97 Tahoe...Throttle Body Spacer??

Guys chime in here. I got my 97 tahoe, and was thinking of adding a tbi spacer. Anyone know a good place to get them (cheap) and also anyone with one....Is it a good investment? Better gas mileage? Power? Thanks guys

Ive heard they do work!

i hear they do work but aslong as it has spiral groove internally, which helps in many ways

Spiral grooving does not invoke a cyclone effect on incoming air. At most it will create turbulance.

Hardwarz

Well then hardwarz do they work or not? Do you use one?

The purpose of a spacer is to allow more time for fuel to atomize. On carbed and TBI engines, TB spacers work because it gives more time for the fuel to atomize. But on fuel injected engines, fuel is added after the TB. So the only thing happening in this case is that you're lengthening the distance the air needs to travel, that's it.
Even with the "swirl" spacers, IF you gain anything, it is very minimal and doesn't meet the bang-for-buck criteria.
Building street performance carbed motors, I would install one. But I wouldn't waste the money on SFI motors. But if your truck is TBI and not MPFI, then you can possibly see some gain. Go with a phenolic spacer; it won't absorb as much heat from the intake and keep the incoming air just a bit cooler.

Biggwaukegan said:

Well then hardwarz do they work or not? Do you use one?

Click to expand...

Do I use one? No

Have I used one on a fuel injected vehicle? Yes

Why? Extended runner length and the cost. It was for a Dodge Intrepid and was made by a Dodge Intrepid forum member. The cost of it was low enough that I was willing to try/test it. He built it from 1" aluminum and based it off the gasket. Since it was based off the gasket, the problem was the loose fitment around the studs. Easily fixed with silicone

Did I notice a fuel savings? No, because I found out, on the Intrepid, with the slightly longer path, I could easily chirp the tires now. So, getting a led foot does not help find out if I got better gas milage.

Would I spend $100 on one for the Tahoe? No.

Would I consider building one if I had 1" of aluminum and a couple gaskets for my milling machine? Yeah.

Hardwarz

I put one on a 5.7L 98 Suburban. It made an impressively loud noise when accelerating, and it made my mileage worse by about 15%. I bought it cheap on eBay and I sold it cheap on eBay.