell. It was fun making it though. I even sold it to a guy for 20 bucks.

Glad to see a proper attempt to quantify the benefits of the spacer. I was hoping for more test results, more than just seat of the pants.

Thanks for doing this experiment. much appreciated!

I had a Throttle Body Spacer in my Genesis Coupe 3.8 with a side port. It was perfect for injecting Seafoam intake valve cleaner.

Its more or less just an added part you would put on a build for some more results ex: you have a 4" intake w/ a performance intake manifold, bigger TB, and a good engineered TB spacer can have results to help the other mods for better airflox. You adding it to your stock air box w/ filter lol w/ nothing else is not worth it. Upgrading even a better intake system and a TB spacer should help out just in itself

Plus, I would go to car meets & shows & always got curious commenters who would notice the TB-Spacer bolt-on & liked how it looked & asked me if it made a difference.

I have one on my truck from American trucks.com. I have a whistle but it’s nice, have cold air intake and full exhaust. Truck is a Silverado 4.8 with headers

Dyno numbers before and after please

In the beginning of this video he says " i actually felt a difference I'm surprised "... at the end of the video " is it worth it, no not really" lol MY WORD this is what you call CLICK BAIT

Using one currently with my skunk2 CAI. Nice little gain on 2014 SI coupe

Great review thanks for sharing

All you people are bashing throttle body spacers because it only helps during low/mid end rpms. Us people with real trucks (not 6 cylinder suvs) look for that kind of stuff, because it takes a lot of power for our engines too move heavy loads. Therefore, every little bit counts in the low/mid end

The only way I can see this making a difference is by increasing the overall plenum volume and making slightly more air available to the runners. Longer intake runners will improve low end response and torque. The extra volume is so minor that the money could be saved and spent on a mod that would provide proven gains. the reality is that the design of the entire intake system varies so much between engines that simply adding a spacer like that may hold better gains for some and none for others simply due to design of other parts negating the intended effect of the spacer.

Hey, thanks mann. I aways wondered about that. now I'm getting one for my 2014 silverado 5.3l

Guess it all depends on the car too. 2 different cars, from different manufactures are gonna perform different. Sometimes you think you are going faster when you install something too. That's some much in the tuner community. I like how you did a quick after drive video. Then a "after a week" video. I got one for my neon...but also an intake manifold spacer from neongoodies. The DOHC first gen neon has a poor air flow, which helps it some. Have yet to install it tho.

Omg you guys 3 extra horse power is killin em on the drag strip

There is a video posted titled "par Honda Accord - throttle body spacer dyno" this is a before and after dyno on a fuel injected Honda Accord. Results WOT were 3-4 horsepower and 7-8 ft lbs torque. He also tested mid range power on the dyno and made an overall 5 hp / 5 ft lbs of torque. That makes it at best (on the Honda) $20-$25 per pony. Now the debate is that output on a dyno can vary. Was the slight gain from the tbs or was it an environmental factor like temperature humidity ect.

The "start it up and see what happens" activity can get exciting. Way back in the mid 80's I was working at a BMW Dealer. For some reason I had to pull off the air inlet to the throttle body (733i). It was an easy job and I decided to go to the restroom before pulling the car out. While in the restroom I here all this commotion in the shop,out I go. I find that the Service Advisor decided to pull the car out for me,wrong. I had put one of the big clamps on up side down and it prevented the throttle from closing, in fact it held it full open. Close call but we all went home that day.

I saw 1 put on a Dino, it got onehalf horsepower and 8' pounds of torque but it's nothing you'll notice but when you add it all up with the rest it all adds up

I have a deer Whistler on front of my grill.

I think it all depends on the car. I tried one on my 4.2 Trailblazer and it did nothing. In fact, I seemed to lose fuel economy. I also have a dual catback exhaust and cold air intake, so a spacer may not have much effect. I also seem to have better throttle response without it. All in all, spacers aren't going to do much performance wise.

i have 2007 4runner V6 and i installed a air raid throttle body spacer along with my K&N cold air intake and i love my spacer not because the performance but because it spins the air and sounds like a turbo diesel, no so loud like a real one but close.

I have the same truck and im about to order the same part, thank you. Im really tryin to bolt on and do as much as I can with my 4.2L I need more power

As A Auto Diesel Mech 35 years I have watch people put cold air intakes and spacers all kinds of junk and a lot of them do nothing to increase power.Cold air Intakes are the biggest joke Unless you are pulling the air out of a Ram air Duct through the hood and force feeding a large Volume of cool air there will be a lose of power.For all those that are in question I recommend that you do this. Ask to see a Dyno test on the vehicle you are planning to modify not any other vehicle but the car you are making the modification to.Also you want Before and after tests of any performace part under the same exact conditions including air intake temperature.This is one of the first steps for tuning a car.Next have your car dyno tested for a base line. Then when you are done with your changes have your car dyno tested and tuned if needed this will confirm you gain anything.This video is in no way proving this spacer works.Also no word of mouth even from trusted friends THE DYNO DOES NOT LIE.

this is something you would want to add when going with a larger TB. the longer the spacer the more improvement you will get, Up to a certain point. Longer runners often yield better bottom end power. this is all you are doing here is adding a little bit more to the intake runners.

Thanks I found out that it was because I was using a pedal commander with the spacer and they weren't working well together so I decided to remove the spacer and that solved the problem.

great video thanks for the info

Why is there a resonator in a performance vid?

Thanks for the video Jeff. I have an '06 Envoy with a 4.2L. I'm trying to find the right combo of parts to get a lot better performance and of course, better gas mileage. I was looking at the Taylor Cable Helix Power Tower PLUS Throttle Body Spacer. It's a little pricey at $115, but with an AeroTurbine muffler (which I know works) since I already have 3" pipes, a decent cold air kit, and a Jet Stage II Power Module, I think I'm going to be in pretty good shape. What are your thoughts on this combo??? What are your thoughts on boring the throttle body?

More Bottom End is a Plus Have Hummer H3 Cold air 3 inch all the way back with Delta 50 and runs Great..

Spacers help getting air more efficient to the vehicle...might provide as much horse power as you may think but IT WILL help in MPG. Ypu can see this in vehicles that have digital MPG indicators.

Why don’t manufacturers just make their tb “longer” if it really works. Because it’s a waste

next you should do are twin turbos worth it or not

I have a 2003 Ram 1500 with a 4.7 and just put on a K&N CAI. Gonna be putting the air raid spacer on it as well. So Hopefully I'll see some difference. Atm the CAI has changed the sound of the engine and my gas has improved over the week.

Great vid and 👕

Why use the resonator ? Just connect the air filter direct to the throttle body ?

All it really does is increase the DISTANCE the air travels to get into the engine and creates a slight restriction in airflow. By doing this though, you increase air velocity so at low rpm you might gain some slight low end tq but it is quickly negated as the rpms rise and actually hurts horsepower because now the air is traveling farther and is more restricted.

Installed a “PowerAid” (I think, it was red) TB spacer on a 2003 Wrangler w a 4.0L 6 cyl. I had 33” tires that completely robbed me of my 5th gear. I lost speed on any hill or incline and was forced to down shift to stay at 55-60 mph. After TB spacer I could maintain my speed on mild inclines and pass other cars while staying in 5th gear! Highly recommend K&N factory replacement filter with the spacer!

Nice video thank you for the info

i polished the inside of the gas tank and now the fuel flows faster so then more fuel =s more horse power.

You really didn't put any comparison data into this test. How it feels to you means nothing really

I have 2005 GMC ENVOY XL 4.2 I used the Airaid throttle body spacer alone with K&N cold air intake & removed both factory mufflers and installed Cherry Bomb 3" inlet outlet glasspack the longest one I could find its Bolt on flange to catalytic converter adding dual tips like on the Dodge challenger soon nxt going to buy the jet performance stage 2 chip

Used a vortex spacer on 2000 impala along with exhaust upgrade and intake manifold and cold air intake. I noticed alot of power gain after those mods. I did have to get the computer re programmed to run the new parts more efficiently and also to tweak shift timing. That car was fast especially after installing a shift kit. One day the girlfriend jumped it and destroyed the front end and transmission 😤 RIP impala

it works better if you throw a few bolts into your intake manifold

3:51 in his mind he said "God dammit"!

I have a 02 silverado 5.3 L , and I tried the same spacer, got one of these's for free. Tried it and what a waste of time, NO improvement at all. Then I bought a SET some MSD red blaster coils , and that made a BIG difference. For simple bolt on aftermarket part, money well worth spent.

great video thanks for uploading

my thoughts: if you want to do everything, or you are already going to have everything apart, then this is something to do, BUT it's not worth it to do it on it's own....