TB icing is still a very real thing at ground level, especially in the winter, and cars are built for and need to work reliably in all climates, not just SoCal. The reason you don't hear about it in the car world like you do in the aviation world is that the throttle plate on a car is constantly moving, and that will prevent the buildup of ice around the throttle shaft where it goes through the body. However, ice will still form in the throat of the TB and edge of the butterfly under the right conditions.

Here's a motorcycle icing up. I find this particularly compelling because motorcycles can neither fly, nor are they used in the winter in northern climates.


Besides, the TB doesn't heat the air as much as you think. Considering the mass flow vs. surface area for the air to become heated as it passes through the TB, the air has next to no time and next to no surface area to absorb heat from the TB.

There may not be any adverse effect reported, but has anyone said they've seen any measurable benefit? No? So why do it? Because you're sure it has an effect? But if you haven't measured to see if there is any actual change and increase in horsepower, how can you be sure? Stating opinions with an "I think" is one thing. Parroting old wives tales with "I'm sure" is what leads people who come here looking for knowledge astray and down paths leading to costly mistakes. Break the cycle. Rise above. Embrace science.

 

Im running 65% distilled water 35%coolant for better cooling
never though water weter can help here, but maybe its worth a look

 

"Throttle body heater by-pass" has been a subject of discussion on several forums - Land Rover, GM LS motors, BMW, etc. Google this subject for full discussions.

Interesting that none of the after market throttle bodies have heater provisions.

Also, have not seen anyone complain about icing after by-pass, and this mod has been around for a long time.

 

http://forum.mazda6club.com/engine-d...nt-bypass.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...ml#post4155869

 

What happens to the air after it goes through a heat exchanger is as important as what happens before. The general rule of thumb is that the inlet should be 1/4 of the area of the core of the exchanger, the exchanger should be at least as far away from the inlet as it is tall, the outlet be about 200% core area, and that the ducting be as smooth and sealed as possible. Packaging and manufacturing constraints have the ultimate say, of course, so concessions are made on various points.

The X150 comes remarkably close to ideal in the inlet area, and the pre- exchanger ducting is about as good as you can get for a production vehicle. Two out of four... isn't great, but it's what we have to work with. Given how tight the engine bay is and how convoluted the path for the air post- exchanger is, there is certainly room for improvement, albeit incremental at best.

I've been looking at how the air moves through the engine bay and how to improve this, and the least intrusive solution I've found is to simply remove the front half of the fender liners. This opens up two large paths for the hot air to escape to, and as luck would have it, the forward half of a wheel well is generally a low pressure region. Since high pressure will always move towards low pressure, positive flow is ensured.

I've been running sans fender liners for the past two weeks and have noticed roughly a 10° drop in engine coolant temps at any speed above about 40 mph, and a much quicker drop after sitting at a light or being stuck in slow traffic. IAT2's are only down about 5°, but recover MUCH quicker after a pull.

Because wiring looms and MAF sensor plugs are exposed, I will be buying some aftermarket liners to cut holes in so that the air can still vent, but critical components are protected. It takes about 20 minutes to pull the liners, and you'll need a small flat screwdriver, a shorty #2 phillips, and a T27 torx bit, if anyone wants to try this out. Just remember to bolt the air dams back up that are immediately in front of the tires.

When I get the aftermarket liners in and trimmed, I'll take some pictures. While this doesn't significantly lower IAT2's, it does lower underhood temps, and that's a step in the right direction.

 

That's clever. I'm surprised it made any difference from my memory on how the air flows through that area with all the stock shrouding in place. I'd think removing the lower engine cover would make a larger difference. I almost wonder if that and a dam between the tires below the radiator group would help lower the pressure below the car and help draw air through the radiator group?

One of the talking points in the headers thread was how much they would constrain the air flow through the back of the engine. With the engine belly cover in place there's no where for the air to go except around the exhaust.

 

I wasn't sure what to expect because every car is different and aside from the engineers, I doubt anyone has given airflow management much, if any thought.

It absolutely is not the ideal solution; that would be a vented hood. But given that there aren't any aftermarket hoods and the OEM hoods are so expensive, I steadfastly refuse to cut holes. The furthest I'm willing to go would be to build some extractors to go in place of the factory nostrils, but at this point, I'm unsure which direction the air flows through them at speed. My knee jerk belief is that they act as outlets, but there are a few things that make me slightly uncertain of that.

Yes, the path between the discharge side of the radiator and the openings into the wheel wells is convoluted and obstructed by the intake rubes and various hoses. BUT... it's more than what the car came with, and a measurable change is pretty black and white. My car does have an air dam going all the way across, but it's pretty mangled up from seven years of use. The replacement isn't expensive, so it's on the list. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

The tranny does need some airflow over it, and would still receive some from between the engine and firewall. As for those headers, I still think the stock logs should be flowed to see what we're working with before anyone starts working on headers. But that's completely off the topic of this thread.

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