I noticed that my idle was hurting pretty bad (hovering around 1k rpm and lowering near 500 every so often.

I though it may have been a misfire or I hurt it at the track last weekend.

I ended up checking the throttle body after an older mechanic at work said that may be the cause.

Soooo.. I pulled the TB (piece of cake, if you can't do this.. you have business being around tools!).

Opened up the flaps and notice a black residue. It didn't look too bad, but once I touched it, it was obvious there has been some caking and build up around where the flap sits.. possibly causing turbulence and messing up the air flow/quality.

Low and behold, I shot it full of brake cleaner making sure to avoid the sensors. I noticed it started dissolving and it even created a puddle of black crap on the towel under it. I wiped it clean with a rag, and my fingers looked like I was playing with charcoal.

Installed it and went for a ride.. idle cleared up a little, and then back to normal!

Not only that, but acceleration felt noticeably stronger in all the gears and when I held the gears manually, there were significant notice in gains.

It actually pulls a lot easier and harder mid-up ton than before!

I know this sounds like a simple thing to do, but for me it helped me out tremendously. I haven't cleaned it since last summer and it was pretty dirty but not too bad.

If you haven't cleaned your TB, I suggest you do it!


I am thinking about pulling the MAF sensor and making sure it's clear of any debri's and possibly cleaning my CAI cone for the V3...

 

Ditto. i clean mine out 2-3 times a year, makes a big difference for sure!

 

.. the CAI's is what cause this stuff to happen.. it flows soo well that a lot of crap gets passes through and clogs itself into the TB. I am going to check my MAF sensor tomorrow..

 

Def check the MAF too. i need to check mine as well, been awhile.

 

Oil being sucked through the pcv system gets baked on the TB.

 

The Vortech kit comes with a some sort of super-duty filter modified to fit inside the stock PVC valve, rather then the stock tube.. I am guilty of not having an oil catch can though.

)-:

 

Took mine off when I did plugs yesterday and we saw enough black gunk that it warranted a quick cleaning. Got most of it off. I think some of it was blowby from the PCV which surprised me.

 

Thought about inspecting the spark plugs on mine as well, in case I need to replace them. I usually ran the car hard for the summer and just putt around town during the winter.. I bet they're not too bad but you never know. Still very surprised by how much better and smoother my car pulls since cleaning the TB.. not to mention clearing up the idle!

Should have seen the C&L Racer intake cone when I cleaned it for the first time .. wow!

 

Wont the brake cleaner eat the coating on the TB? I always use the CRC stuff made for coated TB's.

 

It wasn't necessarily brake clean, It was some other "enviromentally friendly" cleaner we call brake cleaner.. that harsher stuff I haven't used since working at a corporate stealership..