http://www.outlawengineering.com/index.html

Check out the thermoblock spacers, pretty cool idea (not an intended pun).

 

Yeah, I have heard about those. I sure hope they aren't right up there with these.

 

Oh no!! Not the power toilet!

 

Now you will get 6 power toilets in one!

 

I wouldn't think so, the logic behind it seems legit. It cools intake temperates by adding an insulator between the engine and the intake manifold, not so much a spacer. This way the heat from the engine is not transfered through metals to the manifold.

 

I wonder how much cooler it keeps the manifold though. You still have bolts that the manifold is attached with, and with heat rising up from the engine with our manifolds being right over the engine... I think it's going to depends on the application. One like a Honda Civic with the intake manifold hanging off to one side of the engine might benefit from being insulated, but I don't think we're going to benefit too much from a mod like this. Our engine compartment is sort of cramped, and the placement of the manifold doesn't seem like it would benefit too much from this. That's just my opinion though.

 

I dunno. They do have some V-6 applications and I could ask them how much of a difference they saw there.

 

I know no one really seems to be interested in this, but I emailed them.


-----------------------------------------------
We generally request 20 firm commitments prior to the design, prototyping, and production of a new performance part. Pricing for a set, including intake manifold and throttle body insulators along with necessary hardware such as lengthened studs would be in the $100 range.
To prototype a new set, we generally prefer to have acces to a full vehicle. This will allow us to investigate fit-up issues and to do a before and after dyno test to asses performance increase. We are lated in Indianapolis, so if there are any interested parties in the central Indiana area that would be interested in having their vehicle used as a test bed, please step up. This would include a short session to evaluate the vehicle and take measurement data, followed by another session a short time later to install and evaluate the prototype set. This, of course, would be done
free of charge.
Please asses the interest for your group and let us know.

Best regards,
Sean Morgan
Outlaw Engineering
www.outlawengineering.com
------------------------------------------------------------

Anyone interested?

 

We appreciate you checking into this. You have to understand that we are all very skeptical of some of the things they are coming out with these days.

Keep us posted as to what they claim.

 

Here's a link to their technical claims http://www.outlawengineering.com/techframe.html

from that:

In summary, it was shown that:

1.The intake was 30°F cooler at cruise and at least 50°F cooler at idle.
2. Engines gain 3-5% power across the power band and up to10 peak hp and 12 ft-lbs of torque.
3. The test vehicle was 0.1 seconds quicker and 1 mph faster in the quarter mile.


On that page they have dyno charts and temperature graphs. It seems pretty legit, I mean they're making pretty modest claims. They're not saying it will double you hp and give you 100% increase in mpg. I guess just check it out for yourselves and see what you think.

(No, I don't work for them, I just want to get better hp and mileage out of my car.)

 

Seems to be a legitimate product, but it could be another great product that only works well on domestic cars. There is a probe on the front page afterall... I'm thinking along the lines of the Tornado or Power Tower, etc which do work well for the detroit guys, but not for us. Obviously I'm not the only skeptical one. Too bad there are no products for Toyota/Lexus or someone could be the guinea pig. The Prices seem pretty reasonable as well.

 

I highly doubt that it only works on domestics as the do have several honda applications. Also I learned about this on a Nissan message board. So I think imports have a good shot.

I email ed Dub's response to the guy and here's what he said:

On some of our applications, we include insulating washers that prevent the heat from transfering through the fasteners to the manifold. We have done testing with several V-6 engines where the manifold is over the engine, in a cramped engine bay, and attached to two cylinder heads and the results are generally better than with an inline 4 cylinder layout. You must remember, that when an engine is running, air is moving through it and over it. With an un-insulated manifold the heat transfer into the manifold from the engine is much greater than with insulators and the available air movement is less efficient at removing that heat. It's all about energy transfer. With insulators we are transferring much less heat to the manifold and it is easier to get rid of that heat through convection.

Best regards,
Sean Morgan
Outlaw Engineering
www.outlawengineering.com

 

No one is interested in this?

 

there's no way this can work. it is just a quick way for them to cash in on the ever-growing import tuning scene. a 0.1 second and 1mph faster time is not significant statistically. it could be due to the temp variation of the days they ran it at the track, or their tire pressure, or a number of other things.

even if it does work, it's not really worth the hassle and the money to get 5hp or whatever they're claiming. get a deck-plate mod, and it will be just as effective and cost you $10. but there's no way that this can work well. the supercharger or turbocharger physically force more air into the intake. just having cooler air isn't going to do anything. real gains are to be made from proven technologies. do you think that if this idea was valid that Nascar and NHRA drivers wouldn't have known about this?? don't be fooled by a flashy website and some "performance claims".

yes, i'm skeptical and that's because most of these products don't work and i don't want to see people taken advantage of.

 

Hmmm.....test vehicle in Indianapolis eh? Maybe I should take a drive down there when I can.....haha yea right

 

I admit there are a lot of scams out there. As for the quarter mile times, 5hp is not gonna make a big difference in a quarter mile time, unless your car only had 5 to begin with. Also just because it isn't used in a major racing series doesn't mean it not legit. No trying to argue with you or anything, but there's a lot out there that hasn't been thought of.