green_henry

I have an '05 and ordered the P2R throttle body spacer for the '06 Si.

I'm a little concerned because the throttle body is a whopping 66mm. I thought it was supposed to be 60mm. Can anybody confirm?

Assuming that's ok, let's move on to the installation:
I removed the throttle body and was surprised to find two bolts and two studs instead of four bolts.

First, I want to confirm that the studs need to be removed. Correct?

Assuming that's correct, does anybody have any tips on removing the two studs?

CarbonGray Earl

Yes, definitely remove the studs. No way to do it otherwise. Let me tell you, they were a freakin bitch. Only hard part of the install.

I followed these instructions....
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169891

It is an excellent install vid. Even though its a TL, its basically the same concept.

You replace the studs with one of the supplied bolts.

I don't know about the TB being 66mm? I didn't measure, and I didn't notice that on my install at all. Fitment wasn't exact, close. I was in a rush, and it seemed fine enough, but there was no way my TB was larger by that margin a whole 6mm than the spacer. They were the same width.

green_henry

Thanks for the quick response, man!

I think I'm going to hold off on removing the studs until I confirm whether I have the right part. I measured it with my digital calipers, so it's definitely 66mm.

Another niggle is that the plug for the NPT port is too short to sit flush with the inside of the throttle body so that there's another potential trouble spot for turbulence. Did you have the same problem? Can I find a similar part at AutoZone or somewhere like that?

On a more positive note, the thermal gaskets are nice (though they're also wider). At minimum, I'll keep one of these.

CarbonGray Earl

That doesn't sound right man. I put the plug on the outside actually. It seemed more logical so that it won't get sucked in.

By the bold, do you mean you measured the ID of the TB spacer and it was 66? when you sandwich it between the gaskets, are they exactly the same size/shape? They should be exactly the same.

I going to be signing off for tonight, but I going to finally dig up those pix I took of my install. But for the studs, watch that video. He does an excellent trick for taking it off. It take some effort (I have 60k miles on my car) but they come off.

green_henry

With respect to the plug, I installed it from the outside too, but I expected the tip to be more or less even with the inside of the throttle body; there's still a gap of several milimeters, exposing the port hole and a few sets of threads. Probably no biggee, but I was hoping for a better fit. It's also a different shape (square head) than the one in the TL implementation. I think I should be able to find a longer plug at AutoZone or NAPA that will do the trick.

The ID of the TB is 66mm. The gaskets have a smaller inside diameter (~64m), but they're still wider than the throttle body.

I sprayed some Liquid Wrench on the stud bases tonight and will let it do its magic. If the studs come out relatively painlessly in the morning, I'll hook it all up and see how it goes. Otherwise, I'll stand by for more feedback on whether I have the right spacer (or whether it's way out of tolerance).

chuson

Is that a contradiction??? If the gaskets are 64mm; and the TB ID you claimed is 66mm, then the gasket should NOT be wider than the TB???

What year of TSX do you have?

04-05 TSX has 60mm TB; 06+ TSX has 64mm TB

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

he said he has an 05 in the first post.

green_henry

Sorry, I was referring to the spacer rather than the throttle body. I should have gone to bed before making another post ... lol. I have an '05, and I verified that it is 60mm.

Anyway, I went ahead and installed it this morning. As noted by CarbonGray Earl, removing the studs is a pain; I ended up resorting to vice grips because the technique used in the TL video just wasn't working for me. (The install on the TL looks considerably easier because there's a lot more space than we have).

It's been raining constantly here in the Bay Area, so the conditions weren't optimal for a test drive, but here are my initial impressions:

• I have a 6MT, and I've always had to give the throttle a pretty good punch to get off the line smoothly (due to the car's weight). I probably stall the car once or twice a year when I forget to give it some extra gas. Now, the lurch when getting off the line is gone, so I think there's definitely some low-end torque gains. This by itself makes the upgrade worth the money and effort for me.
• I didn't notice any change in mid-range and upper-range throttle response, but I wasn't expecting much either.
• Looks sharp; I like it in black.

Obviously, it's too soon to tell whether there will be any impact on mileage, but I'll keep my eye on this for the next couple of weeks.

Side notes:

• I replaced the plastic NPT plug with a brass one that I picked up at NAPA. The fit was about the same, but I prefer the brass because the plastic was pretty soft (seems like it's made with the same material as the gaskets) -- it's easy strip the corners off the head of the plastic if you're not careful.
• The spacer plus the thermal gaskets is exactly 1 inch, so it puts a tighter bend in the tube between the throttle body and the airbox. I'm not worried about it, but if you have a CAI, you may need to make some adjustments (just guessing).
• Not sure if there's any CARB implications for this part. If so, it should be easy enough to remove, but I'll need to get two bolts to replace the studs that I took off.

If I do have the wrong part, it doesn't seem to have any negative impact yet.

green_henry

... almost forgot:

There's a bracket on the throttle body that connects to a wire harness. After installing the spacer, the clip on the harness won't line up with the bracket, so I needed to use a zip tie.

The inside of the throttle body will probably be a little dirty, so you probably want to have a can of carburetor cleaner handy.

TSX 3Pedal

Hmmm...keep us updated

I have an '04 and would want to do this mod too

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

still waiting for the TB heat gaskets to be finished for the 06+.

i really want this to be ready so i can install it.

CarbonGray Earl

henry,

-your thoughts/butt dyno on it mirror my opinion. Just a tad quicker in the low end. Its subtle though. No change in mid/upper range. Benefit is, it gets the rev party started just a little quicker.

However, I think you need to run it on your car for a 100 or so miles to let the ECU take into account the change, if any.

-Great idea on the brass plug. I probably cross threaded that plastic part once or twice- its too soft.

-for some reason, my air flow tube (part #14 here:http://www.oemacuraparts.com/partloc...layCatalogid=0) seems to pop off every so often. If your intake sounds louder than usual, go check it.

-time to do the TB bypass mod! That TB gets hot, and I'm sure it negates the isolation the gaskets are supposed to take care of.

jlukja

The link isn't working for me for some reason.

CarbonGray Earl

Sorry, bad link.

Its this part http://www.oemacuraparts.com/partloc...&siteid=214055 . Click view illustration, and its part #14.

CarbonGray Earl

Crap, that doesn't work either.

Anyways, go to oemacuraparts.com, choose the 2005 acura tsx and search "air flow tube". It should take you to the part. click view illustration to see it.

green_henry

Absolutely right. I did the bypass mod about a year ago, and it made this job a lot quicker. I agree that the thermal gaskets won't do much good without the bypass mod (because the TB would still be heated from the other end).

I think you have a good point about the ECU. I have noticed the car idling a little higher than usual, but not consistently. This could be because it's colder than usual around here. I should have 100 miles on the mod by Thursday or Friday.

jlukja

Hmmm, I wonder if its due to the spacer, and if it would counteract the idle rattle that AT drivers report with a CT header. ....interesting

CarbonGray Earl

Unfortunately, it won't. It should return to normal- which is vibration @ 750 rpm. Mine did.

jlukja

^^ well, there goes that thought.

jwood_06TSX

Nice try Jan!!!! I don't think anything going to change that Only thing i thought might have was pulleys.