Why Should You Install a Performance Throttle Body? Below, Are Our Top 4 Reasons!
Throttle bodies control the amount of air entering the engine. Performance boosts power while maintaining the correct fuel/air ratio. We examine 4 performance throttle bodies’ advantages.
Sitting between your engine’s air filter housing and intake manifold, a throttle body assembly exists for the purpose of controlling how much air enters a fuel-injected engine. Inside the throttle body housing, a butterfly valve (hinged metal plate) determines the airflow rate by rotating open so that more air can pass through when the accelerator pedal is depressed.
As the air flows through a round, tube-shaped section of the housing, information is collected from different sensors and transmitted to the control computer of the engine. These data are then used to calculate an ideal mixture of fuel for air flow.
A performance-oriented throttle body can help your engine create more power than an OE-equivalent throttle body (and who doesn’t like more power?). In this article, we’ll look at 4 ways that any car enthusiast can benefit from performance throttle bodies.
Our Honda/Acura Shifter is now available with free shipping. Click the picture below to direct you towards our exceptional product!
Improved Airflow
A motor is nothing more than a large air pump. Everything else is equal, the more air we can pump, the more power it produces. Performance throttle bodies are constructed with airflow tubes larger in diameter than OEM tubes. This increases airflow, of course. The airflow rating of the throttle bodies is based on the number of cubic feet of air that can pass in a minute (“CFM” for short). When making your selection, use this rating as a gage.
More Power
If you pack more air into your engine, you can burn more fuel, which creates more power. Since the above sensors measure the airflow rate, the engine control computer of the car can take note of this increase and increase the fuel supplied to the pre-combustion chamber. The highest air-to-fuel ratio (14 parts air-to-fuel) producing the most complete combustion is maintained, maximizing power gains.
It’s important to note that if the air-to-fuel ratio should deviate in either direction, loss occurs. For example, pumping more fuel into an engine without a corresponding increase in air would not produce more power -only UN burned fuel going out the exhaust pipes. Likewise, adding air without increasing fuel will cause a “lean” running condition and a noticeable drop in power.
Only if you have made fuel delivery and high – power changes to your vehicle, we recommend choosing the largest size of the throttle body. If you don’t, you’ll add more air than the fuel system can. Gains in power are going to be disappointing. For example, if your vehicle is stocked or “mildly” modified with a cold air intake or cat-back exhaust, increase the size of the OEM slightly.
Improved Throttle Response
When you consider that the throttle body is just a valve, it is easy to understand how the throttle body performs faster. Most car manufacturers measure airflow at peak rpm, and then select the diameter of the throttle body to ensure that 50 percent of the throttle produces 50 percent of the airflow. Its results in a more gradual response that drivers who are NOT interested in performance would value, as they equate smooth drive-ability.
Since the butterfly valve is designed to open at low rpm proportionately wider on a typical performance throttle body, power is created with less delay. When you combine the steeper response rate with the engine’s additional torque, you get a sharper bite at low rpm.
You’ll Get More out Of Other Power Modifications
If you’ve made engine modifications that produce more power through the use of forced air induction (superchargers and turbochargers), the greater airflow ability of a performance throttle body will really do your engine justice. In effect, an engine that has been modified to breathe better will be looking for more air, and a larger throttle body will deliver exactly what these other mods are looking for.
Other changes that can see additional gains from performance throttle bodies include exhaust headers, performance air intakes and even electronic tuners that reflect the timing and delivery of fuel.
