Wasted $450 on a 'tuned' throttle body that did nothing

I bought a ported and polished 80mm throttle body off a guy on Facebook Marketplace for my 2017 3.5L. He swore it would add 30 hp and make the throttle snappier. Spent a Saturday afternoon installing it, took it for a test drive, and felt zero difference. Think I just paid for a shiny paperweight. Has anyone else fallen for a bolt-on part that was pure snake oil?

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2 Comments

anna_ross193mo ago

Grab a multimeter and check if it's even opening fully.

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karen_west593mo ago

Yeah the "grab a multimeter" part is key but honestly it's not just about checking if it's opening fully. You gotta test the voltage drop across the solenoid too while it's trying to open. If the coil is going bad it might pull enough power to click but not enough to actually move the valve all the way. I've seen that a bunch with older Honeywell zone valves where they just barely tick over but don't let full flow through. Also if you measure resistance when it's cold vs after it's been trying to open for a minute you'll see if the coil is shorting out as it heats up. That's the real trick, a quick multimeter check can save you from swapping parts that aren't even broken.

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