3/4 inch cabinet quality OAK for Intake Spacer

[Hvnfn]

Hey ya'all!

I heard that a lot of racers like to take Super Fine grade 3/4 inch oak and make an intake/carb spacer for their cars out of it. Supposedly it insulates better than aluminum and other metals.

Can someone substantiate this?? does it make sense to create a spacer from oak for my car?

Thanks!

Christian

[mbouse]

question. porosity?

[Hvnfn]

Mike, I wondered that same thing. The only thing is that Oak is a very hard wood and it does well for the carbs... A neighbor friend of mine said that this was an old racing trick... but I, like you, still ponder the porosity aspect of this...

[manoa matt]

I've asked a similar question with regard to carb spacers. Look in the performance section for "carb spacer" I added a few links about the theory of how the spacers work. In short by spacing the carb higher off the manifold the gas and air has a longer time to mix and atomize. The better the air and fuel mix the better the combustion.

Typically carb spacers are made from aluminum. It seems natural since the carb and the manifold are made from aluminum. However it has its drawbacks.

The other material that carb spacers are made from is Phenolic, an old type of chemically and electronically inert plastic which can stand very high temperatures without distortion or thermal expansion. Its actually layers of canvas impregnated and layered with resin. Its very hard and can be tough to mill and cut, but since it is thermally non conductive it acts to seperate the carb from the heat of the engine and intake manifold.

You have probably heard of cold air intakes, well cold air is denser and contains more oxygen than hot air, resulting in more complete combustion. By insulating the carb from the intake manifold the gasoline temp and the incomming air temp is also lowered.

Some spacers have one large hole some have two seperate holes, the size, shape and configuration of the holes will determine whether the gained power is in lower or higher rpms.

I have made a 3/4" carb spacer from derlin, a white plastic typically used in bushings. Derlin should be good up to about 350 deg. I have yet to install it to see if there is any actual gains in torque or horsepower. I wouldn't count on a large percieveable difference.

I also feel that Oak will not be the best material, since the gasoline will soak into the sides and could possibly cause a fire within the manifold/carb. It may be good for a few runs on a track before its taken off and thrown away, but I don't think it would stand up to the repeated usage seen on a daily driver.

Matt

[htchevyii]

Eldelbrock sells a wood spacer
http://www.jegs.com/p/Edelbrock/743637/10002/-1

[mdrburchette]

Ron used to use wood spacers on his racecar and it worked well to keep the air/fuel cooler but the one drawback is over time, the wood will distort. Oak may not be the best wood to use. Maybe something more dense, such as ash.

[bradartigue]

Hey ya'all!

I heard that a lot of racers like to take Super Fine grade 3/4 inch oak and make an intake/carb spacer for their cars out of it. Supposedly it insulates better than aluminum and other metals.

Can someone substantiate this?? does it make sense to create a spacer from oak for my car?

Thanks!

Christian

Racers will rebuild parts of their engines after every race, so an oak spacer that lasts 5 hours might be good for a race car. Bad for your car.

[launieg]

If you are keen to try it, drop me a PM with the dimensions you need and your address, and I'll send you a piece of southeast Asian rosewood that you can machine. It is by far the densest, hardest, most stable (virtually non-porous) wood I've ever used. I sell it to guitar makers. Oak would not be a good choice.