I got asked this question ,
"I was wondering what one of these new Super Sucker carb spacers would bring compared to a regular 4 hole spacer."
Ill say right off that I have not used one of those super sucker spacers, personally, but I have seen several used, on cars and I have used very similar carb spacers many times,and worked on cars with them installed.
carburetor spacers are used to either increase plenum volume or increase the distance from the carburetor venturies to the intake runner entrance's or too reduce the angle the airflow must make as it enters the intake runners from the plenum,or a combination of those factors.
the open center style are generally used on single plane, common plenum intakes while the four hole designs are generally used on the dual plane intake designs to try to increase the distance and lessen the angle from the carb base to the intake runner entrances below the carb,in an effort to smooth flow in the dual planes twin plenums without significantly reducing the low speed responsiveness
adding plenum volume tends to increase the upper rpm air flow rates and power , at the cost of a bit of low rpm crispness in throttle response, but that's not always true.while you can generally see the difference on a dyno test run, you may or may not be able to feel the difference from the drivers seat, but the use of a couple different spacers is almost always worth testing if you have the required hood to air cleaner clearance simply because gains of 5-15 hp are not UN-common when the proper spacer is used. yeah its amazing how often I get guys, in the shop with big plans,
who want to buy and install a new cam,or better heads etc.
and, you ask questions and you find they are clueless,
on how to correctly tune the current engine they have,
or there is obvious several badly mis-matched parts, that have been installed.
or currently badly adjusted or defective parts, and like you will frequently find,,
as a result, there is frequently a great deal of potential power found ,
in properly tuning most cars that the current owners leave on the table ,
simply because they don,t understand the current combos potential,
and think the only possible route to better power is installing new parts.
its almost always a good idea to blend the spacer edge to the intake plenum,to reduce potential turbulence,an edge might induce in the plenum, and in my experience its been rare for a 1" spacer on a single plane intake to give as much benefits as a 2" if you have the hood clearance id suggest testing the 2" version if you need more plenum volume, but since your increasing the plenum volume , if you add a spacer under the carb and changing the path of the air flow into the runners,you can be sure the carb jetting, power valves and /or accelerator pump or pump cam will need to be changed to compensate for that increased air in the plenum, to maintain the correct fuel/air ratio., so don,t just slap on the spacer and expect its operating at its true potential, its almost sure to require some re-tuning to maximize its efficiency.
If your curious if a divided spacer vs a common one open plenum spacer is the best choice on your particular engine the answer to that question correctly I'd point out that the,
"spacer design you select, its height and volume has an effect on how the change the spacer provides to the original intakes plenum air flow will effect the engines performance"
what a spacer does is add both distance from the carbs base to the plenum floor and extra volume to the area of the intake manifolds plenum(s) (in the case of a dual plane split plenum) adding distance and volume tends to allow a smoother more gradual change in direction to the air flow volume, this tends to allow higher engine air flow to effectively enter the individual intake runner passages thus potentially raising engine rpm.
on a dual plane intake keeping the two sides isolated tends to keep the low and mid rpm throttle response crisp, at the cost of a small amount of potential flow increase that a common open spacer would allow. keeping the two plenums separate on a dual plane intake manifold plenum,will in theory retain the low and mid rpm throttle response and the spacer added volume may add some extra rpm potential, use of an open common plenum spacer should gain more peak power at the cost of some lower rpm crispness especially at part throttle acceleration , but you may need a dyno to see the difference as changes of 5-7 hp are common all though larger changes are not at all rare
fuel droplets tend to stay suspended in the air flow best when there's few abrupt changes in direction, (one reason the dual carb tunnel ram intakes tend to perform very well in the higher rpm ranges)
simply because its nearly a strait line from carb base to inlet valve in the engine.
while the open common spacer may gain you a bit more rpm, it tends to cost you a bit of off idle and low speed responsiveness, but the displacement, cam timing, compression, exhaust scavenging and intake design all effect results so realistically testing is the only way to find out for sure!
This is a pipemax output for a 500 cuin 1400hp pro stock engine.
Minimum Plenum Volume CC = 1805.5 [typically for Single-Plane Intakes]
Minimum Plenum Volume CID= 110.2 [typically for Single-Plane Intakes]
Maximum Plenum Volume CC = 8188.0 [typically for Tunnel Ram Intakes]
Maximum Plenum Volume CID= 499.7 [typically for Tunnel Ram Intakes]
This one is for a 362 cuin SBC Super Stock.
Minimum Plenum Volume CC = 998.5 [typically for Single-Plane Intakes]
Minimum Plenum Volume CID= 60.9 [typically for Single-Plane Intakes]
Maximum Plenum Volume CC = 5942.9 [typically for Tunnel Ram Intakes]
Maximum Plenum Volume CID= 362.7 [typically for Tunnel Ram Intakes]
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/carb-intake-test.58/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/modifying-a-phenolic-carb-spacer.12342/
look closely, at the super sucker spacers, they are NOT a true 4 hole design,like this
spacers on DUAL PLANE intakes usually have 4 individual holes feeding from the carb venturies or throttle bores, the dual plane intake design is meant to limit each group of cylinders plenum volume to maintain high air flow speeds that help lower rpm torque and hold fuel droplets in suspension, OPEN spacers are generally used on single plane intakes designs with a common plenum feeding all intake runners, this allows each intake runner to draw from 4 vs two throttle bores thus effectively allowing a carb rated at a certain value IE 750 CFM or 850 CFM to more efficiently feed all the intake runners, from the common plenum, but this reduces lower rpm air flow speeds
be aware that the holley carbs generally take the larger bolt pattern compared to the early carter carbs like those used on the 1957 vette with dual quads, (RED HOLES)and many carter carbs have a dual bolt pattern
that maintains isolated plenum feed from each side of the carb.
they are a MODIFIED open plenum design, like this
that will have a similar effect to this
in that the dual plenums are linked under the spacer,they appear to be designed to add plenum volume to a single plane intakes plenum, and smooth the air flow transition from carb to plenum, so that will have a similar effect to this[/b]
they seem to have an anti reversion design to limit reverse flow from the plenum which can be useful.
phenolic spacers work well just don,t get the cheap plastic knock off versions that warp and leak, and be aware that the dual plane intakes tend to work best with the 1"and 2" four hole designs but single planes tend to work best with the larger single open plenum designs
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1404/
http://store.summitracing.com/parts/edl ... dia/images
extended divider carb spacer
HEAT BARRIER TYPE SPACER
if your having heat issues like carbs with fuel boiling from engine heat in the intake,a aluminum and gasket heat barrier plus, like the one below with a 1" phenolic spacer placed above it will usually reduce heat transfer rates significantly, as the heats transferred to the engine compartment air before it can get thru the layered barriers
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mr-Gasket/720/371 ... tId=743789
I prefer the standard spacer designs,but in some applications you might see gains from that anti reversion lower spacer design.
many of the newer guys will not have done that spacer swap, and its a tuning aid, that can help some applications
Ill also add that if you have the room under the hood, adding a second phenolic 4-hole 1/2" tall carb insulator or swapping to a 1" or even a 2"phenolic 4-hole spacer may further improve the carb cooling and may help the fuel atomization slightly, but the correct spacer must be matched to the style of intake manifold.
increasing plenum volume in the intake with a spacer tends to make the engine run as if the carburetor your using is slightly larger than it will without the spacer,generally reducing the upper rpm powers curve and slightly reducing the low rpm torque , but each application will have slightly different trade offs, sometimes the gains far out weight the losses
the object is to increase the plenum volume and effectively reduce the abrupt angle change the airflow leaving the carburetor venturies must make to enter the intake runners, because reducing the abrupt angle change tends to reduce fuel, droplets from falling out of the intake runner air flow and puddling in the plenum floor area
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=708&prmenbr=361
even back in the early 1960s they were well aware that long intake runners on race engines provided a significant inertial ram tuning benefit that increased mid range torque
look closely at the carb base mount area
READ LINKS
http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/additional-tech/0906chp-carburetor-spacer-buyers-guide/
http://www.badasscars.com/index.cfm...ct_id=425/category_id=13/mode=prod/prd425.htm
http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/0601phr-best-carb-spacers-cheap-horsepower/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ads-tuned-intake-turbulence.12998/#post-67611
http://www.summitracing.com/expertadviceandnews/professoroverdrive/answer/485
http://www.jomarperformance.com/spacers.php
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/modifying-a-phenolic-carb-spacer.12342/
"I was wondering what one of these new Super Sucker carb spacers would bring compared to a regular 4 hole spacer."
Ill say right off that I have not used one of those super sucker spacers, personally, but I have seen several used, on cars and I have used very similar carb spacers many times,and worked on cars with them installed.
the open center style are generally used on single plane, common plenum intakes while the four hole designs are generally used on the dual plane intake designs to try to increase the distance and lessen the angle from the carb base to the intake runner entrances below the carb,in an effort to smooth flow in the dual planes twin plenums without significantly reducing the low speed responsiveness
adding plenum volume tends to increase the upper rpm air flow rates and power , at the cost of a bit of low rpm crispness in throttle response, but that's not always true.while you can generally see the difference on a dyno test run, you may or may not be able to feel the difference from the drivers seat, but the use of a couple different spacers is almost always worth testing if you have the required hood to air cleaner clearance simply because gains of 5-15 hp are not UN-common when the proper spacer is used. yeah its amazing how often I get guys, in the shop with big plans,
who want to buy and install a new cam,or better heads etc.
and, you ask questions and you find they are clueless,
on how to correctly tune the current engine they have,
or there is obvious several badly mis-matched parts, that have been installed.
or currently badly adjusted or defective parts, and like you will frequently find,,
as a result, there is frequently a great deal of potential power found ,
in properly tuning most cars that the current owners leave on the table ,
simply because they don,t understand the current combos potential,
and think the only possible route to better power is installing new parts.
its almost always a good idea to blend the spacer edge to the intake plenum,to reduce potential turbulence,an edge might induce in the plenum, and in my experience its been rare for a 1" spacer on a single plane intake to give as much benefits as a 2" if you have the hood clearance id suggest testing the 2" version if you need more plenum volume, but since your increasing the plenum volume , if you add a spacer under the carb and changing the path of the air flow into the runners,you can be sure the carb jetting, power valves and /or accelerator pump or pump cam will need to be changed to compensate for that increased air in the plenum, to maintain the correct fuel/air ratio., so don,t just slap on the spacer and expect its operating at its true potential, its almost sure to require some re-tuning to maximize its efficiency.
If your curious if a divided spacer vs a common one open plenum spacer is the best choice on your particular engine the answer to that question correctly I'd point out that the,
"spacer design you select, its height and volume has an effect on how the change the spacer provides to the original intakes plenum air flow will effect the engines performance"
what a spacer does is add both distance from the carbs base to the plenum floor and extra volume to the area of the intake manifolds plenum(s) (in the case of a dual plane split plenum) adding distance and volume tends to allow a smoother more gradual change in direction to the air flow volume, this tends to allow higher engine air flow to effectively enter the individual intake runner passages thus potentially raising engine rpm.
on a dual plane intake keeping the two sides isolated tends to keep the low and mid rpm throttle response crisp, at the cost of a small amount of potential flow increase that a common open spacer would allow. keeping the two plenums separate on a dual plane intake manifold plenum,will in theory retain the low and mid rpm throttle response and the spacer added volume may add some extra rpm potential, use of an open common plenum spacer should gain more peak power at the cost of some lower rpm crispness especially at part throttle acceleration , but you may need a dyno to see the difference as changes of 5-7 hp are common all though larger changes are not at all rare
fuel droplets tend to stay suspended in the air flow best when there's few abrupt changes in direction, (one reason the dual carb tunnel ram intakes tend to perform very well in the higher rpm ranges)
simply because its nearly a strait line from carb base to inlet valve in the engine.
while the open common spacer may gain you a bit more rpm, it tends to cost you a bit of off idle and low speed responsiveness, but the displacement, cam timing, compression, exhaust scavenging and intake design all effect results so realistically testing is the only way to find out for sure!
This is a pipemax output for a 500 cuin 1400hp pro stock engine.
Minimum Plenum Volume CC = 1805.5 [typically for Single-Plane Intakes]
Minimum Plenum Volume CID= 110.2 [typically for Single-Plane Intakes]
Maximum Plenum Volume CC = 8188.0 [typically for Tunnel Ram Intakes]
Maximum Plenum Volume CID= 499.7 [typically for Tunnel Ram Intakes]
This one is for a 362 cuin SBC Super Stock.
Minimum Plenum Volume CC = 998.5 [typically for Single-Plane Intakes]
Minimum Plenum Volume CID= 60.9 [typically for Single-Plane Intakes]
Maximum Plenum Volume CC = 5942.9 [typically for Tunnel Ram Intakes]
Maximum Plenum Volume CID= 362.7 [typically for Tunnel Ram Intakes]
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/carb-intake-test.58/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/modifying-a-phenolic-carb-spacer.12342/
look closely, at the super sucker spacers, they are NOT a true 4 hole design,like this
spacers on DUAL PLANE intakes usually have 4 individual holes feeding from the carb venturies or throttle bores, the dual plane intake design is meant to limit each group of cylinders plenum volume to maintain high air flow speeds that help lower rpm torque and hold fuel droplets in suspension, OPEN spacers are generally used on single plane intakes designs with a common plenum feeding all intake runners, this allows each intake runner to draw from 4 vs two throttle bores thus effectively allowing a carb rated at a certain value IE 750 CFM or 850 CFM to more efficiently feed all the intake runners, from the common plenum, but this reduces lower rpm air flow speeds
be aware that the holley carbs generally take the larger bolt pattern compared to the early carter carbs like those used on the 1957 vette with dual quads, (RED HOLES)and many carter carbs have a dual bolt pattern
that maintains isolated plenum feed from each side of the carb.
they are a MODIFIED open plenum design, like this
that will have a similar effect to this
in that the dual plenums are linked under the spacer,they appear to be designed to add plenum volume to a single plane intakes plenum, and smooth the air flow transition from carb to plenum, so that will have a similar effect to this[/b]
they seem to have an anti reversion design to limit reverse flow from the plenum which can be useful.
phenolic spacers work well just don,t get the cheap plastic knock off versions that warp and leak, and be aware that the dual plane intakes tend to work best with the 1"and 2" four hole designs but single planes tend to work best with the larger single open plenum designs
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-G1404/
http://store.summitracing.com/parts/edl ... dia/images
extended divider carb spacer
HEAT BARRIER TYPE SPACER
if your having heat issues like carbs with fuel boiling from engine heat in the intake,a aluminum and gasket heat barrier plus, like the one below with a 1" phenolic spacer placed above it will usually reduce heat transfer rates significantly, as the heats transferred to the engine compartment air before it can get thru the layered barriers
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mr-Gasket/720/371 ... tId=743789
I prefer the standard spacer designs,but in some applications you might see gains from that anti reversion lower spacer design.
many of the newer guys will not have done that spacer swap, and its a tuning aid, that can help some applications
Ill also add that if you have the room under the hood, adding a second phenolic 4-hole 1/2" tall carb insulator or swapping to a 1" or even a 2"phenolic 4-hole spacer may further improve the carb cooling and may help the fuel atomization slightly, but the correct spacer must be matched to the style of intake manifold.
increasing plenum volume in the intake with a spacer tends to make the engine run as if the carburetor your using is slightly larger than it will without the spacer,generally reducing the upper rpm powers curve and slightly reducing the low rpm torque , but each application will have slightly different trade offs, sometimes the gains far out weight the losses
the object is to increase the plenum volume and effectively reduce the abrupt angle change the airflow leaving the carburetor venturies must make to enter the intake runners, because reducing the abrupt angle change tends to reduce fuel, droplets from falling out of the intake runner air flow and puddling in the plenum floor area
http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=708&prmenbr=361
even back in the early 1960s they were well aware that long intake runners on race engines provided a significant inertial ram tuning benefit that increased mid range torque
look closely at the carb base mount area
READ LINKS
http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/additional-tech/0906chp-carburetor-spacer-buyers-guide/
http://www.badasscars.com/index.cfm...ct_id=425/category_id=13/mode=prod/prd425.htm
http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/0601phr-best-carb-spacers-cheap-horsepower/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ads-tuned-intake-turbulence.12998/#post-67611
http://www.summitracing.com/expertadviceandnews/professoroverdrive/answer/485
http://www.jomarperformance.com/spacers.php
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/modifying-a-phenolic-carb-spacer.12342/
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