When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I really think that any sort of a spacer that you're considering is an exercise in futility.
-Will
Ok FIRST try being a little more positive in your responses.
Second the phrase “exercise in futility”. Who cares if someone would like to do it?
My interest if you look was for the MCS aluminum manifold. The spacer being mention would only be between 1/8 to ¼ thick. As a heat barrier between to metal surfaces. So we could get into physics as why this would be helpful but seriously lets not. As far as lengthening the port 1/8 to ¼ come on? I think you really need to re read this post and see that was intended as a question to see about simple thin spacer to act as a thermal device.
But nice info on the other stuff in your response.
So I'm gonna bring this thread back from the dead....
I actually seen these intake spacers on ebay and was wondering their effectiveness. They add a little volume but most importantly they are fiberglass or plastic so that it help prevent heat soaking the intake manifold from the block SUPPOSEDLY...
I know this isn't some big v8 carb engine but the same principles still apply . And my engine is far from stock so I wonder if a spacer would be beneficial in help fighting heat.
I'm curious though how everything would end up lining up with a spacer on. And I wonder whats the maximum thickness we could run before we had fitment issues. I could see even using a spacer as an injection spot for meth too.
anyone running one of these or something similar , chime in plz if so..
I have used spacers with good and even great results on other engines I've put together.
Beside the phenolic one you post the address to, I've also seen a Teflon version of the same thing, a manifold gasket.
How much it would actually help in a combination like this is up for experimentation.
From my many years of experience with American cars and carburetors, yes, they help. But that was a very different mix of parts and the way that they interact.
1. They add volume to the intake tract. How much depends on the thickness, and open vs. 4 hole.
2. They do insulate the carburetor from the heat of the intake manifold. Again, how much depends on the spacers thickness.
With just over .185" (3/16") of thickness, it's debatable how well that it, or the Teflon version would work on the Mini engine. Or would one (Teflon vs. phenolic) work better than the other. I don't see the additional volume that will be added as being of any benefit. Just not enough good OR bad to be able to measure accurately / repeatedly. As far as a heat barrier...yeah, maybe, but I'd see it varrining depending on the situation. Sitting in traffic on a hot day, less. Driving around town, maybe a little more. A trip on the freeway, maybe some. Slower speeds (RPM) vs. higher speeds. At higher RPM's the air is moving too fast to soak up much of the manifolds heat. At lower, but constant RPM's, yeah, could keep the air from heat soaking from the manifolds heat.
WAY...too many variables to test to get a proper, definitive answer on how much, if at all...how much they would help.
Would I change the "gasket"/spacer, just to put the spacer in, no. Would I put one of the spacers in while doing other work and the manifold was removed...yes, I would.
So I have a little experience with these spacers.....but not on a MINI . I'll share anyway. I put a 1" spacer on my wife mustang. It was an HCI car with too many parts to list. I saw a VERY noticeable difference in performance but came to the conclusion it was mostly from the car not pulling timing due to heat soak. This is a V8 with 3.125 times the displacement, a 2 part metal intake that sits directly on top of the engine (heat rises), and the reason I installed it in the first place was to clear the giant valve covers that were required for my overbuilt valvetrain. Without the spacer, once the car was up to temp and driven any length of time the intake would get so hot you couldn't touch it. With the spacer in there the upper still got warm but you could lay your hand on it without getting burned. With the stock setup you could literally feel the car get weaker in stop and go traffic and that didn't happen with the spacer in there. Mustangs are known to dump fuel and pull timing like crazy when they get hot though. I'd be very curious to see the results on a Mini. I think these spacers would do more for an R53 than an R50 though because as has already been mentioned, R53's have a metal intake and the R50 has plastic. Oh and spacers are a great place to install nozzles. Very common place to put Nitrous on a carbed car. If it was thick enough I don't see why you couldn't plumb your meth injection there.
Added a phenolic spacer, which worked well. It was quite thick and the intake manifold was way cooler than before. I see it as a supporting mod, which helps in a small way. Dont expect big gains as a mod on its own, but in combination with other small supporting mods, you might yield bigger benefits.
Volvo S80 2.4T (5 cilinder) / 240BHP
I added a PTFE style spacer for the intake manifold. I havent performed measurements, but I feel that these lack in performance compared to an actual phenolic spacer (as with my Seat).
If I would add one for the Mini, it would be a proper phenolic one and not PTFE.
I guess I should clarify. I did not have a true phenolic spacer, I had the PTFE version. I wasn't as concerned with heat transfer when I bought it as I was the clearance needed to run that intake. It still made a very noticeable difference.
Unlike nd-photo.nl though I don't have professional quality photos and meticulous documentation of that particular project, just a couple crappy cell phone pics that show the gap I was trying to fill and one that barely shows the spacer installed lol.
Thanks for sharing pictures, forums are so much better with pictures supporting the stories!
I create a lot of pictures for my own documentation and hopefully also helping other people in the process. Also it's fun to gaze back every now and then on your old projects
Thanks for sharing pictures, forums are so much better with pictures supporting the stories!
I create a lot of pictures for my own documentation and hopefully also helping other people in the process. Also it's fun to gaze back every now and then on your old projects
No problem man! And I take a ton of pictures too but a lot of them come out terrible and I mostly do it because I have a terrible memory lol. If I can't remember something I can go back and look. I also think forums are more entertaining and informative when there are plenty of pics because I think it's easier to figure out what people are talking about sometimes. Especially on a forum like NAM when there are members from so many different parts of the world. Some things get lost in translation.
I have the PTFE ones I am about to install in the next week or 2. I currently have an extra set of horns and plenum at the machine shop that built my forged short block. I have requested that they "clean" them up and port the plenum to match the PTFE spacers and my BVHead. R53Oliver on IG just did this with good results.
14x years later , I will answer the question.. YES !!!!! THERE IS A SPACER !!!! But I wanna run it on an S .Buuuuuuuuuut CAN we install this spacer or am I correct in thinking once it's installed the intercooler horns or something might be out of line then, no ? If stuff will still stay lined up correctly I'd be willing to try this spacer out ALONG with my sneed4speed manifold in combination with it, the spacer would add even MORE volume aaaaaaaaand create a MUCH better thermal barrier..
THOUGHTS ?????
I'd say, don't bother..!
As for cooling effect, yea, maybe, a tiny amount. The air is moving so fast that the amount of heat transfer is VERY minimal. Spacers were VERY effective when used with carburetors. They helped keep the..."gas"...cooler. They had nothing to do with the air temperature then, as in now. The air moved and still moves too fast to pick up much if any heat. They also made the plenum size larger. This is NOT a problem with todays fuel injected engines.
As far as making the intake tract longer, no, not at all. It's "plenty" long enough as is.
So can anybody verify IF we can run these spacers on a supercharged engine WITHOUT any fitment issues???
I'd be scared the intercooler wouldn't line up once the intake Manifo spaced out..
I have to believe that the slight amount of mismatch caused by the spacer can easily be accommodated by the flex in the intercooler boots. The bypass > intercooler inlet may be a little tougher if still using a hardened rubber OEM coupler. A silicone replacement would tolerate that amount of misalignment.
I have to believe that the slight amount of mismatch caused by the spacer can easily be accommodated by the flex in the intercooler boots. The bypass > intercooler inlet may be a little tougher if still using a hardened rubber OEM coupler. A silicone replacement would tolerate that amount of misalignment.
yes, that's exactly what they do.they help prevent the intake from heating up by providing a thermal barrier between it and the head.. I'm not sure I can run one , I'm running an aftermarket intercooler and it has a tighter fitment between the horns , not nearly as large of a gap like the stock has with oem boots..but if it just changes the angle it sits at , then that'd be OK because I do have longer aftermarket boots AND oem boots so I have a few options..
I think ima gonna order one , it will go great with the watercooled ic I plan on getting soon too..
plus I think I'm going to move my meth injection nozzle out of my driverside ic horn on into my sprintex boost tube under the tbody , it is aluminum so itle tap easily..THAT should help keep everything cool , I'd rather benfit from more cooling rather than higher knock resistance and higher octane rating , I barely use it as is too where I have it as its only useful on 85+'F days..I think having it barely spraying BUT spraying starting at 1psi so it's always cooling ANY time the sc sees boost so it never gets a chance to heat up..
. I'll share anyway. I put a 1" spacer on my wife mustang. It was an HCI car with too many parts to list. I saw a VERY noticeable difference in performance but came to the conclusion it was mostly from the car not pulling timing due to heat soak. This is a V8 with 3.125 times the displacement, a 2 part metal intake that sits directly on top of the engine (heat rises), and the reason I installed it in the first place was to clear the giant valve covers that were required for my overbuilt valvetrain. Without the spacer, once the car was up to temp and driven any length of time the intake would get so hot you couldn't touch it. With the spacer in there the upper still got warm but you could lay your hand on it without getting burned. With the stock setup you could literally feel the car get weaker in stop and go traffic and that didn't happen with the spacer in there. Mustangs are known to dump fuel and pull timing like crazy when they get hot though. I'd be very curious to see the results on a Mini. I think these spacers would do more for an R53 than an R50 though because as has already been mentioned, R53's have a metal intake and the R50 has plastic. Oh and spacers are a great place to install nozzles. Very common place to put Nitrous on a carbed car. If it was thick enough I don't see why you couldn't plumb your meth injection there.
