Phenolic Spacers

[Guest]

any one using one???

looking at one availible from rpw

Click Me

worth the money, does it really do what it claims?

 

[frozen]

looks good, but i cant justify the $100+ just yet - need to save for a new clutch first so i can actually put my foot down again

im pretty sure dave has put one of these on the legnum he is doing R&D with. Check that thread too

 

[naughtika]

i hope Dave tries it on Madhav's car..

 

[frozen]

i hope Dave tries it on Madhav's car..

i thought he already did? or has? or was going to? no idea. thats what i meant though (krystal said THANKS for the taro with pearls, was way better than easyway )

 

[SiliconAngel]

Just to clarify the confusion, Dave HASN'T used one in Madhav's car YET, but he intends to. I'm sure there will be details available once he has.

Carsten I'd say wait for a couple of weeks to see what Dave's results are like first, unless you have a pressing need for a new intake manifold gasket?

 

[frozen]

i think i heard something about it being a tight fit since its thicker than stock. But yeah more info is in the r+d thread.

 

[Sydo]

Phelnolic? Isn't that just a fancy name for a throttle body spacer?

If so, I've fitted these to a couple of n/a cars before. The difference is slight, but apparent. On my X-Trail, it appears to alter the torque curve more than anything. (it was still only a very slight change)
When fitted to a Desiel Hilux, the difference was more noticeable.

Maybe with the heat generated by our engines they would have bigger effect!

If the price is right, I would be interested. But I think I'll let someone else test and confirm the results first.

 

[mookers]

Phenolic is a type of resin/plastic/somethingorother. It's a materials term.

 

[Guest]

Does the kit come with longer manifold bolts?

 

[SiliconAngel]

I really don't think the 3ish-mm difference would warrant longer bolts - you should have thirty to forty mm of thread in use, so the difference is extremely unlikely to affect retention strength.

 

[Guest]

We will be fitting these to Madhav's vehicle, but its not something you really see on the dyno.

The units are there to stop Heat soak into the inlet manifold from the engine and throttle body positions.

Example, go for a drive in your car and then place your hand on your intake manifold and feel how hot it is.

Then do the same thing with the phenolic gasket kit and the manifold will be 50% cooler because it no longer has a direct metal to meal connection from the lower inlet manifold which has extreme heat soak and the throttle body which is water heated.

This drops intake tempatures and especially in hot tempature days, increases the volumetric efficiency of the engine. Its more a fuel economy / throttle response thing more so than horsepower/tq but I run them on all my own vehicles as well as many customers as well.

 

[Guest]

sound good mite have to give one a go

 

[bradc]

I was keen for the group buy, Carsten asked the same question on cvr4 and got a very interesting response from Ben who runs a 700hp or something GTO

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31288&highlight=phenolic

Personally speaking, i find they are a right PITA!

You will find that the rear plenum stays have to be notched to get the bolts back in, and whilst they do stop heat soak in the plenum, they also cause a lot of boost leaks.

If it comes in here with a raised up plenum and the customer says he has a run fault, 99% of the time removing the spacer will cure it.

If you are looking for fractions in the 1/4, then sure they are worth it. For an every day car i think they are just hassle.

 

[x3emotorsports]

Similar stuff is available for many models, experience with the honda DC5 was that about 8 months later or so, several has cracked and sent the car crazy... very good product but needs to check for leaks after 6 months. It helps to reduce the heat to the intake manifold.

cheers, ivan

 

[Hotwire]

Interesting article on the Pneolic spacer - http://autospeed.com/cms/A_110474/article.html

 

[SiliconAngel]

Great linkage Lee, well done Seems to qualify earlier comments - only for those chasing the last % of performance.