spacer on a Vortec questions

[6d8muscle]

I did some searching but was unable to get any real answers. I have a 97 GMC with a 305 and I was thinking about a spacer. Do they make a difference on this engine at all? HP gains, fuel mileage those are the two things I'm really looking at. Any help would be great.

 

[Sully]

if by spacer you mean blower then yes they do!!!! I have no experience with spacers on these trucks otherwise though

 

[6d8muscle]

sorry I meant throttle body spacer of some sort

 

[Sully]

yeah I was just being a smart ass.... I saw a thread on here a while back where two or three guys were debating if it made any difference. I dont remember where it was though. I think its a placebo effect. People buy them and think they are more powerful, but really any measurable gains arent had. I know I wouldnt bother unless I was trying to milk every single last drop out of the motor and had a class to stay in. Otherwise there are far too many other ways to get more power.

 

[6d8muscle]

I think you are right on the placebo effect. I put duals on thinking it would help with gas mileage. It sounds good but on a 700 mile trip I only got about 15mpg. I would like to gain some HP too. It only had 59,000 on it so I don't want to do an engine swap yet.

 

[Sully]

ahhhh duals.... another debated subject. True Duals vs duals with an x pipe, mufflers or no mufflers

as far as I am concerned with exhaust, duals with an xpipe as close to the headers as possible with the mufflers as far back as possible will make the most power.

 

[Aloicious]

no, they don't do anything on a port injected motor. the only reason they help on a carb/TBI is that they allow the fuel slightly longer to atomize before reaching the combustion chamber. since a vortec is port injected and the fuel doesn't actually enter the intake manifold until right before the intake port, adding a TB spacer adds nothing. some folks would argue that it increases the plenum volume, however the increase in volume is so minimal that it would provide no real gains at all.

the only 'spacer' of sorts that helps on a vortec is the Vmax spacer which is actually a spacer that raises the whole upper plenum. which helps with airflow around all the crap housed inside the intake manifold like the spider and such.

 

[Sully]

no, they don't do anything on a port injected motor. the only reason they help on a carb/TBI is that they allow the fuel slightly longer to atomize before reaching the combustion chamber. since a vortec is port injected and the fuel doesn't actually enter the intake manifold until right before the intake port, adding a TB spacer adds nothing. some folks would argue that it increases the plenum volume, however the increase in volume is so minimal that it would provide no real gains at all.

even that, which I agree with almost completely will get argued with on the subject. It really comes down to your opinion after gathering as many facts as you can. Aloicious and see eye to eye on many aspects of power and how motors really work, but you will always find the guys who think we are full of poop.

 

[Butch]

I agree with Aloicious they're a waste of money on our motors

 

[6d8muscle]

So it seems like a waste of money and time to do. That answers that question.
As far as my exhaust, not true duals, single Magnaflow with dual outlet, in the standard location, out the rear with two pipes, standard basic blah blah, I need the cat to pass emissions in Missouri. I was thinking about shorty headers?? I don't want to loose torque though in doing so.