Hi , I have a 2009 Tacoma with a V6 engine and 150,000 Kms. I am gonna remove the throttle body assembly to do a thorough cleaning. I was looking at a pile of on-line reviews and truck sites which recommend a TB spacers as a cheap way of boosting your horsepower. I can’t seem to logically figure out how these things will work , so it may be more horsepoop than horsepower. Scotty , what are your thoughts on these spacers?
So the idea with a throttle body spacer is that they swirl the air, creating turbulence as it gets sucked into the intake and somehow thus generating more power. I say somehow because I specifically did an experiment at my shop some time back where we dyno tested some of the top brands.
What we found was not only did they not generate power, but thanks to the now turbulent air most of them caused issues with smooth acceleration. They are just gimmicks and a waste.
If you want to get a real gain, get a full cold air intake. You want a closed box design for the coolest and cleanest air possible. Anything that says it is a "short ram" intake is just sucking hot air in and costing you torque. Combine that intake with a good tune and you'll notice a difference. It will not blow your mind, but there will be a difference. Those spacers just get in the way and take up space where truly beneficial parts could go.
It really comes back to if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Just by googling it, it seems to be just a gimmick.
