Tornado....your opinions?

[Yaz]

I'm curious about that new product called the Tornado. It's suppose to improve your gas mileage and add approx. 20 HP to your performance. Has anyone purchased one of these?
Also, what are your opinions on the product?

TIA,
Scott

[Ds01C5]

Don't own one, but the consensus pretty much everywhere except the TV infomercial is to save your $$.

[Jngrbrdman]

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There you have it. My honest opinion about the tornado. LOL I've read tests where it actually impairs your performance. Its right up there with the electronic turbo for me. I don't know that I would want anything spinning around in my intake tube that my break off and fly in to far. Some Google searches should give you similar opinions to mine on other message boards.

[HellrotCi]

Let's see, on one hand you have automobile manufacturers that spend millions of dollars on engine development. Then they spend millions more developing the most efficient intake system designed specifically for each engine application. They use highly trained and skilled engineers using complex computer modeling and bench testing to perfect these systems.

On the other hand you have a company selling a universal product via infomercials. It is touted as being able to increase your fuel mileage and power output just by poking it into the air intake. Ever heard them explain how the swirling air keeps swirling when it hits a 45° or 90° turn from the air intake into the intake manifold and then gets divided among the individual intake runners for each cylinder? Or how does it keep swirling when the air moves past the intake valves? What about the engines that have variable length intake runners. They have devices in the air stream that would affect the swirling motion created by the Tornado.

Now I'll agree that complex solutions have been developed that could have been resolved by a simple fix, but in the case of the Tornado I don't think this is the case.

[Scottwax]

HellrotCi-actually, car manufacturers design air intakes to be quiet, which is why there is a plethora of aftermarket designs that make more power, albiet at the expense of more intake roar.

That having been said, however, if the Tornado worked as advertised, all car manufacturers would use it since it shouldn't affect the sound level of the factory intake and it would raise their CAFE mileage averages and they could advertise more horsepower. I mean seriously, if GM for example could add a $75 part to their cars and be able to market them with 2 mpg better mileage and 10-15 more horsepower, you know they would. The fact that they don't and that numerous car magazines have independently dyno tested them and found no extra power is enough to prove to me the Tornado doesn't work.

What is really funny, is in the ads for the Tornado, they show a copy of Sport Compact Car...and they pretty much slammed the Tornado. They show all these magazines that tested it but neglect to mention how the magazines showed the product didn't work.

[Yaz]

Thanks, everyone!!
I appreciate and value your input. And you have satisfied my curiosity. It's a dead issue and as the product name implies......It 's tossed in the wind!

Thanks, again!
Scott

[Michael Caciopp]

The physics just do not work. Save your money. Unless you a need more restrictive air intake ( and I do not know of anyone that does) you should get conned into buying one.

[Neb]

from what I've read, there may possibly be gains, for a carburated car....but in the current fuel-injected cars, the tornado does nothing. I've also heard of an incident where the tornado was sucked into the intake manifold :scared

[AzN Retribution]

yeah.. tornado does nothing for port side fuel injection...
only beneficial gains are in a carbeurated car..
and its not even as good as a SPE Throttle Body Spacer

[Stealthman]

I tested that on a 91 v6 vortec s 10 blazer and it did not give me 20 hp but it did give me a average of 3 miles more to the gal. And a lose guess of 5-10 hp (butt dino test). But if it will do the same for any other car I don't know. This was added by one of it's inventers and spokes people so it was in right and tight.

[DinosGSR]

I've heard in some cases, a part broke and ripped the holy hell out of the manifold and even some parts made it into the valves

Cold air intakes are a proven and decent performance gain if that is what you are looking for.

[PanaPower]

you want better gas mileage? Change your plugs when they are due, oil changes religiously, change air filter and keep your tires inflated properly. HTH.