Throttle body spacers, thoughts?

Haven’t herd talk about those in years.
They were popular in the days of the 4.6 modular motor butI I don’t think they got as much traction with the Coyote crowd.

Don’t have on my cars but have throttle body replacement, intake manifold replacement, CAI, long tubes, cams, ported heads and so on.

Had car on dyno for tuning several times for all the above.
Not ever once did the shop suggest spacers.
Like, “you should add spacers to that combo” or “have you thought of spacers with everything else you have?”

Shop being Dasilva Racing.

Based on that, I deduce that they are not worth much.

Myself, I would use that money for something else.

Sometimes parts like that provide a placebo effect but you only find out what they really provide when you strap the car on a dyno with a before and after result.

Now somebody on here might say their car went from a dud to rocket ship with a TB spacer.

I would be skeptical about that but someone might say that. That’s how powerful the placebo effect can be.

Happy spending, or as I say to some people, happy investing. 😉
 
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Yeah I remember putting one on my 01 as it seemed to be the hype on those. I agree with Marc I have never really heard much rumblings about their use on the 5.0. If you haven’t changed your air filter and you still have the factory air box I would look into a K and N drop in filter instead. Utilizes the factory air box and helps it breathe a bit better. Just my 50 cents (inflation)
 
I tend to agree, I forgot all about people adding spacers,
now, if you have big air intake, bigger inectors, then going up a few MM
with throttle body can add something, but its big money for small gain.

Cheappest HP is cold air intake and tune, exhaust next and the HP
starts getting expensive :)
 
Naturally aspirated hp is very expensive.

Forced induction hp, I think is still a good deal.

If you can get a supercharger setup for $20,000.00, which I think is doable, and it gets you 200 hp, that makes each hp worth $100.00 each.

Mike @Mike2021 can weigh in if my estimate is off.

Is there still doubt that we get a kick out of helping other forum members spend money?

Mod responsibly my fellow enthusiasts. 😊
 
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Thanks for your input! I figured it might be somewhat of a gimmick. I have already added a CAI and I did notice improvements with that. While I am pretty happy with the car as is, I can see myself swapping out the exhaust and tuning it in the next couple of years. That being said, I am going to add an oil/air separator this year. I've read quite a bit about those and it seems to me to be a necessity to preserve the car for the long haul.
 
Ohtobbad said:
SC mod is likely 6-12 K dpending on choices, so not bad bang for buck.

HP first 1000 spent great returns, after that it starts getting pricy
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Yeah, I'm not likely to go any further than the easy-peasy bolt-on improvements. I tend to drive quite conservatively so beefing up the car is rather pointless for me. As is, it's funnier to drive than my Rav4, so that's all I need :)
 
67 AGAIN said:
Naturally aspirated hp is very expensive.

Forced induction hp, I think is still a good deal.

If you can get a supercharger setup for $20,000.00, which I think is doable, and it gets you 200 hp, that makes each hp worth $100.00 each.

Mike @Mike2021 can weigh in if my estimate is off.

Is there still doubt that we get a kick out of helping other forum members spend money?

Mod responsibly my fellow enthusiasts. 😊
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Your right on the money as usual Marc, I think the Mach was 420 maybe at the rear wheels and now it’s somewhere around 710hp at the back. I had a few other things added and tuned to get that number but all and all it was worth it
 
JNaygull said:
Thanks for your input! I figured it might be somewhat of a gimmick. I have already added a CAI and I did notice improvements with that. While I am pretty happy with the car as is, I can see myself swapping out the exhaust and tuning it in the next couple of years. That being said, I am going to add an oil/air separator this year. I've read quite a bit about those and it seems to me to be a necessity to preserve the car for the long haul.
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Picking up on what you write above.

You say you have a CAI and you plan on having car tuned in next few years.

I deduce from that statement that the CAI you currently have does not require a tune.
Possibly something like a K&N or a BBK.
If that’s the case, there is where your money should be spent first. Part of that initial $1000.00 Trevor speaks of.

When you decide to get the car tuned, ditch whatever no tune required CAI you have there and replace it with a tune necessary CAI along with a tuner, and dump in a quality tune, custom or mail order. That will really wake up the car.

My top picks for a quality high flow CAI, which require a tune, would be JLT which has been bought by S&B filters, with honorable mention for Airaid.

The flow of a JLT is way more than a K&N or similar no tune required CAI.
That’s why they require a tune.

On the exhaust front, judging by your avatar picture it looks like your car is a 2011-12 vintage 5.0.

Those don’t have resonators like the 2015 and up cars.
It’s manifolds, catted H pipe and mufflers.
So the biggest return on exhaust work is long tube headers with high flow cats, which replace the factory H pipe with either an X or H pipe depending on the manufacturer you go with.

If you are not willing to do the long tubes because of the noise, and they do add noise or volume, the next best place to open up a bit is the mufflers, which still helps.

All the mufflers on the 5.0”s before the 2018 variable mufflers can be easily improved with a quality higher flowing muffler pack.

There are many muffler options but my favorites are Borla, Magnaflow and Ford Performance by Borla, with honorable mention for Roush.
Note: Although equal quality, the Roush units tend to be louder than the others.
 
What he said (y)

For the more casual driver, waking the car up,
IE air and exhaust, giving it a little nicer sound
is often more than enough.

From a pure driving experience Tires are a big game changer
as well, keep in mind vetter tires, less tire life.
But incredible increase in handling.
 
This is all excellent information, thank you! I'm not sure how far I want to go, but last year I did buy some new tires (Firehawk Indy 500's) and I agree, it made a difference (I felt much safer to boot). Even switching to a Roush CAI made a small difference (if even it's a placebo). I'll certainly back off the throttle body spacer as I have more important areas to spend $200+ in my life.

Yes, I have a 2012 GT, and my son is after me to upgrade the exhaust, however, I am not one to turn ears my way as I drive down the street. Perhaps he'll make that upgrade once the title is in his name someday. :D
 
I understand where you’re coming from with the exhaust.

If you want to dip your toe into the exhaust waters just to get a nice rumble, only marginally louder than stock,
Such that a person who does not know your car now could not tell it’s louder.
I think you would be very pleased with a set of Borla touring mufflers.
The touring level is the more conservative version and not made for loud, but rather for a deep, grown up rumble, if I can use that term.
I’m sure you would be pleased, and your son would be satisfied too.
I speak from experience.
I have the Borla touring mufflers on my ‘15 and get compliments on rumble all the time, but simply idling, once warmed up, they hardly sound any louder.
The deep rumble comes to life under acceleration.

As for your CAI, Roush is not a bad one.
For todays’s cars, probably slot in third behind the two I mentioned above.
Certainly better than K&N and BBK.
The current ones require a tune.
We still don’t know for sure if you have a tune at this time or not.
It was just a guess on my part that you don’t.
It’s possible to run an older Roush without a tune if you have an early model that I believe had an insert in the inlet tube to restrict air flow in order to run them without a tune.

So, either you have a tune, which is good.
Or if you don’t, that insert can be removed for more airflow when you do decide to get a tune.
No need to buy another CAI.

For trivia, the early Roush CAI for the 5.0 was made by Airaid.
 
For exhaust, are you referring to just an axel back replacement? I looked into those, not too bad in price. And something that I can do myself (with help from my son).

I scored my CAI off Marketplace (brand new, still in plastic wrap) for a really good price, I'm not sure what you mean by the inlet tube, but I can look for it.

I do not have a tune, however, I have looked into it. What kind of tune setup do you recommend? Would I be better off waiting to tune it after any exhaust upgrades?
 
Lol. 😂😂😂

Now I understand.
Your CAI is not in the car yet!
If you bought recently, disregard.
The current Roush no longer has that option and is a good unit.

Yes, I mean Axle back exhaust.
A fancy aftermarket industry term for mufflers.

No, axle backs only don’t require a tune and won’t affect a tune that much.
But it would maximize the tune if you had them on when you fo get tuned.
Especially if you are getting a custom dyno tune.
Your tune will factor all the variables.

If I were you, I would put the mufflers on now and start enjoying them right away.
And they will be there when you throw the CAI on and get your tune.

Get ready, remember that feeling of Wow when you first drove the car?
Well, getting that CAI and a good tune will give you that feeling all over again.
 
So it’s on but you have no tune?
You don’t have a hand held tuner with the car?

If that’s the case, it has to be one of the older ones with an insert. May explain your good price.
Or maybe some type of knockoff?

If it was a real high flow Roush, you would be getting check engine codes.
Because those flow so much air that they confuse the O2 sensor and the computer doesn’t know what to do.
That’s the main reason for the tune.
 
It is on without a tune. It must be an older one as I got no codes or any other odd behaviors with the car. It was a good price because the guy bought a bunch of them in an auction lot that included other stuff. It is certainly legit as it came with all the install papers etc. If it's not legit, then it's a damn good knock-off :)
 
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