secondary air filter/tornado

So I was wired up from my coffee at 6:00 am and decided to get under the hood of my truck and check this secondary filter out...I found it very easy to remove. All you need is a phillips screw driver and exacto knife (no drills, etc). After disconnecting that top half that the filter is in, I sat down at the kitchen table and cut cleanly along the inside of the "frame" all the way around (leaving nothing behind that could get sucked in). That's it...had it off and on in 10 minutes!

I did not notice any performance changes (I have the 2.7, 4 cyl) on the 35 mile commute to work (I'll let you all know if it helps mpg's), but that may be because I had already enhanced air intake using a "Tornado". I know, some folks think they are just a gimmick...but I have had them in four different vehicles and they do improve mpg's by 7%-10%! I put mine in the Taco right away, so I don't have before/after mpg's, but I already had proven it to myself on the others. Anyway, I have been getting 25+ mpg on a daily drive that's 25% city/75% hwy (and that's with warming it up some in the morning...I expect to get better in the summer). You do have to put them in according to the instructions, and in the proper location (each vehicle may be slightly different). I had one vehicle that I did not get any help from it until I tried a different location for it...but then my son said he could even hear a slight difference in the exhaust sound (it was a V8) once I got it right.

For what it's worth...as P.H. would've said.

 

I heard the same thing. A friend put one in his ram and his HP and MPG dropped. Than as soon as he took it off it went back up.

 

I never put one of my vehicles on a dyno, but I keep mpg records religiously...Hmmm. I wonder if they put it at the best point of the air intake system...it must be on the engine side of the mass air flow sensor, and not at the point of a turn in the hose, etc. Also, the computer needs to be reset when you install.

Other than that, I don't know what to say except for my personal mpg experience with four different vehicles. I guess they will give your money back if it doesn't work for you.

As for the removal of the secondary filter...adid anyone have any mpg improvement?

 

Well, I'm not sure if your premises are correct...I'm not an engineer to argue that. I do think I can stand by the mpg numbers I previously came up with...

But back to the secondary air filter (I guess I derailed things by mentioning the Tornado)....anyone see any mpg improvement?

 

http://fuelsaving.info/turbulence.htm

 

He lists his qualifications on the site:
http://fuelsaving.info/biog.htm

Also, he wasn't defending the turbulance device.
His conclusions:

• Engines already have high levels of turbulence, and the physics is well understood
• Adding more turbulence can give only a tiny fuel economy benefit - this is proved by experiment
• Ignition must be adjusted to suit the faster burn, or the effect will be worse economy
• Increased turbulence at full load will most likely damage the engine unless the ignition is retarded
• Anything in the inlet manifold is extremely unlikely to affect in-cylinder air motion anyway

 

Wow...It sounds good, but you way lost me with all the technical speak! So is your conclusion that intake system devices creating turbulence help with efficiency, or not?

 

They do not. If they did no one would ever bother to have their heads and intake manifolds polished

 

With the red part, I think he was referring to aftermarket turbulance generators which attach to the intake manifold, since the point of the post is whether or not aftermarket turbulance generators can improve fuel economy.

What is the error in the article? He accepts criticisms or clarifications at mail2 (at) fuelsaving (dot) info

 

I would figure if these "tornado" dohickeys are so great, why don't we see them in high performance cars, sportbikes, piston driven airplanes, offshore raceboats, or anything? I don't care what the salesman says. The guys who build the engines don't put them in, even the guys building the engines that don't go through a smog sniffer. Thats all the proff I need.

Show me one F1, CART, MotoGP, World Superbike, or SCORE racer who uses one.

 

How much miles are on your Taco?

 

My '09 bought 2/7/09 has 1600 miles already...I put the Tornado in at about 100 miles (first day). So you can see why I look for ways to stretch the fuel...even though I did not buy a Taco for economy. In fact I had a Yaris and traded it in after 11 months (took a soaking on it) because I just couldn't stand it any more, even with 40 mpg!

Perhaps by the end of next week I will be able to tell if removing the secondary filter helped mpg. If it didn't help, I guess I will be looking for a replacemnt filter at some point.