The TB Mod is a good one. This is something that Most Japanese don't do. I always thought that Americans and good enginuity? (sorry cant spell) for the most part I think they do but some of the younger people are just lazy or want everything for nothing. It is not a **** Rig and In my experience it dosen't change cold Idle that much.

nowhere in Teds Mod does it talk about JB Weld or tape being a requirement. A thinking man would use Teflon Tape on a bolt in a fluid or air passage to enhance the sealing effect, that is normal common mechanincs. I have used JB weld on some of my TB Mods to smooth the inside around the bolts and to make sure nothing leaks.

The point is it is a good mod, I have experienced some HP gains with this mod however throttle response is greatly improved. Using my Power FC after doing the Mod on my current 7 the air intake temp was consistenly 2-3deg cooler than before. This equates to some increase in power im sure but gives me longevity on the track also. Personally I don't like the design Mazda gave it so I changed it. As stated before if you can't handle it or think it sucks don't do it but for a purist and true racer it is a must.

 

name brand exhuast, who the hell needs a name brand exhuast? my muffler is a locally made item (75USD) and the 3 inch pipeing was done by a guy i know thru the local car club who owns a workshop (100USD)

$175US for a gain of around 50HP

 

Oh no! I'm "**** rigging" my entire engine bay! None of these parts belong together and there was lots of fabricating/machining to make them. See sig for details...
I'm about to "**** rig" a threaded insert made for spark plugs into the 3rd gen upper intake manifold today in a former solenoid port to hold the Haltech's air temp sensor.
-edit- remember Southern Hemisphere friends, not all Americans are lame and also when you have great brand name parts available it is sometimes benificial to combine and modify them w/ custom stuff.

 

I did the TB mod on my 90 GTU a few months back. At the same time I also adjusted the TB to factory specs. Do yourself a favor the next time you have your TB off the car - Check all the clearances for factory specs. My secondary throttles were opening a bit later than they should have.

The TB mod and adjustment was done in ~30 minutes from hood open to hood closed. Simple, effective mod. Cold starts are to be expected, but overall I liked the mod.

The TII swap I'm doing this weekend will have a ported TB. I may even spend some time "**** rigging" and port the upper and lower intake while the motor is out as well. It wasn't ported from the factory, so I guess it'll be **** rigged now.

 

I did this mod a while ago (much thanks to Ted's great write up on this). I'll start with the downside: It sometimes dies right after starting. This is within seconds of turning over and it doesn't do it all the time. That's it for the cons. Otherwise it's great. My favorite part is the incredible response gain. The butt-o-meter registers a big gain in power, but this isn't so as much as it feels like it is. I can live with that. I don't have idle issues. I took care of that before I left the driveway that I did this mod in. I never leave home without my multimeter. My throttle body looks less "rigged" up without all the extra stuff that the Mazda engineers felt were needed on there. Bahhhh! What do they know anyway. But seriously, the throttle response gain is worth the effort. I did it and I like it. I'd say if I didn't but that isn't the case. For those of you on the fence about doing this, just do it and be happy.

 

I'm sold on the TBMod! I have extensively debated on whether to pursue this mod on my S4 NA. I know that my cold start will be effected, considering It will not be there to begin with. Seeing how I live In Canada, where It gets freakin cold at times, that might be an Issue, considering that I hear the FC may want to choke while starting up. I guess I may have to slightly step on the pedal 'till fully warmed up!

 

Ive been told (and driven the car) that the TB mod made absolutely no noticeable difference. This was on an 88 TII. Again, I havent done this to my car, nor do I plan to, this is just what a friend told me.