Do turbocharger substitutes such as Turbonator SpiralMax and Tornado actually work?

Answer 1

Absolutely, positively, NO! They are gimmicks to rid you of your money. These devices have been around since the very beginning of the automobile.

AnswerThey are junk, but the placebo effect seems to be working for a lot of people. I feel that going with smaller rims and tires to give the appearance of moving faster, and causing speedometer to read higher would be better and cheaper long term (cheaper tires) . AnswerThe Tornado and Turbonator do not claim to be turbocharger substitutes. AnswerOK they don't! Why?, no matter what rpm they spin at, or what boost they claim to make, no. A vacuum cleaner in reverse will make a boost pressure of a couple PSI, will it make your car go faster? No!

No electric device will produce enough CFM for even a small car engine to benefit, I Would bet money that these pieces of crap would restrict your air flow and make your car go slower!

If you want, you can give me the money and I will partially block of your intake and you will get the same result!

AnswerThese are not electric devices, they are non-moving bent blades that spin the air as it flows past the blades. As such, they can only provide a drag to the air flow and can not increase the volume of air flow. They can however, increase the velocity of the air (depending where they are used) and that can increase the "tumble" of the air which can affect combustion efficiency.

Do they increase combustion efficiency? Not very likely unless they are used very close to intake valves of the engine and even then, the flow of air past the intake valves and into the combustion cylinder is already designed to maximize combustion. Yet, there is a possibility that at very specific engine rpms, the device could provide a small increase of power.

But the higher the air flow (at high rpms) the less likely that is because the drag on the air flow caused by the bent blades will likely reduce the total air flow and therefore reduce engine power. But from personal experience on a 2001 Mustang Cobra (4.6L 32 valve) that I once owned, I can say that the sound produced by these devices is noticeable both outside and inside the car at higher rpms and that sound could easily stimulate the driver and others who hear it and give a positive impression for the device.

I installed it just prior to and inside the opening to the intake manifold. I do not think the power increased at any rpm but it was obvious to anyone there (especially for me, the owner and driver since I knew the sound of the car very well before and now after the installation) that the sound was very impressive at higher rpms. In fact,

I added a second device under the open conical air filter (spaced about 12" upstream from the first device and put it in backwards so the air would spin in the opposite direction) and I really liked the sound. The person who bought the car later loved the unique (like a miniature Vortec centrifugal supercharger) sound too.

I doubt any added power was gained at any rpm and any loss of power (and there was likely some at the highest rpms) was small enough that I did not notice it.

AnswerYes, these products do work. I had 2 Spiralmax in the intake of my Acura Integra and i did see an increase in pick up at a higher rpm, I raced an Acura just like mine and we were dead even, i installed the units and we raced once again, I pulled him by two car lengths and kept going. However, I did not notice an increase in mileage because I had a heavy foot and was not too concerned since it is a 4 cylinder. I then installed one my 97 GT Mustang and since they roast the tires off the line I really saw an increase in pick up throughout and a HUGE difference in mileage, I was able to squeeze out and extra 50 miles to the tank and that was only because i did not want to push it and run out of gas. I highly recommend spiral max and Turbonator.