aFe throttle body spacer review

So I know this is taboo... but I recently installed an aFe Silver Bullet throttle body spacer. And per others request, I wanted to do this thread for an initial review, and then update it down the road with a long term review. Most people say these spacers are a hoax. The companies that produce them do NOT necessarily claim any horsepower gains (minimal if anything on injected engines)... but the DO claim to improve throttle response and improve air/fuel mixture resulting in slight gains in fuel economy. I won’t be able to vouch for the fuel economy in this initial report, but I will update that information in a couple weeks.

Let’s start with the basics... The vehicle is a 2020 TRD Sport DCSB v6 automatic 4wd with 5k miles. Just FYI, other power mods prior to tb spacer install are as follows... -full K&N intake kit -K&N throttle control module -MBRP shorty 3” exhaust (pre-axle dump). And I always run mid-grade fuel (89 octane).

Install is pretty straight forward. On a scale of 1 thru 10, I would rate it at a 1.5-2. Basically it’s just lifting off the plastic engine cover. Disconnect the intake elbow from the throttle body, and set aside. Remove the 4 bolts holding the throttle body to the manifold. Remove the throttle body. Place the spacer and provided gasket in between the manifold and throttle body... make sure the arrow on the inside of spacer is pointed in the direction of air flow. Then re-install the throttle body to the spacer plate with the 4 extended bolts provided in the kit. Lastly, re-install the intake elbow back onto the throttle body. Simple as that! Total time about 20min.

Initial first impressions. Upon start-up, I noticed nothing. No slight whistles noise like previous spacer mods on other vehicles. Went out with wife running errands yesterday... probably put 100 miles on truck. At a low RPM, still notice nothing. When accelerating it does feel slightly more responsive, not much. And there is a slight whistle around 3100rpm and again you hear it around 5500rpm... when your really into the gas! As far as any actual power gains go, I can’t say. If there is any gain at all, it’s not noticeable.

But again, I did this mod for 3 reasons. First, it’s cheap. I believe retail is like $119. So why not? Second, I wanted to see if I could get improvements in fuel economy via a better air/fuel mixture. Does the vortex really improve MPG? Time will answer that. Again, will update information later on MPG. And the third reason I did it was just simply wishing that I get some type of power gain... weather it’s horsepower (doubtful), throttle response, or even just helping it rev out faster...

Overall... eh. It’s done. And it’s always fun to modify or work on the truck in any way. So I enjoyed the garage time. Was it worth the money? Currently, probably not at this point. UNLESS, the long term yields better fuel economy. Then yes, it will eventually pay for itself. Do I regret buying it? No. I like modifying my vehicles, and this is just that... another mod on the list.

Chime in with any questions or comments. And I will be doing another update in a couple of weeks as far as fuel economy update, and probably another after couple months.

-Cheers!

 

@oostroma

 

So I'm here with my review. Our first stimulus bought my afe throttle body spacer so government sponsored lmao . Anywho so here we go now yes first impression slight improvement , whistles louder combine with k&n intake , I noticed power gains where I needed it mid range got a lil boost and top end little more power . Ok fuel mileage not much but some maybe .5 mpgs. Now gentleman if you take a look at what I have done to my truck far as performance mods I'm able to retain stock mpgs if not slightly better than stock mpgs with rolling 285/75/16 km3's E rated 10 ply tires at 35 psi stock gearing I drive mostly hwy 100+ miles daily Mon. Thru Fri.

 

My butt dyno lol now I would definitely love to throw my truck on a dyno just to see what the heck all this money bought lmao

 

Have you had bad luck with these I replaced the filter with their blackhawk dry filter

 

What’s wrong with k&n?

 

I see, you are one of those guys.

 

I’ve never had any problems with K&N systems. I’ve never had build up in my throttle body either. They are inexpensive, have actual dyno proven gains in up and torque... significant gains, usually 15+ across the spectrum. And they have one of the best warranties out there... like a 1 million mile warranty. Granted, their ram air design may need more maintenance than a sealed filter... especially in high dust environments. But there’s a reason why they’ve been the biggest name for so many years... their stuff just works!

 

You can please the masses... but you’ll still have a few asses!!

 

K&N haters are coming your way now.

 

Sub'd

 

Better duck and cover now I guess... that’s like opening Pandora’s box!!

 

Throttle body spacer's of this type do nothing, but lighten your wallet, and maybe make a bit of a whistle as air rush's through them. They only work when your mixing the fuel directly through them.

 

If they really did anything meaningful you’d see throttle bodies rolling out from factory with an in-built version.

Money probably better spent on fuel ups.

Which to each their own. I don't take claims by the very company selling the product as gospel. Inherent bias and all that.

 

I call it by it's proper name k&n intake there is nothing cold about it wait put a block of dry ice by it fml dude again never had any problems with it I run k&n in everything even their oil filters

 

I had a spacer on my 96 chevy, now maybe it was wishful buttdynoing but I think it made a difference. I'm interested to see the info you gather after a few weeks of driving

 

Just a heads up at 5k your mpg and assessing isn't set in yet