BDoty311

I would like someone set the record straight on the mods that get thrown around on this forum. TB mod, is it worth it? How about the electric fan? or even wiring open the 5th and 6th ports on a free flowing exhaust. Underdrive pulleys? I would just like to know the facts on these things from people that have done them. I'm not trying to be an ***, but I would really just want to know if these mods are worth it.

~Brian

bcty

TB yes... do a search to find out benefits etc...
Electric fan... not to big of a diffrence... more preference
Ports... you may need to if u have a wide open exhaust.. Some people said that they loose bottom end but i never lost anything and yes mine were working

Felix Wankel

I only put the e-fan on my car to get more room in the engine bay...

BDoty311

Right now I am running pacesetter headers,gutted cats, and 2 1/2-3" mufflers. Should I wire open my ports??

LT1-10AE

I've had all of the mods done to my car with the exception of pulleys

TB Mod - Worth every second of the thirty minutes it takes to do. Along with the power increase, my fuel mileage went up about 3MPG on the highway. Only do it if you don't mind feathering the throttle for a minute or two until it warms up. With this mod done, the car won't idle until it's warmed up.

Electric Fan - Was already done to the car when I got it, but I replaced it with a 16" SPAL fan. Only do this if you invest in a GOOD fan. My only recommendations for this is either SPAL, or a Fiero fan. They both flow about the same, but the Fiero fan is very quiet where the SPAL is VERY loud!

5/6 ports - With a full exhaust, wire them open. You can remove the airpump and related crap while you're doing it. When mine were working, I wired them open just to see the difference, and yes, there was a "seat of the pants" improvement with them wired open vs. working normally.

Pulleys - I haven't had any experience with underdrive pulleys, the cost vs. advertised gains just isn't enough to make me buy a set. I have heard good things about them from others though.

If you're just looking to make your car fast in a straight line, then you're on the right track. If you want to have a car that's fast and handles like it's on rails, take care of the suspension (bushings, springs, shocks, adj. camber link, swaybars) and brakes first (TII brakes, Hawk pads, etc.)

SpeedRacer

There is NO HP or "seat of the pants" improvement to be had by wiring opening your aux. ports. The only exception to this is if your aux. ports were not functioning properly in the first place. Wiring open your aux. ports will DECREASE low-end torque and your upper end will remain the same as before with NO improvement. Now I'm not saying there are not advantages to wiring open your aux. ports, as mine are currently wired open. Wiring open your 6-ports(and VDI on S5 engines) allows you to remove your airpump and ACV. This helps get rid of unwanted weight and gives you tons more room in your engine compartment. It also gets rid of the airpump belt which is just robbing your rear wheels of HP.

BDoty311

Thanks for the info Sledge. I don't like the idea of getting the engine warmed up when I start it because I already have to do it now and I dont want to make it worse.

BDoty311

How much weight would I lose if I removed my airpump and ACV. What does "ACV" stand for??

LT1-10AE

True. What I was thinking and what I was typing didn't match

With a full exhaust (testpipe, N1), wiring the 5/6 ports open or closed had no effect on bottom end power. With them wired open, vs. working normally, wired open was stronger across the board. I have a hunch they were opening very slowly and weren't fully open until redline.

With them wired open, you could feel the (rather violent) power increase at around 4500RPM and get progressively stronger across the board.

With them operating as they were, the power came on around 6000RPM, and wasn't near as pronounced as being directly wired open.

LT1-10AE

It's been a while since I've held one (as soon as I see one on a car, it gets ripped off and sent to the trash), but I'd guesstimate you're looking at about 10-12 lbs including the bracket.

ACV is your Air Control Valve.

Icemark

You have confused the VDI operation with the 5th/6th port operation.

What you describe is only the VDI not the 5th\6th ports.

As Speed said, there is no advantage to wiring them open, other than if they were broke or not working anyway.

Now removing them entirely or replaceing them with the pineapple type there is a slight advantage.

awitte

Please define 'TB Mod'.... There's a 3-letter minimum on the search.

Thanks,
A/.

No7Yet

awitte: There's a thread about a page back that has a bunch of info - just look around a bit, okay? It's near.

Brandon

LT1-10AE

Dammit. I'm not going to write a book on every move I made under the hood during my procedures. What you are ASSUMING is that I'm confusing 5/6 ports and VDI. That, sir, is not the case. And try quoting the whole message as well. You missed the part where I suspected mine weren't functioning properly.

You know nothing about my abilities nor my car, so please don't make judgements like the post above.

Remember what happens when you remove the airpump and wire the ports open/closed? You LOSE the VDI unless you do something about it. The air pump operates the VDI.

Let me spell out how I went through the procedure:
Remove the air pump.
Remove the 5/6 port pots.
Wire them closed.
Drive.
Wire them open.
Drive.

Now, tell me, when does the VDI operate in this procedure? It doesn't, and never will!

That is what I'm basing my previous posts on. I purposely left the VDI in it's "at rest" state to see the difference open vs. closed 5/6 ports on *MY* car. There was no difference in bottom end torque, yet with them open, the car pulled violently from 4500 and up.

The same procedure with the VDI yielded even stronger results.

I now know why I frequent the mailing lists and only rarely post on the forum: The people on the mailing lists expect others to have knowledge.

"All he asked for was what time it was...not how to build a watch"

No7Yet

As an addendum to Brian's post, c.f. Ted's "peanut gallery" comment.

Brandon

LT1-10AE

Better than a definition, how about a link to the howto?

http://fc3s-pro.com/TECH/HOWTO/TBM/tbm.html

Barwick

I assume you know this, and I'm sure you did it, but you do know to leave the fan shroud in there, correct? Just removed the fan on the engine side I'm guessing? Otherwise messed up airflow problems can occur, and overheating, and.. yeah.

Barwick

I'd be more concerned with the extra space you'll have in the engine bay. All the accessories take up a lot of extra space in there. As for weight, I'd probably guess you'd lose maybe ten pounds, by pulling out the air pump and its mounting brackets, as well as that split air pipe thingey.

Icemark

Sorry to get your panties in a bunch, but your description, no matter how much you think otherwise sounds like the VDI is wired in the upper RPM position.

If you have a problem with that I am indeed sorry, but IMO it is not related to the 5th/6th ports and to suggest that it is will only confuse the kid in the first place.

lets make it realy simple... Is your VDI wired into the high RPM position??? And would you after your rant even give the honest answer?

LT1-10AE

Okay. You've now confirmed it. You are an idiot.

Did you even bother to read my post you quoted?

Where you inserted BLAH BLAH BLAH, is where I talked about what position the VDI was in during the procedure. If you will take a couple of seconds and read it, it will answer your question.

Before you make another hair-brained post, make sure you have read everything so you don't miss anything.

LT1-10AE

Oh yeah, and if you're dense enough to challenge me and don't know what position "at rest" is, then I'll fill you in: It's the low-RPM position.

Icemark

Okay I'll point out your post:

You posted:
Which has nothing in it about the VDI operation other than you say its not working, because you removed the air pump.

When did i say anything about the air pump controlling the VDI. It sounds like you don't even know what you did?

If the VDI is not working it is either in the Low RPM position or the High RPM position.

In the high position you would have increased power and pull from about 4500/5000 RPM up because of the better airflow though the intake manifold and intake ports on the motor VS the VDI in the low RPM position.

Its a valve? fine if you have it not working as it shoul, that is your choice, but if it is not working it is either sitting in the low RPM position (which would have minimal effect on the 5th/6th ports intake tracts) or in the high position with has major effect above 5000 RPM on air flow through the intake and 5th/6th ports.

And your name calling and poor attitude doesn't help anyone understand where you are coming from or how you reached your conclusions.

Icemark

And despite your rage and high blood pressure I am not challenging you in any matter.

And at rest means nothing... if you wired your 5th/6th open you could easily wired the VDI high.

im4u

i cant believe ur running pacesetters on a rx7 hahahhaa

No7Yet

I can't believe that you're lame enough to a) claim to own a 3rd-gen when you probably don't and hang out on the 2nd-gen forum, b) not be able to form a complete sentence, much less use punctuation or spell "you're" correctly, and c) ridicule someone for their choice of hardware, when often money is the deciding factor, not how "cool" they'd appear to some illiterate 12-year-old.

Now f*ck off.

Brandon