davidc1

Back to the original OP question. Pretty much sounds to me like you just wanted to vent. If it's oily and dusty, clean it with bake cleaner, engine cleaner, dish soap, dishwasher, Ivory, Zest, hand cleaner, Windex, ammonia, vinegar, scrubbing bubbles, and Fabuloso.

But in that order or it won't work.

beefystud

so i lined up the throttle body and intake manifold with the gasket, the gasket is only 68mm wide while the throttle body/manifold is 69mm, is this a problem ? should i have the gasket they sent me machined out to 69mm ? or am i just splitting hairs ?

s2000Junky

How good are you with a pair of sharp scissors? Yeah Id trim it for sure!

beefystud

its razor thin in some areas , (3mm) would lightly sanding the thicker areas (3/4of the gasket) with 1000 grit be a good idea ?

s2000Junky

I wouldn't be apposed to it, what ever tool works to get the job done without compromising the integrity of the gaskets job to seal. Last thing you want is a flap obstructing your airflow, even for turbulence sake at minimum if not outright flow detriment. All seems in vein to spend time and money to enlarge and port match everything just to have the gaskets be in the way. Just my .02

beefystud

exactly, whats the point of having a 70mm intake manifold , 69mm throttle body , with a 68mm gasket...

s2kbarto

Hey man I hope this message reaches you. I was looking into ordering the Ballade sports intake manifold for my ap1. I wanted to see if this is a part you would recommend and if you noticed any types of noticable gains on the dyno and under racing conditions that would make it worth the money. If you could let me know that would be a huge help, thankyou.

randomwalk101

Ballade...every time I hear that word I run away fast.
Read so many bad things about their parts/quality. Yet people still buy...mind blowing to me...but hey, you work for your money, do what you like. LOL

s2kbarto

I more or less just want to see if there has been any real proven gains with their manifold, or if i'm better off just going to a local machine shop to port match everything and get the same bore diameter as opposed to going through Ballade and paying the extra couple hundred bucks.

GR8Bike

I bought and installed the Ballade ported 70mm intake in 2016. Used the thermal gasket. Dyno run showed about 11 whp increase at that time.and I think the turbo response was enhance d (seat of the pants observation) no way to really quantify. Perfectly happy with the product.