MACE 25mm Insulator

[Ventmaster]

I think the rubber rings were part of the gasket (X-shaped) under the plenum cover.
I'm guessing they pulled out with bolt.

Don't know if it would be necessary, but you might want to remove the cover and check.

[bmwdon]

bmore might be right, I'm trying to remember the layout, and I'm guessing the ones that had the rubber grommets where the ones that went through the screw on cover? If that's the case, then it might be an airtight deal, the others probably go through cast holes in the manifold, the casting goes all the way through. damn, wish I had a manifold in front of me to look at, let me cruise through this thread and see if what I'm saying even makes sense.

[bmwdon]

ok, by this pic, if its the 4 bolts that are in the middle of the screwed on cover plate, then he's probably got a valid statement that they are there for an air tight fit. If you lost one or so, I doubt it's a deal breaker on any car that is a NA motor, maybe a s/c or turbo car, but if it's NA, you'll probably be ok. unless you lost the grommet down inside the head intake ports or in the manifold itself, then you better hope your car can chew it up and spit it out before it gets stuck on something important and really does some damage to the motor

[Blade]

Originally Posted by bmwdon

ok, by this pic, if its the 4 bolts that are in the middle of the screwed on cover plate, then he's probably got a valid statement that they are there for an air tight fit. If you lost one or so, I doubt it's a deal breaker on any car that is a NA motor, maybe a s/c or turbo car, but if it's NA, you'll probably be ok. unless you lost the grommet down inside the head intake ports or in the manifold itself, then you better hope your car can chew it up and spit it out before it gets stuck on something important and really does some damage to the motor

Nah I remember it falling to the floor somewhere when I took the bolt out.

[bmorecam]

I remember plenty of times I thought I might of have lost those little black plastic/rubber pieces myself but what end up happening is that they usually get stuck in the hole. Look inside the hole and see if it's there.

[bmwdon]

that's what she said!!!

[bmorecam]

Originally Posted by bmwdon

that's what she said!!!

[Blade]

Originally Posted by bmwdon

that's what she said!!!

OOOOOOOOO COME ON!! How did I miss that?!?!?!? LMFAO

[Ventmaster]

I saw a picture of the X-gasket in a Black Icesolator install pic posted by Tracy.
I wondered why they took the cover off. I left mine in place and I remember feeling the resistance when the bolts passed thru the grommet.

Fortunately, I guess all mine stayed in place. I can't find that thread now...But its out there somewhere.

[Ventmaster]

Found it: Check the "Port Matching the LLT to the Black Ice-olator and Rx IM" post.
Pic #10 on the first page. I had no idea this was under the cover til I saw this pic.
If you haven't got a CEL yet, there may be no need to worry, but if something crops up later, at least you'll have a place to start.

[Blade]

Originally Posted by Ventmaster

Found it: Check the "Port Matching the LLT to the Black Ice-olator and Rx IM" post.
Pic #10 on the first page. I had no idea this was under the cover til I saw this pic.
If you haven't got a CEL yet, there may be no need to worry, but if something crops up later, at least you'll have a place to start.

Thanks! I saw that as well, and definitely reinstalled it.

[hapisok]

blade...

i think you'll be ok without it, i think its mainly like a washer/spacer/retainer. the X gasket underneath should seal up the plenum to the IM as you tighten down the bolts, so you SHOULD be leak free. if it were a compression type of fitting, then i would think otherwise, but its not. good job on the install by the way...

[Blade]

Originally Posted by hapisok

blade...

i think you'll be ok without it, i think its mainly like a washer/spacer/retainer. the X gasket underneath should seal up the plenum to the IM as you tighten down the bolts, so you SHOULD be leak free. if it were a compression type of fitting, then i would think otherwise, but its not. good job on the install by the way...

Thanks Hapi!!! Now I gotta iron out some of these little issues before I can datalog again. I will post up a thread about that later.

[ChadG]

Originally Posted by Blade

I was thinking the same but wasn't sure if it was true, I couldn't imagine if thess composite manifolds can handle porting. But I didn't think about how their boost performance would be, good knowledge

Maybe the LFX will have an aftermarket alloy manifold available to them one day, along with runners. The allow manifold would only be useful to them if they did FI IMHO.

Originally Posted by bmwdon

yes, the runner length is going to be you major contributor to the power increase, the whole reason behind those crazy hilborn intake manifolds
The thermal benifits are going to keep your power more consistant over the duration of daily use. The whole reason company's use the plastic manifolds (price too) vs. continued use of alloy manifolds in the modern age. But alloy allows for porting, and holds up to boost a bit better than plastics....pros/cons to each material used.

pretty damn cool that a spacer like the ones out there can produce the gains shown...true bang for buck option.

You might not be able to port a composite intake manifold, but wouldn't you just create the mold to ported specs to begin with so it effectively works just like a ported metal manifold?