11 replies to this topic

[sreaminbronco]

do throttle body spacers actually work or are they just pieces of crap? And what parts of the engine can be painted i was j/w trying to mkae my truck look awsome.

[EB Bronco]

I just took my throttle body spacer out of my 94. I didn't notice any difference when I put it in, but when I removed it the Bronco is running so much better. I don't down shift at highway speeds nearly as much and my passing gear actually works now. I've got the TBS sitting in the original box in a draw on my workbench now.

Roger

[Justshootme84]

Interesting. I can't say whether or not the spacer helps or not. As for painting engine parts, just remember that some pieces get very hot, so paint may not hold well. Any of the brackets or plastic covers can be painted or dyed, and you can get colored wire looms to dress things up a bit, too.

[BK85]

You can use high heat engine paint that won't come off. Years ago I painted the entire block and heads of my 63 Vette black so it would look better with my alloy valve covers and FI. It was still on solid after 5 years. We also used to paint the engines on our MX Motercycles black because it was suppose to dissipate heat better. That was the same paint, bought at Pep Boys, and was on for the life of the bikes. So paint anything metal any color you want, but by the high heat engine paint.

BK85

[Iamnottelling]

I also have the throttle body spacer and have not seen a positive difference. I had thought that there was no chance of it actually hurting the performance but after reading what EB had to say I will be taking it out ad soon as I get home. I defiantly had calculated a loss of gas mileage (I am an engineer so I actually chart my mileage in Excel with points of change noted).

[sreaminbronco]

So is there any real way to turn up the fuel mileage? I know broncos werent made for fuel efficiency but pretty soon im gonna be driving like 45 miles everyday too and from work and i dont want to waste alot of money on gas. So how can i make the gas mileage go up? And is there any preperation i need to do to the metal befor i paint it? How do you clean the metal befor you paint it?

[Justshootme84]

Keeping the engine tuned and the filters clean will get you the best mileage. You can replace the stock air cleaner housing with a K&N-type or even just a K&N filter to get a mile or two per gallon more.

IF you can remove the parts you want to paint, that is the easiest and cleanest way to go, so you don't have to tape up or cover anything. Clean the parts of any grease or oil, and sand with some 200 -grit if you want a smooth finish. The high-temp engine paint someone suggested is a good idea for valve covers and such.

[EB Bronco]

I took the stock air box out and replaced it with a K&N and also opened up the exhaust with a flowmaster and dual pipes. I might have gained 3 or 4 mpg. I was hoping the throttle body spacer would have added to my fuel savings, but it didn't and it actually cost me performance at higher speeds.

Roger

[Broncoholics]

If you need extra gas milage in a 4x4 you better get the wax out.

[sreaminbronco]

I was thinking of redoing my whole ingnition system with MSD and changing all of the intake to like the k&n FIPK, BBK throttle body, and a weilan intake manifold does that sound ok? Any suggestios? I was talking to a guy at the local muffler shop the other day and he said you gotta put dump headers to fit around the tranny and that it wouldnt make any difference cause we wanted to go from headers back for the exhaust but i think that it will give it less restriction and make it alot easier to run.

[EB Bronco]

I plan on running headers on my Bronco eventually for less restriction , but you can have too much flow also which will affect your low end torque. You have to maintain some backpressure. I'm planning on running headers with either dual 2" pipe all the way out or routing factory style off the headers with a Y pipe and single 3" exhaust. High flow cats will also help with air restriction.

Roger

[Broncoholics]

This might sound foolish but that gimic "Hurricane" dealybob that goes in your air filter for carbs & or in the air intake tubes for EFI seems to actually work for my buddy. He claimed his pulling rig had more power and used less gas after he added one. Seems odd to me that the swirling action of air into the carb or intake would make much difference but I guess it does.

I did the MSD Ignition. I like it because it gives a strong spark, has a built in rev limiter and you can adjust the timming inside the cab while driving depending on conditions and when you need power VS gas milage.