Turbonator, is it good?

[Venms]

Hi All,

Has anybody used the Turbonator? Does it damage the engine? Does it work? Any light you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated.

BACKGROUND:
It fits behind the airbox to create a tornado effect on the incoming air. This tornado effect allegedly mixes the air and the fuel more efficiently for increased gas mileage and fuel economy. I don't care about the fuel economy, hence why I bought a Viper. It allegedly increases your horsepower up to 35.

'97 GTS Viper

 

[SnakeEye]

Hi All,

Has anybody used the Turbonator? Does it damage the engine? Does it work? Any light you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated.

BACKGROUND:
It fits behind the airbox to create a tornado effect on the incoming air. This tornado effect allegedly mixes the air and the fuel more efficiently for increased gas mileage and fuel economy. I don't care about the fuel economy, hence why I bought a Viper. It allegedly increases your horsepower up to 35.

'97 GTS Viper

You're kidding right?
Why not the flux capacitor for 100hp+...

 

[Copernicus]

Yeah, this thing is an absolute piece of crud. I'm honestly surprised they are still allowed to manufacture this thing under the false pretenses that it improves gas mileage or horsepower.

If anything it decreases both as it obstructs air flow through the intake. Please do not waste your money on this.

 

[FE 065]

If nothing else, the throttle body butterfly would tend to re-straighten out swirling air coming in from the airbox.

The fuel doesn't enter into the airstream until well down into the intake runners. So the air'd somehow have to keep swirling thru the throttle bodies, down the plenum, <u>and</u> after it makes a 90 degree turn into the runners, to be mixed more better with the fuel by the Turbonator..

A feat equalled only by the Kennedy assassination 'single bullet' theory..

 

[Venms]

Thanks for the input.

Venms

 

[KepRght]

it would work if there were no throttle bodies or 10 other passeges to interfere with the flow. if you look at all the intake runners, there is no way this product would help the v10 viper.

its simple flow dynamics &amp; it does improve if there is only one runner.

take a jug of water turn it upside down and watch how the water comes out, glug glug glug.

now take the jug of water, spin it a few times and turn it upside down, the water is now in a vortex and flows out of the jug very fast.

you can do this same thing with pipe, and with air, but the effect is nullified when you start separating the vortex into several other passages.

where this would work great is in semi trucks, they have a very long intake tube that runs above the cab, 6feet or so? down to the engine, its one long tube. a vortex would help there, but not in a short run like the viper engine.

 

[Copernicus]

Kep, I don't think your analogy works here. In your example of the inverted water jug, you only maintain the vortex with continuous rotation. The turbonator is stationary and air would simply slow down and deflect around the fins of the device.

I would doubt the merits of this device on any engine to be quite honest.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

OEMs already design tumble and swirl into intake ports and valves. Adding anything upstream to incorporate tumble or swirl characteristics (and I'm not agreeing this gizmo does) would simply interfere with what is already being done.

The CAFE and emissions requirements mandate that good mixing takes place, so no comments from the peanut gallery about how OEMs don't care about performance. Perfectly homogeneous combustion is a must (GDI engines aside.)

Fuel injection took care of the fuel mixing problems we knew from carburetors. When each cylinder gets a 45 or higher psi injector with cone shaped or offset nozzle design, it will be as mixed as the time given allows. How many people remember stalling when cold, vapor lock stalling when hot, stumble and hesitation when stomping on it.... 99.99% of this was with carbs, not PFI.

It's garbage.

 

[STUGOTS]

Hi All,

Has anybody used the Turbonator? Does it damage the engine? Does it work? Any light you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated.

BACKGROUND:
It fits behind the airbox to create a tornado effect on the incoming air. This tornado effect allegedly mixes the air and the fuel more efficiently for increased gas mileage and fuel economy. I don't care about the fuel economy, hence why I bought a Viper. It allegedly increases your horsepower up to 35.

'97 GTS Viper

You're kidding right?
Why not the flux capacitor for 100hp+...

HEY HEY HEY those sell BIGTIME on the delorean fourms LOL

 

[ViperJoe]

Will a hobo eat a ham sammich?

The Tornado company also makes fully synthetic muffler bearing grease that is a MUST for all Vipers.
Their website also lists several different weights of headlight fluid.

I use both along with the Tornado and have seen a remarkable difference in fuel economy and performance.

 

[Venms]

This is why I like these forums. I get to ask people who are more familliar with this stuff than myself.

Again, thanks for the answering my questions.

Venms

 

[Mr Hemi Head]

Read this disclaimer:

http://www.turbonator.com/Disclaimer.html

It is amazing how clever advertising (deceptive) can trick the uninformed public into spending their hard earned $$.

Next they will be selling estate lots (swamp land) in the Everglades.

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

gotta love the disclaimer, I actually read it. Says they dont guarantee sheet, and that their whole basis on their claims is USER feedback. They have not tested it at all in a sterail environment, and that your results mostly will vary significantly from the ones they use for their claims.

Pathetic!

Jon

 

[JUCD VPR]

AHahaha I made this mistake when i was like 16, i wanted one for my mustang hahaha, they don't do sheet!

 

[Torquemonster]

while I have not used Turbonator I have used Hyclones which are a passive device that do a similar thing

I have found they have provided advantages in two cases:

1 - a turbo diesel with a convoluted OEM air intake tract. The hyclones brought in boost 500rpm earlier and definitely added power in the low to mid range - which is where they are driven mostly. Top end was neither helped nor hurt - but because of the gains in mid-range - speed between 2 points was improved due to the acceleration improvement.

2 - a turbo gasoline engine that had the OEM efficient (but restrictive) air intake setup removed and an open K &amp; N large cone fitted into the open cool air - with an Air flow Sensor upstream. The air flow sensor was designed for the factory air intake and changing it to a big pod completely changed the airflow characteristics - and apparently caused a false reading. It would lean out when we added more boost. By adding a Hyclone - it gave a fuller air flow past that meter which enabled us to run an extra 3-4lb boost and get the right fuel ratios without re-chipping.

So while they do not add power - they can correct a problem if the air flow is not ideal over a certain rpm range.

I would not fit them to a stock Viper or anything that did not seem to have an airflow pattern issue. As has been said - they cannot add top end power, and the only way they could add hp would be if they correct a problem.

 

[Racer Robbie]

Hi All,

Has anybody used the Turbonator? Does it damage the engine? Does it work? Any light you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated.

BACKGROUND:
It fits behind the airbox to create a tornado effect on the incoming air. This tornado effect allegedly mixes the air and the fuel more efficiently for increased gas mileage and fuel economy. I don't care about the fuel economy, hence why I bought a Viper. It allegedly increases your horsepower up to 35.

'97 GTS Viper

Tried an Airaid unit once on a wrangler jeep with a K &amp; N Filtercharger kit. It made a lot of noise and the throttle response went to hell. Acceleration was slower too. When you hit the gas there was a lag time before anything happened. I think they are junk.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

You guys don't know squat. I put one on each throttle body. I haven't gotten it dyno'd yet but SOTP feel is about 75hp.

 

[FE 065]

I remember pulling the removable screen section out of the back of a handheld blowdryer. Some sort of plastic insert with screen that came out with a 1/4 turn or something.

You could clearly hear the dryer speed up as the restriction of the (clean) screen was removed. Then slow back down again when I put it back in...

 

[big-n-italian]

I haven't gotten it dyno'd yet but SOTP feel is about 75hp.

WHAT AN AMAZING COINCIDENCE! i am getting the EXACT same results from my DEER WHISTLES!

 

[twinturbo3150]

I haven't gotten it dyno'd yet but SOTP feel is about 75hp.

WHAT AN AMAZING COINCIDENCE! i am getting the EXACT same results from my DEER WHISTLES!

deer whistles, now that's funny. Do they even make those anymore? I remember in Hich school those things were popular. I had a set of chrome ones on my rabbit.

 

[KepRght]

deer whistles, now that's funny. I had a set of chrome ones on my rabbit.

LoL