Does anyone believe the throttle body coolant bypass mod is worthwhile?
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: Monticello, MN
Does anyone believe the throttle body coolant bypass mod is worthwhile? I was debating this, but it is hard for me to believe that the air passing through the throttle body picks up much heat due to the high flow and very short period of time it spends going through it. I am thinking of porting my throttle body and that is the only reason I'm wondering if anyone has had positive, documented, results with this mod. Thanks.
Ed
Ed
I don't think anyone would take the time to do back to back dynos just for this mod. Even if they did, the possible gains would be hard to measure due a couple hp variance between dyno runs. It only costs a couple bucks to do the mod and takes about 10 minutes. If you think it may be worthwhile then just do it.
It's one of those things that probably isn't going to help much, but can't hurt. However it probably gets pretty damn cold in MN, so you may have problems with the TB freezing up/sticking.
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From: Orange Park/ Jacksonville, FL
Originally Posted by C5XTASY
I was debating this, but it is hard for me to believe that the air passing through the throttle body picks up much heat due to the high flow and very short period of time it spends going through it. I am thinking of porting my throttle body and that is the only reason I'm wondering if anyone has had positive, documented, results with this mod. Thanks.
Ed
Ed
Originally Posted by 01formula6
I don't think anyone would take the time to do back to back dynos just for this mod. Even if they did, the possible gains would be hard to measure due a couple hp variance between dyno runs. It only costs a couple bucks to do the mod and takes about 10 minutes. If you think it may be worthwhile then just do it.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 224
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From: Monticello, MN
Originally Posted by LS69TA
It's one of those things that probably isn't going to help much, but can't hurt. However it probably gets pretty damn cold in MN, so you may have problems with the TB freezing up/sticking.
You're right, it does get damn cold here! This winter has been fantastic, though...47 yesterday and 45 today...in January! Anyway, I store the car from late November through about April 1st (or whenever the salt is off the roads), though the temp sometimes snaps back down for a couple of days. Wish I were in Texas like yourself. Thanks for the feedback.
Ed
No problem. Didn't know you stored the car during the winter. I wish I could do mine the same way. The Tx heat sucks though. The weather's been great this winter, so I'm sure we'll suffer even more this summer.
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From: The 'Burgh, PA
Anyone who actually believes that the throttle body bypass mod gives them any performance gains is kidding themselves. I am an engineer, and I can tell you that the air moves much too fast and the coolant is nowhere near hot enough to significantly change the temperature of the incoming air. I would post the equations here, but I think that would be a bit overkill. I guess it’s O.K. to remove it if you want to clean up the engine compartment, or make throttle body removal easier, but to say that this mod gives you any performance gains is laughable. And as for the “it couldn’t hurt” argument, there are lots of things that I can do to my car that couldn’t hurt; I could polish the inside of my oil pan and it couldn’t hurt, but I don’t do it because it’s pointless.
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I agree with Johnny C.I could care less if it has a performance advantages.It doesnt take an engineer to tell those that have done it how much easier it is to take your tb off.Not having to mess with those coolant lines/mess any more.
One thing for sure is that it doesn't hurt...even if it only decreases the intake temperature a few degrees and adds 0.25% horsepower then it was worth it to me. Equations are great, but somtimes the real world results make the equations look stupid. Don't ask me about what I do for a living (hint I have same degree as you).
The throttle body bypass is one of those things that will be debated for many years to come...
The throttle body bypass is one of those things that will be debated for many years to come...
Originally Posted by JohnnyC
Anyone who actually believes that the throttle body bypass mod gives them any performance gains is kidding themselves. I am an engineer, and I can tell you that the air moves much too fast and the coolant is nowhere near hot enough to significantly change the temperature of the incoming air. I would post the equations here, but I think that would be a bit overkill. I guess it’s O.K. to remove it if you want to clean up the engine compartment, or make throttle body removal easier, but to say that this mod gives you any performance gains is laughable. And as for the “it couldn’t hurt” argument, there are lots of things that I can do to my car that couldn’t hurt; I could polish the inside of my oil pan and it couldn’t hurt, but I don’t do it because it’s pointless.
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From: The 'Burgh, PA
That's where the problem lies; it doesn't decrease the air temp a few degrees, and it doesn't add 0.25% H.P. It reduces the air temp 0 degrees and adds 0 H.P. It is a cosmetic mod at best. We don't have to pretend that it improves performance just to make ourselves feel better. Do it if you want the cosmetic benefits, just call it what it really is.
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Originally Posted by JohnnyC
Anyone who actually believes that the throttle body bypass mod gives them any performance gains is kidding themselves. I am an engineer, and I can tell you that the air moves much too fast and the coolant is nowhere near hot enough to significantly change the temperature of the incoming air. I would post the equations here, but I think that would be a bit overkill. I guess it’s O.K. to remove it if you want to clean up the engine compartment, or make throttle body removal easier, but to say that this mod gives you any performance gains is laughable. And as for the “it couldn’t hurt” argument, there are lots of things that I can do to my car that couldn’t hurt; I could polish the inside of my oil pan and it couldn’t hurt, but I don’t do it because it’s pointless.
I guess you could say the conclusions depend on one's definition of 'significant'. On a 75 degree ambient day we saw maximum temperature decreases of less than 10 degrees, which corresponded to a peak power gain of around 2 HP on these cars (~215 WHP with open exhaust). Conclusion: Although the gains are non-zero, anyone who thinks they can feel it with the butt dyno is deluding themselves!
BTW, the purpose of the coolant flow is to prevent throttle freeze-up due to water vapor from EGR gases.
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From: Orange Park/ Jacksonville, FL
Originally Posted by JohnnyC
That's where the problem lies; it doesn't decrease the air temp a few degrees, and it doesn't add 0.25% H.P. It reduces the air temp 0 degrees and adds 0 H.P. It is a cosmetic mod at best. We don't have to pretend that it improves performance just to make ourselves feel better. Do it if you want the cosmetic benefits, just call it what it really is.
I did the by-pass after noticing that it took a long time for the intake tract to cool down between track runs. Not only was the TB very hot to the touch, but so was the intake manifold and the bellows & MAF in front of it (sometimes even the lid). After doing the by-pass, the whole intake tract is much cooler, even after the 20 mile trip to the track. Now I don’t have to wait long before making another pass. It has made a very big difference for me in that respect.
The other reason I did the by-pass was so that my VR Velocity stack wouldn’t melt.
LOL!
The other reason I did the by-pass was so that my VR Velocity stack wouldn’t melt.
LOL! 
