Folks, I read the post about these Billet Phenolic Spacers saving about 8 rwhp by keeping the intake cooler... Who recommends these over the GSM spacers? What kind of cost are we looking at (can't find them on the Billet website)? Will they cause problems when I EVENTUALLY get a front strut tower brace?
Yea, where are these at? They sounded SUPER hi-tech, some sort of super secret metal-like compound that doesn't require gaskets and are re-usable. Supposed to have way better insulating properties. Last I heard they were waiting ("any day now") on patent pending status for them and or the material. You won't be able to afford them. They would almost certainly not work with the DCsports strut brace since there is less than 1/4"(?) clearance with the stock gasket.
Wow, I knew the brace had to be a tight fit since it says 5.7's have to remove the engine cover, but 1/4 inch? Guess I can take it off my x-mas list. Also waiting for release of the BT spacer...
Mee too....since I should be swapping heads around X-mas time if all goes well...on my car I mean hehe
Huh, everything I've read says the strut tower bar will work with GSM spacers. Its tight, but should fit. Hey Jason, how about you buy the strut tower bar and you can test fit it on my car.
Yes, the GSM Spacer will usually work with the strut bar. There was one case I saw where the guy had to put a spacer under the DC STB, but it was only like about 1/16" thick. Not sure how thick the BT spacer will be.
Well two things. One, a minor redesign and the pat. Here's a little blurb for ya if your interested. http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=85807
Wow, nice comparison, big difference. Noticed that you craftily kept the BT spacer hidden from sight on those pics (darn it). Can you say how thick it is? Also, probably doesn't make any difference to the test results, but I always thought Temp Avg and Temp Raw on the EVIC were ambient air temp readings and not the IAT reading.
Oh ya, top secret ya know. 1/4", just a few thousandths thicker then the phenolic units. Temp avg is ambient and raw is the IAT.
Really? I was always under the impression that Temp raw was the instantaneous reading off the ambient temp sensor and Temp avg was a "smoothed" reading derived from this. Something about a delay mechanism on upward trending temps so that the ambient temp display didn't skyrocket every time you stopped at a red light. I think I read that over on LX forums? [edit] ooohhh... wait a minute. I've always been under the impression that there were 2 temp sensors up front there. One for the IAT and another for the ambient temp. In fact, I think someone told me where the ambient temp sensor was located but I never looked for it. Seems maybe they said it was in some out of sight location? So you're saying there is only 1 temp sensor (IAT) and they derive ambient from it?
Phenolic space cadet What's up with the old reports of oil leaks with the phenolic spacers available back in Spring? Is that still an issue with those spacers in specific, has anyone reported the problem since back in say spring or so when I was reading about them on lxforums? :boat:
Well maybe I'm wrong. But here is what I know and what I've seen. It's my understanding there is one ambient ( the hidden one) and the IAT. Now I know for a fact the IAT unit is the raw reading. I have on the past connected a pot to the IAT wiring to fool the input reading. Now I know that hal looks at both reading and does a comparative calc between the two. For instance, one of the little tricks we used to do is try and fool the IAT sensor into thinking it was colder then it really was so it would advance the timing. Problem was, if the temperture differentual was greater then (I think I remember, need to check) 10 degrees (IAT colder then ambient) good ole hal would toss a whammy back at ya and retard the timing anyhow. Now if you'll notice some of the readings off the EVIC, Raw will take a drastic change in temp once your moving and getting some nice fresh air happening. Also, you can unplug the IAT, but that'll toss a crap load of codes at ya. But hey, if I'm wrong, let me know, it wouldn't be the first time.
The original instructions and phenolic spacer kits did not include gaskets at all. You were supposed to re-use your factory gasket against the head and RTV or gasket-in-a-can against the manifold. The gasket in a can often gave way leading to air leaks, misfires, and oil everywhere. The leading vendor of these spacers now includes gaskets with their spacers, but most of use who got the spacers early on haven't seen our gaskets.
Leaks still exist. But for the most part, everyone has gotten a handle on it. All anyone has to do is pull the manifold and take a look at thier heads, that tends to tell the story pretty good. I know for a fact a local gent who shall remain nameless (unless he would like to step up) just had his manifold yanked and she was a puker.
Sigh...OK....that would be me. I think mine was one of the very first sets of phenolics ever installed. Yep, quite a mess. Replacement spacers, complete with gaskets, have just been installed. We'll be keeping a close eye on 'em.
i have heard that they are waiting on a patent and some minor "tweaking" of the original design. i know i will be getting me some of these when they finally come out!!!!
