tornado intake: does it work?

loadedsc

Registered User
I know this might sound dumb to some, but does the tornado thing that im sure allot of you have heard of actually work? If u havent heard of it, it is a intake peice that fits somewhere inbetween your throttle body and mass air sensor. What they say it does is swirl the incoming air like a tornado. Could this be benifecial at all? I thought the incoming air was supposed to be straight, in fact the straighter the better. Just wondering.
 
I'll sell you some oceanfront property in Montana if you would like after you buy the tornada intake also...
 
Uhh....no, they CAN'T work...

You can't create power from a device that runs off of parasatic power. All that would do is restrict the air flow to your Super Charger. Sounds like a good idea, but Physics says otherwise.

Thomas
 
hehe,

Ocean front property in Montana does sound tempting, but I allready have some here in hawaii. I stick with what I allready have. Well thanks for clearing that up guys
 
insight

Sorry, but I feel the need to interject here. Does it work, well in an SC no. Does it and can it work in other applications, YES. There are limitations to that statement though. Gains will primarily be seen when used on vehicles with bends in the intake track and a freeflowing air filter. I have personally used it on my GF's car at the time (6 years ago) 86 Olds Cutlass Cierra. It works off the same pricipal as the diffuser technology being used in the ESM raised top which makes it a superior performer. In applications where it can reduce air from packing toward the outer radius of the bend along the intake, it does in fact allow more efficiend filling of the cylinders. Reason is simple, more air traveling in a given area will be greater in overall volume when it enters the intake manifold. In the application mentioned, a free flowing K&N filter was neccesary to support this function as the stock unit was indeed to restrictive. Though I can't say there was a power performance improvement, I can surely say that adding it before the K&N improved fuel economy about 1MPG over stock. Removing it and installing just the K&N improved economy by approximately 2MPG over stock. Using the K&N with the tornado improved economy overall by a total of 4.5MPG over stock! Yes, I actually took the time to do these tests cause the GF bought it from a friends shop and I thought he was ripping her off. I vowed to shove that thing in unmentionable places if it didnt work and I was proven wrong. So why doesnt it work on our cars? Simple, the blower moves so much more air while creating a pressure in the ic tubes and return adapter, the tornado would truly be a restriction due to its design and cannot accomodate the needs of the pressured system nor can it remain unmoved wherever you choose to place it. Additionally, to be effective for its design, it cannot fix the severe bend found in the return adapter plenum. Does that mean that our diffused tops or IC tubes are restictive? Sure, but that restriction is outweighed by the gain in volume that can now fill the radius of the bend. Consider that some food for thought from a physics standpoint.
 
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