V6 Intake Manifold/Throttle Body Mod

From: Shane Craven (shanec@SPIE.org)
Date: Thu Mar 20 2003 - 15:18:11 EST


Hi Everyone!

I have some money coming back from taxes and I want to throw my intake manifold/throttle body modification idea to you guys for any thoughts before I put 'er together...

I have a 92 V6 4x4 with engine mods: K&N FIPK (with cold-air intake), black magic 150 electric fan, Autolite 3923, 180* T-stat, IAT adjuster, and Magnaflow muffler (with 3" cat).

First off, I bought a 97 intake manifold WITHOUT the EGR valve. (I know to leave the wires connected to the egr with the new manifold so the computer doesn't have any problems.) My plan for the intake manifold is to smooth out the runners (not shorten them), smooth out the injector bosses, and shorten the full-length plenum divider by 1.5". I don't want to raise the power band much (I have 3.55 gears), I'm just trying to get more air into the engine. (Hughes Engines website says filling the plenum area creates a stronger vacuum signal to the fuel injection. This stronger signal helps to offset the signal lost to large port throttle bodies.) So, do you think I'll be killing a lot of low-end torque? Or should I take the plenum divider all the way off like the R/T manifolds?

Then to complete my manifold, I want a higher-flowing throttle body. But should I put on a modified TB for $250 or put on a V8 TB for about $100? Hughes Engines website says a V8 TB will flow 633 CFM at 1.5" Hg, and the moded V6 flows 469 CFM (also V8 at 446 CFM and moded V6 at 406 CFM at 10" H2O). So why would I want to pay more for a moded TB that doesn't flow as much as a stock V8 TB? Is the V8 TB too big for the V6? Can the sensors in my current V6 TB fit into a V8 TB from, say, a 1994 Jeep Cherokee 5.2L?

Any guidance/recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time!

Regards,

Shane Craven
Bellingham, WA



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