Throttle body spacers fact or fiction

[Gurjit]

I just ordered stage 2 afe intake for the x5
What are your guys experiences with it?
Power?
Response?
Mpg?

And
What do you guys think of these afe TB spacers?
Fact or fiction?

[racingbmwm3]

Considering the throttle body on the N62 doesn't really do anything...go for it. TB Spacer is meant to speed up air flow. Your infinitely variable length intake manifold already does that.

You could combine the intake, a larger bore throttle body, and software reprogramming to gain 8HP according Dinan. Maybe you'll feel the 2% increase in power, but you'll definitely hear a difference.

[Gurjit]

Originally Posted by racingbmwm3

Considering the throttle body on the N62 doesn't really do anything...go for it. TB Spacer is meant to speed up air flow. Your infinitely variable length intake manifold already does that.

You could combine the intake, a larger bore throttle body, and software reprogramming to gain 8HP according Dinan. Maybe you'll feel the 2% increase in power, but you'll definitely hear a difference.

variable intake doesnt speed up air. it increases or decreases the intake runner length, it makes the air path longer or shorter to the cylinders. longer for low end torque and shorter for high end power

900$ for 8 hp is waste of money, ur looking at 2000$ for a sad increase in power, might aswell save up 10,000$ and get a supercharger kit

Spacer is for air turbulence i just wanna know if its worth it because it advertises 10hp, and for 150$ if it gives 5hp it is more cost effective than a 900$ TB for 8hp

[Brandon002]

The Dinan software does more than just raise HP.

Torque is increased, throttle response is better, governor is removed, rev limiter is raised... their trans software causes faster shifts and gives you full control of the trans, no more delayed downshifts or automatic upshifts due to RPM. It's worth every penny.

Throttle body spacers on an X5 however would be pointless.

[Brandon002]

An APC sticker would give you just as much HP as a throttle body spacer on an X5.

[Gurjit]

Kk tb spacer is fictional junk

A engine and tranny tune would make it better i agree


Thanks for quick feedback, i just hope the 300$ i just dropped on a stage 2afe intake is worth it

[Brandon002]

It won't be, aside from a different sound from the engine.

BMW engineers spent plenty of time tuning the stock intake for great performance. A drop in air filter will net a better gain with a stock appearance and improved sound. Sorry.

[racingbmwm3]

Yes, if you convert your engine to an overhead carburetor the spacer would help.

Unfortunately, your engine has so many variable components designed to extract every bit of power all the time that there isn't much room left for getting more power easily.
You have a highly engineered variable length intake system that adjusts the length of each cylinder's intake runner to match all possible driving conditions to get the most HP and torque possible.
You have variable valve lift, which only allows enough air into the engine to get the optimal fuel-air ratio, which is why the throttle body is only there for traction control purposes.
You have variable valve timing on the intake and exhaust to advance/retard timing for all load/rpm's.
You have the 4.8, which is the HiPo version of the 4.4, BMW already put the bolt-on mods to get the 40HP increase.
Except for a super charger, there aren't really any bolt-ons that will give you any cost justifiable performance increases.

I don't know what the stage 2 AFE kit looks like, but hopefully it has a well sealed compartment to keep the hot engine air out of it like the stock intake did. And make sure not to over oil the filter else you'll foul your MAF sensor. You should definitely hear a nicer intake sound though.

[Gurjit]

Originally Posted by racingbmwm3

Yes, if you convert your engine to an overhead carburetor the spacer would help.

Unfortunately, your engine has so many variable components designed to extract every bit of power all the time that there isn't much room left for getting more power easily.
You have a highly engineered variable length intake system that adjusts the length of each cylinder's intake runner to match all possible driving conditions to get the most HP and torque possible.
You have variable valve lift, which only allows enough air into the engine to get the optimal fuel-air ratio, which is why the throttle body is only there for traction control purposes.
You have variable valve timing on the intake and exhaust to advance/retard timing for all load/rpm's.
You have the 4.8, which is the HiPo version of the 4.4, BMW already put the bolt-on mods to get the 40HP increase.
Except for a super charger, there aren't really any bolt-ons that will give you any cost justifiable performance increases.

I don't know what the stage 2 AFE kit looks like, but hopefully it has a well sealed compartment to keep the hot engine air out of it like the stock intake did. And make sure not to over oil the filter else you'll foul your MAF sensor. You should definitely hear a nicer intake sound though.

the m5 4.9L is only 0.1 litre bigger in displacement but produces 40 more hp than a 4.8L, other than the intake/individual throttle bodies and tune I havnt found any other differences mechanically myself, someone on the forums might know what the difference is, valves? head?

-we will see what happens with the new intake pipe and filter box and cone filter,
-yes the oil will foul the maf, I will leave it in the sun so the oil can dry naturally before installing it
-other than installing a full exhaust system (5000$ headers) big no no

- I see no other option but a supercharger from ess

[Brandon002]

I'm sure the software is tuned differently as well on the IS vs the I models.

If you google them I'm sure you can find all the differences.