Anyone have experience with throttle body spacers in Pathfinders?

DaisyDela · Sep 12th, 2007, 02:07 AM

Yes I realize this is my 3rd separate post in 1/2 hour. Thanks for bearing with me.

I've read 300+ reviews of throttle body spacers and most of them are positive. Just wondering if anyone has experimented with them on their own pathfinders.

I put a poweraid throttle body spacer on my 2000 Pathfinder LE (an $88 experiment). I also put a K&N drop in air filter and magnaflow muffler on it, so it's a bit difficult to tell exactly what is making performance differences.

I've only had the vehicle for a month so I don't have a previous mileage history to compare to. The last time I filled up I got 18.8mpg with a combo of hwy/street driving (I drive about 75 or so on the hwy when I can). My worst mileage was 15.7mpg with a bike on the roof over mountain passes and that was before muffler/filter/throttle body spacer. My best mileage so far has been 21.2mpg. I keep a mileage log so those are accurate numbers.

I have 2 questions-
1- does anyone have experience (positive or negative) with throttle body spacers?
2- what sort of baseline mileage should I expect for the '00 Pathfinder? (EPA is 15-19mpg, but what is it really?)

smj999smj · Sep 13th, 2007, 12:45 AM

I don't know of anybody that has used them on the 3.3L, but most that I've talked to that have used them on Toyotas have said they are useless. Most articles I've read on throttle body spacers that have used dynos to test them have show little to no gain.

I'm not a big fan of the K&N filters. They show little to no performance gain on street driven vehicles over paper element filters except at wide open throttle conditions and they let far more dirt into the engine that conventional paper filters. IMO, the best air filter is the genuine Nissan part.

Nissan, unlike some manufacturers, are usually pretty dead on with their rated fuel mileage (EPA rating). Driving conditions and driving style have a lot to do with mileage, obviously. By your own comments, you appear to be mostly in the 15-19mpg range. My 97 HB is rated at 21/25 and that's exactly what I get.

**88pathoffroad** · Sep 15th, 2007, 03:30 PM

AFAIK there is no proof whatsoever that TBS's work or provide any gains whatsoever. The theory is BS, the price is abominable, and the reviews by people who installed one and report more power are questionable at best. Butt dynoes are not reputable.

MTBPATH · Sep 18th, 2007, 12:37 AM

I too would like to know if adding one to a 2005 Path will increase improvement.
any thoughts?
thanks.

smj999smj · Sep 18th, 2007, 01:50 AM

My thought is that it probably won't do much of anything at all and you should probably not waste your money on one.