anyone see the turbonator?

[chiefiji]

i clicked on an ad here that claimed "tuborcharge any car for $69.99" just out of curiousity:turbonator

anyone know anything about this? i got a good laugh because it reminded me of the tornado gimmick.

 

[ish]

yes it is similar to the tornado and just as stupid

 

[Lee1]

Quote

Here's a quote from their FAQ page:

"Twenty and 35 HP boosts are not typical. Your results with the Turbonator will probably, but not necessarily, be less. "

"Probably, but not necessarily":lmao:

 

[chiefiji]

Re: Quote

Here's a quote from their FAQ page:

"Twenty and 35 HP boosts are not typical. Your results with the Turbonator will probably, but not necessarily, be less. "

"Probably, but not necessarily":lmao:

haha. way to cya. i'll probably but not necessarily gain a couple horses when i slap on some stickers on my rig :zoom:

 

[Iowa4Runner]

Companies that push this crap outta be burned down. Adding a "vortex generator" that far upstream is only going to screw with your mass airflow sensor.

Some of my favorite quotes from the website-

"The Turbonator's airflow dynamics produces a swirling, fast-burn effect in the combustion chamber"

The fact that they can make claims like this and not get charged with false advertising is a shame. Combustion chamber and port geometry is where this kind of turbulence comes from. Simply stirring the air ahead of time does absolutely nothing to increase burn rate.

"An emissions lab, licensed by the EPA conducted tests on non-moving vortex generators that produced results as high as 20 horsepower and 24% increases in mileage. Other independent studies yielded results as high as 35 HP and 31% MPG."

The fact that the lab was licensed by the EPA says nothing about the validity of the test. What was the device that was actually tested? A turbonator? Hmm... maybe not.

 

[peter78]

I saw that AD last week and I HAD to check it out. My opinion of that thing is what everyone is posting. I think my favorite thing you can put on the car is a bug alert, which some how lets the bugs know a car is coming. Car & Driver tested it tounge in cheek and after the test they had a lot of dirty windshields. Another favorite is a magnet that is attached to the fuel line to get MUCH better mileage.

I remember Consumer Reports tested a product that said "If your oil runs out, your car will run anyway." They basically ruined two good cars, to disprove the claim.

 

[Lee1]

I'll probably, but not necessarily, buy one.:

 

[Larry]

This turbonator company advertises here. Maybe they could start a thread to answer questions about how twisting air does whatever it does. I don't know what category they would post in, but they could pick that, too.

 

[AlexJet]

Get an AirAid Throttle Body Spacer.

 

[OUTRNNR]

I agree with AlexJet. Get the TBS. I put one on my '99 Chevy Blazer in conjunction with a Cold Air Intake and it made a signifcant difference in mid-range power. Plus it makes such a cool whistling noise

BTW, a couple months ago I bought an Airaid TBS for the runner from some website that was advertising them for the '05 V8. I even called to make sure it fit the '05 and they told me it did. I go to put it on and obviously they just sent me the same one that fits '03 and '04. The thing that pisses me off is that the site I used to buy it didn't list that the part fits '03-'05, just '05, so I thought they had fabricated an all new TBS for the vvt-i. Not. Some moron parts guy just assumed they were the same.

Needless to say it did not fit, sorry I can't remember what site I bought it from, but I returned it for a full refund.

Moral of the story, TBD's only fit '03-'04. I haven't seen one for an '05 yet.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Get an AirAid Throttle Body Spacer.

Yep,these have the same gains as the Turbonator and yes,it's disproven on many dynos. It's a nice looking part but a waste of $$$.

 

[AlexJet]

I agree with AlexJet. Get the TBS. I put one on my '99 Chevy Blazer in conjunction with a Cold Air Intake and it made a signifcant difference in mid-range power. Plus it makes such a cool whistling noise

BTW, a couple months ago I bought an Airaid TBS for the runner from some website that was advertising them for the '05 V8. I even called to make sure it fit the '05 and they told me it did. I go to put it on and obviously they just sent me the same one that fits '03 and '04. The thing that pisses me off is that the site I used to buy it didn't list that the part fits '03-'05, just '05, so I thought they had fabricated an all new TBS for the vvt-i. Not. Some moron parts guy just assumed they were the same.

Needless to say it did not fit, sorry I can't remember what site I bought it from, but I returned it for a full refund.

Moral of the story, TBD's only fit '03-'04. I haven't seen one for an '05 yet.

You're probably talking about V8. I've V6 and I bought Throttle Body Spacer. It fit my intake, it's just too cold outside right now and I don't want to make some mechanical work when it's less then 15F outside. So it looks like I'll install it first day of spring or if I'll find some warm garage.

 

[OUTRNNR]

You're probably talking about V8. I've V6 and I bought Throttle Body Spacer. It fit my intake, it's just too cold outside right now and I don't want to make some mechanical work when it's less then 15F outside. So it looks like I'll install it first day of spring or if I'll find some warm garage.

Yeah, I was talking about the vvt-i V8; Different between '03-'04 and '05.

Yep,these have the same gains as the Turbonator and yes,it's disproven on many dynos. It's a nice looking part but a waste of $$$.

I ran a CAI in my '99 blazer for months without the TBS and didn't notice much of a difference in power. After installing the TBS I really noticed much more low-end torque and mid-range power. Made a believer out of me. I believe the CAI and TBS work very well together and maybe not so well individually. Never had a chance to dyno, though.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Adding an inch of length to the throttle body area doesn't create horsepower and any mechanic who knows a little about physics will explain this too you;your ponies are coming from the CAI.

My friend dynoed his '02 Tacoma with a K&N and deckplate mod and he netted between 5-10whp on three separate pulls and on another accasion he threw on a TBS just to prove a point and there were no consistent gains and netted the same horsepower with just the deckplate mod and filter and cost a total of $52 ($40 was the K&N) for proven horspwer and isn't that cheaper than the TBS by itself?

I'm going to get a dyno reading for chuckles and grins this spring and I'll do runs with the deckplate in and removed to see what gains I'm getting.

 

[OUTRNNR]

Adding an inch of length to the throttle body area doesn't create horsepower and any mechanic who knows a little about physics will explain this too you;your ponies are coming from the CAI.

My friend dynoed his '02 Tacoma with a K&N and deckplate mod and he netted between 5-10whp on three separate pulls and on another accasion he threw on a TBS just to prove a point and there were no consistent gains and netted the same horsepower with just the deckplate mod and filter and cost a total of $52 ($40 was the K&N) for proven horspwer and isn't that cheaper than the TBS by itself?

I'm going to get a dyno reading for chuckles and grins this spring and I'll do runs with the deckplate in and removed to see what gains I'm getting.

Besides getting extra length in the throttle body many TBS have threads on the inside to create turbulance in the air as it enters the intake manifold. This results in a better mix of the air and fuel in the combustion chamber giving more power per stroke. This concept is apparent in Chevy's VORTEC V8's where the same principle of swirling air is applied. Anyone who wants to argue that this isn't beneficial should go back to Sears mechanic school.

The reason this is different than the gay ass turbonator is because that POS is located way upstream even before the MAF sensor in some applications. The principle is different here because even if the turbonator is swirling the air, it isn't beneficial because that creates drag on the inside to the intake tube not allowing optimal conditions for the engine to pull air into the intake manifold. The TBS is located AT the throttle body (obviously) and therefore creates little load on the moving air. Not only does the turbonator create upstream turbulance, it is also a much larger load on the moving air than the TBS. I'm sure one of these things does more harm than good.

Every engine is different. But I know I felt a signifcant difference when I put the TBS on my Blazer after having the CAI for months. I'm sure I could put a TBS on the V8 4Runner tomorrow and not see any difference in performance or mileage, I really think it depends on the engine. The 4.3L V6 I had in my Blazer had only two valves per cylinder and large combustion chambers due to a relatively large bore, so I'm sure in stock form the air-fuel mix was not optimal, the TBS simply helped address this issue, hence the power increase.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Here's some interesting info

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/auto_technology/1802932.html?page=2&c=y

Some of these things actually reduced MPGs.