Juliet

Today i received the OE's thermoblok spacers for my buddies TL, so i figured id start a thread to detail the entire process as well as provide more first hand info on installation, impressions, issues, and more info for people looking to buy them

the box arrived earlier today and upon opening it, i was greeted by a extremely well written instruction manual. ill scan up the manual and post a download later on. im very happy with the way they wrote it since it covers every bit of the install and makes it completely foolproof. good part on their end as a company

next up was the hardware packet. it comes with longer studs that attach the manifold to the block since the spacer is a good half inch in thickness. high quality hardware all around, and nothing less then id expect for any kind of automotive install.

the provided gaskets are quite nice as well.... its all standard stuff here. anyone whos worked on cars before has seen all these things before atleast once

now, on to the important stuff: the spacers themselves. theyre made of some kind of composite type stuff. its almost like plastic, but harder and heavier. im really not sure what its is, but its aslo of high quality like the rest of the kit.

finally, the kit came with some OE stickers to show off your mods to fellow drivers and possible competition. these stickers will be displayed above the current Fujita decals found in the rear quarter windows of the car. gotta use them, afterall... stickers add 5hp lol.

ill update the thread more when installation time comes, which will be on Saturday or sooner depending on my friends availability. as of now, im impressed with the kit and cant wait to install it. more coming soon

01tl4tl

check this from the gen2 DIY section
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156252
See if there are tricks you find to add to it

Overall- under 2 hours with basic tools and skills
Take your time and get all the gasket surfaces perfect and do not scratch!
Clean the EGR ports per the DIY!!!!
Keep shop vac handy to remove gasket bits so they dont go down intake tubes
Have fun!

01tl4tl

and for the real tech data go here, the spacer is not 1/2" thick- but they will make you one like that for a crazy high HP V-8 race motor !!
www.outlawengineering.com

S1CK TypeS

i installed mine last friday. do it with a friend itll make life easier. lable all ur hoses and plugs so you kno. be careful not to cross hoses

Juliet

should be a piece of cake for me. i just finished installing a Banks Power Monster Exhaust on my truck, so this will be a snap. ive pulled engines, so putting a piece of plastic between the manifold and block shouldnt be anything to worry about

Juliet

i got a question before the install, a friend of mine suggested i replace the oem intake/block gasket so im unsure if i should replace it or not. i always though metal gaskets were pretty strong and should be ok to be reused if the disassembly is carefully done... suggestions?

orgnlprankster7

it will be fine to reuse.

Razzi

"Do ThermoBlok spacers come in other thicknesses?

ThermoBlok spacers are completely modular and can be stacked into any thickness of ¼" increments. If you want a hugely thick spacer for your monster motor, please contact us."

besides the fact that the motor might hit your hood, is there any other drawback to a thick ass spacer?

01tl4tl

Well- it only raises the intake manifold not the entire engine- so on the TL thats not a problem

Talk to OE- it changes t torque band a little to the left with the normal size one
They choses that thickness as a good overall-wont mess up your clearance on anything else size-
It even says you can stack them on top of each other, and they will MAKE one of a solid piece for you on demand- I think thats for the 600 to 4000 HP club memebers or anyone running under 10 in the 1/4

Are you willing to buy 2 and dyno the results?
As long as you leave the coolant lines hooked to the throttle body...
That keeps ice from forming in the lines on long drives

Juliet

maybe a higher volume of air entering the engine... u could, in theory, increase the gas flow and possibly produce a few more hp's, but i dont see needing more then one.

00 acura tl

looks like a good mod by looking into the diy of orgnlprankster7 im getting everything this winter, install it like in march

universal magnaflow
oe spacers
cai
headers
ur pulleys
tein basic

dnd2984

iTrader: (6)

ok I intalled my Theroblocks couple of months ago. I really dont see any difference. I honestly dont think the one on the throttle body does a thing. If it was larger I think that might help out better.

orgnlprankster7

i dont think its adds much power (3-4 tops) but if DEFINITLY helps on hot days or"spirited driving" when the engine heat would seep into the manifold and cause a signifigant power loss. driving in 85degree weather feels more like 70 now. manifold is nice and cool to the touch.

dnd2984

iTrader: (6)

Yea I read all about the blockers before buying and installing. I really cant tell a differ.

2003TL-S

Well if you really can't tell the difference the other thing you can try is a thermal gasket, and instead of me explaining it, here is the link to the thread about it. This is also from the same guy/company that is making the intake manifold plenum. Click here for thread

My 1/8" thermal gasket is nothing like the outlaw spacer. What outlaw sells is a spacer. What I sell is a thermal gasket. The thermal gasket keeps the intake manifold cooler, by not transferring the direct connection heat from the lower runners or cylinder head to the plenum. The thermal gasket when put in a oven at 450 degrees. All metal in oven is 450, but thermal gasket is around 350. Our gasket stays cooler than metal, so it really helps heat soak.

"Power Rev Racing intake gaskets will help reduce intake air temperatures by removing the direct connection of the intake manifold to the cylinder head. Made out of our proprietary heat dissipating material the P2R thermal intake gasket creates a thermal barrier that isolates power-robbing heat from traveling to your intake manifold through the cylinder head. Less heat soak means cooler air and more consistent power delivery."

fsttyms1

some one should try a set of thermal gaskets and the pilot/mdx/oddysee intake manifold spacer.

01tl4tl

Read the OE site again- the material it is made does not transfer the same amount of heat from the engine to the intake- heating the air inside
The TB spacer is only to shield the TB from the intake manifold heat
They say you can use more than 1 for super heat situations- like if you go on PINKS and want the secret way to stay cool at drag races

The average driver wont notice 6-8hp in general when you already have over 200, thats like flipping the AC on/off
The differance shows on hot days- and in traffic (usually found together) and long trips
Colder air is denser=better combustion
Their test showed cars at drag strip run .1 quicker and 1 mph faster in the 1/4 mile- thats huge!!!!
Your not feeling it- and it being real... are different things

AMGala

iTrader: (4)

Hopefully I'll install my set this weekend

Juliet

even if it doesnt make a noticeable gain in performance, its a good upgrade for increasing the longevity of the engines life. a cooler engine is a happier engine afterall.

Juliet

we installed the spacers and theres a strange problem. when the car is in park, the idle raises and lowers slightly from like 2000 then back down. it didnt do it before the spacer was installed. it aslo has a check engine light on now, so we're not sure whats the deal. any ideas?

orgnlprankster7

Air Idle control valve under the throttle body is most likley clogged and/or bad. happend to me, cleaned it out and solved the problem for a while but ended up just buying a new valve when the probelm came back.

01tl4tl

Vacuum leak= recheck all fittings- see the DIY thread on EGR cleaning and thermoblock install
Very good pics of all the little hoses

The egr ports get plugged so the time to clean them is when the manifold is off the car
Cleaning the IACV is under the throttle body- again something done with it all removed

Juliet

ok after a week of using the spacers, we're encounter a handful of issues. the first is the car sucks up more gas then before, so im not sure if it needs to be adjusted or if thats just the outcome of the mod. the second is the TCS light comes on randomly after 10 minutes of driving. ive been told to try and remove the main fuse for the ecu and leave it out for 30 seconds then reinstall it and it might clear the issues, but i wanna know what the other owners think first

orgnlprankster7

could have damaged a sensor somewhere

acitydweller

to be honest, it appears that the initial benefits witnessed by come from the cleaning of the EGR (which we hardly would do due to the inconvenience of where its situationed).

This spacer is infact a gasket in which the engine is sealed between two components. heat transfer between is negligible in theory due to the proximity of the two components and how hot that area runs during normal operation.

I had considered this modification a week ago and saw the true benefits only in the EGR cleaning. This can be considered maintenance similar to applying seafoam but there are more risks than benefits when using non-oem parts on these motors. If things go bad, the cost of repair more than outweighs the performance benefits imho...

I will use the instructions for the egr cleaning. thanks for that.

Im sorry to read of the problems people are having and thank them for sharing. I hope these get resolved soon without having to undo this mod.

good luck

01tl4tl

you have something hooked up wrong-
these dont hurt the car or make it run funny- a crossed wire will though!

Juliet

theres no crossed wires. i hooked everything up the same way as it was before the install

Snookynibbles

I jumped over here for a hit 'n run off the 3rd gen forums...

Just installed the spacers to my 06 TL and concur that the gains are hard to tell. However, the mfgr dyno's the Gen 2 TL at 8.6 HP gains...gosh, for the money that's a very worthwhile mod.

Our family drives both the '06 TL & an '00 V6 Accord (J30A1), that I've added mods to. Both have AEM CAI. I've done A-B comparisons between the cars after similar spins around town. The TL with the Thermoblock spacers definitely keeps the intake & the CAI tube noticably cooler to the touch than the Accord (without spacers). IMO, it was worth the $$.

01tl4tl

Its really noticable when ambient temps pass 100 and engine is still getting cool air
Drag racers have proven 1/10 quicker and 1 mph faster
Heavy traffic is another time it really helps
Long trips with heat soaked engine compartment ....

Billy Sacco

Word I am all over these but that P2R spacer looks nice.

01tl4tl

Is the other spacer- heat blocker available for gen2 TL?

I thought only newer cars and models -
but I only care about MEEEEEEEE

Billy Sacco

I was talking to Josh and the whole shebang should be available soon for 2nd gen TL.

Juliet

theres a much smoother powerband and throttle response after installing the spacers. the car is much smoother from 60-100mph now and it is signifigantly smoother around 80mph. it consumers more gas now though so be aware of that when installing the spacers.

fsttyms1

Part of the gains from the spacer are due to the added thickness. Some one needs to try the pilot spacer (oem Part)

Plus i dont see how these spacers would fully work. The intake is still connected with bolts. Those bolts absorb heat and will eventually transfer the heat to the IM where its attached to. Eventually the IM will be fully heat soaked from sitting

Snookynibbles

...interesting. I've had mine on for one week now & under certain conditions I want to say it seems to provide a bit more power, however it seems more noticable to me on the low-mid range.

I would not guess that these spacers would rob fuel economy; to the contrary it seems that improved economy would be possible due to improved combustion chamber efficiency. This would allow for a lesser throttle setting to maintain any given speed, hence improved MPGs.

The problem with discussing the improvements from a performance mod that brings rather subtle change is that it taxes our perceptions. One really needs to do a before-after dyno to see the real story. And with spacers, one would benefit from doing before-after dynos when the car is cold & again after it's been running (warmed-up) for a while.

ou sig

exactly - also the IM surface itself soaks up the surrounding heat. I have had my spacers on for a few years now...I really only think they help when the outside temp is below say 50 degrees because the air coming in is cool enough that the IM will not heat up. The car really pulls hard even after 30 minutes of stop and go traffic. I can drive all around town when it is cool out and get home and the IM is still cool to the touch. if I do the same driving when it is hot outside, i cannot even touch the IM because it is so hot from the heat inside the engine bay. and we all know these cars are slugs when it is hot outside - these spacers dont help any then

if these were more than $100 I would say spend your money elseware...IMO

Juliet

for the price, we should have got the headers. theres more noticable gains over the TBS's

01tl4tl

some of us like quiet cars with a little more torque to the left side of the scale
These are a great easy mod- the kind of thing the wife wont notice- but will help a bit in many ways

Gas is going to be 5 bucks a gallon any week now, and you all scoffed when I said this a year ago.
3.64 for 76-91 octane last nite- who knows what it is today!!!
Some parts of the Bay Area are 4.05 for regular~