easy t/b spacer mod for 1.6 sohc or any mx3 w/out spacer

[esotericheat65]

-simply find the gasket for your mx3 in your local store or online( i bought and used five... the ones i use were under $5 each)
-purchase some exhaust cement(exhaust cement is what I used since it hardens and is much less vunerable to heat like regular gasket seal/makers and i belive it makes an ok heat resistor which either way is much better than the stock)
-when you put the exhaust cement between the gaskets it gonna get a little messy so be sure you clean the inside of the gaskets after you have compressed the gaskets together tightly i used a vice grip in the shop that i work at CLEAN IT GOOD!!! don't want lose exhaust cement to flake of into your engine.
-let it dry a bit check and clean the inside again then install the out side my be a bit ugly but let it dry and cure a bit with heat then shave/scrape away if needed and clean it up and you know the rest.


its been two months now and no problems for me im always careful when i clean my throttle body with t/b cleaner. There is a small nice gain in the mid rpms for me and somewhat better throttle response.

remeber this was how i chose to tackle this for my car. do it at your own risk and if you have better ideas please tell me!!

[Dark_Rider2k3]

Just wondering.. what is the purpose for a spacer? How are you getting these gains?

[colinsmx3]

Yea I could NEVER understand this at all.... made absolutly NO sence as in how you would get ANY gains...

[Inodoro Pereyra]

A spacer increases the volume of the intake plenum, causing it to resonate at a lower frequency. That resonance causes a sonic shock wave, effectively increasing the air pressure at the entrance of the intake runners, therefore causing a better cylinder filling at that frequency, which increases torque. That doesn't mean it will increase the engine's overall torque. What it actually does is move the torque figure down the RPM range, pretty much the same as an aftermarket exhaust does if properly designed/installed.
That in turn can make it appear like you have a better throttle response, not because of a real improvement in that area, but because the engine can rev up faster because of the higher low end torque.

However, in this case, I don't think a spacer made off a bunch of gaskets (which is bound to be only a few mm thick) can produce any real difference. I think the placebo effect is most likely playing a very important role here...