Coolent goes through throttle body??
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 245
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From: Castro Valley/Sacramento Ca
Coolent goes through throttle body??
I just got my c5 about a week ago and I have been browsing forums and performace websites and I came across a throttle body coolent bypass "kit" (consisted of 2 hose clamps and a pipe). Why did they make the coolent go through the throttle body? There must be a good reason, right?? I'm just confused...
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 120
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It's a contradition in terms.
If I understand things correctly, the coolant is actually routed through the throttle body to aid in cold weather climates, where your car may need some pre-heating to help it run better. Radiator coolant runs hot, so it is suppose to warm up the throttle body.
Using the coolant by-pass to eliminate the stock setup is suppose to allow colder air into the engine, which in return is suppose to generate more power. Cold air means more horsepower.
That being said, the coolant by-pass mod generally doesn't do a lot for the car since air passing through the throttle body is only there for a fraction of a second. The temperature of the throttle body will not have any real impact upon airflow temperature.
If I understand things correctly, the coolant is actually routed through the throttle body to aid in cold weather climates, where your car may need some pre-heating to help it run better. Radiator coolant runs hot, so it is suppose to warm up the throttle body.
Using the coolant by-pass to eliminate the stock setup is suppose to allow colder air into the engine, which in return is suppose to generate more power. Cold air means more horsepower.
That being said, the coolant by-pass mod generally doesn't do a lot for the car since air passing through the throttle body is only there for a fraction of a second. The temperature of the throttle body will not have any real impact upon airflow temperature.
Last edited by Evil_Bob; Jan 16, 2005 at 09:15 PM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 245
Likes: 0
From: Castro Valley/Sacramento Ca
I was just wondering why they did it that way, never seen that before. I wasnt going to buy it anyways. THere was no way i was going to pay 15 bucks for something I could get for 2 at the hardware store. Thanks for the info.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 6,984
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From: Central Coast CA
I think this mod works better on C4's than C5's anyway. And while cold air means more power it also means less gas mileage. Cars get better gas mileage with warm air than cold. So I can't but wonder if routing warm coolant to the throttle body wasn't more for gas mileage numbers. GM does anything they can to keep us from paying the gas guzzler tax.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: small town in S.E Pa. PA
St. Jude Donor '03-'04
Under certain humidity and outside temperature the throttle body has been known to freeze up so the coolant is there to control this potential.
Removing this feature from the car does nothing to increase hp. At 10 cubic feet a second , whatever the ambient temperature is, thats what the air fuel mixture sees. Consider when it is cold outside you car runs better, the difference between 90 F ambient , and 30F ambient is about 8 horse power.. you can feel how healthy you car feels in the winter, because the air is colder thus becoming more dense.
if cooling the throttle body did anything, then a car with 190F coolant running through it in the winter would heat up the air, and you would not be able to feel that 8 horse power, but you can feel it..because the temperature of the throttle body has no effect on the incoming air, whether the TB is hot or cold.
Removing this feature from the car does nothing to increase hp. At 10 cubic feet a second , whatever the ambient temperature is, thats what the air fuel mixture sees. Consider when it is cold outside you car runs better, the difference between 90 F ambient , and 30F ambient is about 8 horse power.. you can feel how healthy you car feels in the winter, because the air is colder thus becoming more dense.
if cooling the throttle body did anything, then a car with 190F coolant running through it in the winter would heat up the air, and you would not be able to feel that 8 horse power, but you can feel it..because the temperature of the throttle body has no effect on the incoming air, whether the TB is hot or cold.
Last edited by Evil-Twin; Jan 16, 2005 at 10:29 PM.
