Hello, found another cheap mod that might get power gains you can feel. I have a 2003 Monte Carlo SS (3.8 N/A) and on www.pfyc.com I found a throttle body spacer for $115. It claims to improve low to mid range torque and horsepower, and fuel economy. I expect the gains to be small, but it claims, and one review from the site say you can feel the difference. I was wondering, what are the expected gains in HP and Torque for this mod? And are there any downsides to adding this?

 

i have done lots of reading on the MCF and other sites on wether or not to add this mod to my list and my determination is it doesn't get you much gain anywhere, at least on V6 engines. on the LS4's they work well because the intake manifold is very restrictive and it gives the air a little more velocity to overcome the crappy design, but on the V6 montes, i have read reviews that they don't really do much. the s/c 3800s may be a different story but i see here you have an NA. i would save the money and maybe put it towards a custom tune or another mod that will net you positive results.

 

Save your money and get a CAI. That's the true way to bring more air in. The TB spacer really isn't going to do much. And for that price, I'd rather just upgrade / port your TB instead of just spacing it. But the TB on our cars is fine until you start getting heavily modded.

 

TB spacer is definitely a waste on a 3800. The only reason I reccomend them is to have an easy place to tap for nitrous without having to drill the car itself- but even then $120 is steep.

 

Plus if you REALLY wanted a TB Spacer, ZZP sells one for less than half that price.

But again, it's a huge waste of money.

 

Waste of money!

 

I had the one from ZZp and is a waste of money. It is just a 1/4 inch thick piece of plastic that if you ask me restricts air flow because when i had it installed on my car part of the spacer was hanging into the inlet of the UIM. Looking like it was blocking air flow.

Save your money dont buy it.

 

It's a waste of money.

If you want decent gains and want to stay N/A, the HV3 upper intake insert from ZZP is a good choice. Combine that with a 2.5" downpipe, cold air intake, some higher ratio roller rockers, and a tune and you'd be looking at a nice little increase in power.

 

Or do a top swap for the same price, and end up with more power.

 

For sure... Lot more work though.