Does anyone have these? were the gains from them noticable or not? are they worht the $95?

 

More trq, thats about it. Not too much though. Worth 100 but not too much more. I should of did a dyno before and after alot of my mods to know exact #'s.

 

yes.
better throttle response mostly, perhaps a slight increase in midrange performance.very noticeable on very hot days. because of when i installed it i can't say if there were any significant gains in colder weather.
worth the $100., and easy to install.

 

who do u purchese this through?

 

.. what he said

 

http://www.outlawengineering.com/index.html

 

Subscribed

 

So what do these 'Spacers' do? I've heard about them but don't know what they do. Can someone inform me?

Thanks

 

from the first page of their website:
What are ThermoBlok spacers and what do they do?

Outlaw Engineering ThermoBlok spacers are thermal insulating replacements for your stock intake manifold and throttlebody gaskets. Made from a heat blocking phenolic laminate, ThermoBlok spacers increase power from your engine by keeping the intake cooler.

Key benefits:

» Produces a cooler intake manifold and intake charge resulting in MORE POWER
» A cooler intake charge also reduces the tendency for
detonation, meaning ignition timing can be advanced for
MORE POWER
» Almost invisible modification, looks stock for the stealth factor
» Better gas mileage
» Replaces stock gaskets
» Reusable over and over
» No undesirable side effects

Want to know more? Go to our "TECH" section.

 

how are the gains from these? and how much do u think install is?

 

Ordered mine Thanks!

 

from further down on the first webpage:
The following dyno plot was taken from a 1994 Ford Probe GT with a 2.5L V-6 engine. The only modification done to the car between runs was the installation of ThermoBlok spacers.

This plot shows an average gain of 5-7 horsepower and 9-11 ft-lbs of torque across the powerband. Each engine and combination of mods reacts slightly differently, but on average, Outlaw Engineering ThermoBlok spacers result in a 3-5% gain across the entire powerband with peaks as high as 10 horsepower and 12 ft-lbs of torque.

install should be less than 2 hours labor.
this is a driveability improvement; it's not always about the horsepower...

 

They work pretty well.

Be prepared to take off a lot of bolts, nuts and hoses, though.

 

It was a real bitch trying to get the stock gaskets off nice and clean. Try to use some carb cleaner and some patience and scrape all that stuff off.

 

I love mine,installed them the same day i installed -pulleys,got all the power at once

 

just ordered my thermoblock too

 

does the speed difference add to the AT's also? cuz i heard from the g35 forums dat a thermoblock spacer wont make a chaneg when added to a automatic car....iunno.....would love to get it done......

 

did anyone have DIY on this mod?

 

They come with very easy to follow instructions. Only took me about 45 mins but my car only had 2000 miles on it so I didn't have to do much cleaning to remove the old gaskets.

 

Is this statement true? Does anyone with an AT w/ the spacers want to chime in?

 

The gain for the AT vs the MT should be the same. The transmission does not determine how the engine reacts to the Mod. You may not be able to feel it as well with a AT vs MT, but there is still a gain. From what some of the other TLers said, it makes it so you can stand to touch the hood during the summer. A cooler air mass will help the car in general. I have not yet done this mod on mine, but did have the Hondata gasket on my Prelude.

This is something that is worth the $100. Quick, easy and straight forward mod.

Jason

 

Works for me on my 5AT

 

Have a set if anyone is looking for them, pm me if interested

 

any info you could possibly want is on their website (including a basic physics and chemistry lesson to explain why and how it all works)... they even have dyno charts for a TL type-S if you look around... mine should be here by... can't wait install them...

minimal gains or not, $100 for a little more push from my engine, coupled with the fact that it can increase the engine's lifespan, makes it well worth it to me... Especially when you consider how something pricier like exhaust or headers won't give you quite as much bang for your buck... installing them is just a step in the process of making your car what you want it to be, but not something that may deserve an entire chapter in the book on the story of your car like when you do bigger mods to it, if that makes sense...

 

man just paid full price for mine!!

 

Ok.....these thermal spacers are not designed to actually add WHP. They block the heat from soaking into the intake manifold, becasue the intake mani is bolted directly to the heads. This heat transfers easily to the manifold heating the manifold up close to 180deg F. This effect is called heatsoak. It causes the engine to loose power due to the increase in IAT(intake air temp). Now, when i say it does not add power, i mean the power your engine would make when it's cold. As most of you know, the colder the air, the denser and more compact the air mass. This obviously adds power. But as the intake manifold and everything else regarding the intake system gets warmer and warmer from the heatsoak(especially when running the engine hard) you loose the power you were making when these intake pieces were cool. These spacers are nothing more than thermal barriers.

I'm actually testing one from Hondata as we speak. It will be cheaper and does the same thing. Hondata has been making intake mani gasket thermal barriers from many many years now for many popular Honda engines.

CJ

 

I had the Hondata version on my Prelude (H22A4). I added it at the same time I did a complete head rebuild.

Allowing for a cooler airmass to enter the engine allows for the timing to be advanced by the ECU in the car, this intern allows the engine to make more power. When the engine is hot and the intake airmass is hot, the engine retards the timing, thus reducing power. This will be more evident during the warmer months of the year.

 

You are somewhat correct, but............

The ECU does advance timing somewhat from the cooler IAT(known as Air Temp Compensation), and this does factor into the equation, but remember this. The IAT sensor is before the intake manifold, therefore, it cannot read whats going on after it. The real reason for the additional power is the cold, dense air. Of course, this cooler charge will cause the engine to run a little leaner, which the ECU will account for by adding fuel to keep the AFR correct.

Also, the reason why the ECU can advance ignition timing in the Air Temp Compensation tables is because the cooler air also raises the detonation threshold. This allows the ignition timing to be advanced, which makes more power and lowers EGT's. In a boosted engine, this(lower IAT's) would also allow for additional boost pressures, but would change the engines take on advanced igntion timing. Usually ignition timing must be retarded with addition of more boost, regardless of IAT.(a little boosted tech thrown in there).

CJ

 

just got my set in. I will hopefully dyno my car first and then install them at a friends shop.

 

cool... let us know what happens... and make sure you pay attention to engine and air temperature... if TeamXRSX is right (and judging by his credentials, he probably is), there wouldn't be a noticable difference until the engine's hot


hey CJ, just trying to get this straight... so with all the compensation the ECU does (A-F Ratio, advanced ignition timing, etc.) there is somewhat of a difference in hp and torque when comparing cars with and without spacers, but how significant of a difference depends on outside air temp, is that kinda what you're getting at?

 

What im saying is this, these spacers allow you to keep the power your engine already naturally makes when it's cold. The main reason for the additional effeciency is the colder, denser intake charge. The minimal ignition advance is only incidental and effects minimal.

Besides, if the ignition timing is too advanced and causes the knock sensor to hear knock, the ECU retards ignition timing a few degrees at a time until the knock is no longer there, then advances it again so long as there is no knock heard by the sensor.

Side note: the knock sensor is just a finely tuned microphone that is tuned to hear the frequencies that knock(detonation/pre-ignition) produces.

CJ

 

seemd right...

 

I'm interested. Email me at mardreracing@hotmail.com

 

Place is about 10 minutes from my house....lol. I tried to buy some from him before by just driving in to get em (being I am just up the road?) and was told that it MUST be mail ordered. Was VERY weird. Wondering if they are anything more than an R&D unit.....and sub the product to be made elsewhere. Not sure really.

Anyway...yes...a bit better throttle response was about all I noticed...worth it though. Definately do it.

 

Does this fit the TL type S??

 

Just put it on my 200 TL type S hybrid and it works great. Still not sure if I should put the one on the manifold that goes to the SC elbow as it makes it line up funny. They say you should do both. Does anyone have the supercharger with both thermal spacers installed?

 

wowowowowowwww such an old ass thread...so how are these holding up after 3+ years of having them on the TL????!

 

since they have no actual purpose besides being there, I am guessing probably look as good as new

 

I have had mine for 5 years. I had my intake manifold off approx 8 months ago while doing some work. The Outlaw spacer still looked like new. The 5 year old Outlaw spacer is still on my car. I have no plans to remove it from the car.

 

I know this is a very old thread but I wanted to throw my $.02 in.....Installed mine day before yesterday along with new NGK Iridium IX plugs (old plugs had 70k).....between the ThermoBlok installation and the new plugs the car runs a lot better....I was surprised as to the acceleration, the smoothness and the feeling for more hp/tqe....I did the whole tamale...cleaned the EGR etc. .... and I took my time......the end result was everything came out just fine.......I have an 02 TL Type S bought new Sept 17,2001......with 70700 miles.....b