tooter 2.7 intake manifold spacer...

Gotcha'.

I thought the spacer looked like aluminum, but I misread your finish description as "Stainless, bead blasted"... I didn't recognize the lack of the comma because in my experience, it has simply been referred to as "bead blasted".

 

Stainless steel bead blasting is a relatively new process. I could only find one merchant on the internet who sold the beads in quantities less than 2,000 pounds.

Unlike sand which has jagged edges which roughly imprint the aluminum and which the particles shatter with use, stainless steel beads are round and durable, and the more they are used, the more smooth and polished they become and the smoother better surface they produce without removing any metal. Like tiny ball peen hammers, the beads pummel the surface to a kind of smooth pearly matte surface which normalizes the stresses incurred by forming or machining.

(a combination throttle body base and bellmouth for an experimental manifold I'm designing)



If there are stainless steel beads between an aluminum part sitting on a flat surface, it frictionlessly moves around on it like it is floating on water!

 

Nice.

 

That's a beautiful finish!

 

On nothing else, I'll give you a 99% A+++ rating on the pictures in this thread.

Very well done.

 

I like the attention to detail.

Looking forward to the finished product.

ks

 

The engineers at Origin Design in Santa Monica, California who make my parts are totally responsible for the exquisite detail. All I have is ideas. They're the ones who make them real. I'd be nothing without them.

 

Regardless. +1 for posting them here.

 

Thanks, man.

 

I'm so excited. The spacer design is almost done. Presenting...


TOOTER II.VII





( ta da... )




This pic has the correct logo position facing outwards from the engine.

 

Looks really good!

 

Thanks,
I should have the prototype in my hands in a week. Then I'll figure out what kind of longer bolts to use to install it. There are also two points of attachment at the bottom of the intake manifold that will need 2 inch spacers...



...so I'm thinking of cutting a couple of sections of metal tubing with washers at each end and pass a longer bolt through them.

The Injen intake will simply move along with the new position of the throttle body. I specifically got this intake as it has no relocation issues...

 

Looking for mounting hardware, I couldn't find any M8-1.25x90mm flange head hex bolts so I got M8 threaded studs with matching flange head nuts.






This is going to work better anyway as the spacer and manifold can both hang on the studs and will easily remain in position while bolting them on. That's why the factory puts studs at each end of the intake manifold, for easy assembly.

 

Just a brief update...
The spacer needed an extra long bit to be able to reach deep enough to shape 2 inch thick material. That part comes in today, and cutting on the first tooter II.VII should start tomorrow.
This project began on July 11th, so if everything goes as planned I should have the prototype installed this Sunday the 11th...

...exactly ONE month!

Then comes the fun of driving around to see how it feels, and to let the ECU learn the new operating parameters. After a week or so, next comes a trip to Harry's dyno shop for some runs. I'll have both the baseline dyno run and the tooter II.VII run overlayed on the same graph for easy comparison.

 

I don't even have a 4 banger... Just interested in seeing how you make out.

 

So am I, Homer!

I sure can't claim to have originated the idea, only of following an ordered set of protocols to implement it.

2 inches is a significant change in runner length. It's four times more than the 6 cylinder spacer. If in dyno testing it proves to be too drastic, I can always have one inchers made.

The LCE header already lowered the torque peak from 3,800rpm to 3,300rpm while yielding decent torque gains. So if the spacer could move the peak down to 3,000rpm even with minimal torque gains, that would be just fine. 3,000rpm is 75mph on the freeway which is as fast as I ever go.

By the way, I really respect how you do business here, and am happy for your well deserved success.

Greg

 

Cutting on the first tooter II.VII has begun this evening!...

 

Man, I don't even begin to think that far ahead when I still have no idea if they'll even work. The physical principle is sound, but vague optimistic claims just don't cut it. I need to see some real dyno numbers first, and then decide whether to go ahead or throw in the towel.

There are always other unknowns, such as will the wiring and coolant lines still make it to the relocated throttle body? It's also going to cause issues for all of the cold air boxes, which will require a silicone coupling somewhere along the line to add an extra 2 inches to the length. I'll know more by this Sunday when I should have it in hand, and begin the process of installation.

Greg

 

Let's just wait and see if it works first...

I just don't want to get ahead of myself conjecturing on this, and so I'm taking each step in its proper order:

1. Design
2. Build
3. Test
4. Manufacture
5. Sell

Right now step #2 is almost completed.

I noted that there is a reluctance to dyno test the 6 cylinder spacer now that it is already being sold without ever having been tested. What happens now if it's tested and shows only miniscule gains, or even worse, no gains at all? That carries a potential risk of embarrassment, so that reluctance is totally understandable and it's much better not to test at all. That situation is easily avoided by not doing #5 without first doing #3.

Another situation to avoid is doing #5 before #4. It's better not to take people's money for something that doesn't yet exist and then make them wait a long time before they get it. That's actually a common European business model where advance paid orders are taken before production actually takes place. I'd rather not go down that road either.

Greg

 

The Ports and O ring gasket channels are done...