I was talking to a guy this weekend about the fuel economy I get on my Expedition and he said that he bought this thing called a Tornado for his F-150. He swears it gave him 4-8 more MPG than he was getting before.
That's an incredible result. I stopped by NAPA and sure enough, they sell it. Supposedly it forces more air in to the chamber and atomizes somehthing more effieciently causing better fuel economy and HP.
Thoughts on this gimmic? He swears by it! If I don't hear something negative soon I'm gonna try it out.

 

Garbage. Don't waste your money. Many members here have used it and thrown it away. If you really could get great results from this product everyone would have one. Save yourself the cash for something else.

 

I've got one installed on my 2000 5.4L 4x4, along with an Air Force One intake kit, and see about a 1MPG increase over not having it. It seems to have a little more pickup, mainly at highway speeds also, but that is just a SOP assessment, for what it's worth.

I did run a test by taking it out, and the engine had to downshift a lot more to maintain cruise control speeds (~78 mpg) on hills on the interstate without it. Not quite sure what that indicates, but it seems to me that the downshifting would mean that it couldn't maintain the same power levels that the truck computer is used to with the Tornado (and increased/modified air flow) in. So it definitely has some sort of impact on the engine's breathing.

My some of the more "engine-knowledgeable" members on the board could comment on that data.

 

Well, as you can see, there are two sides to the coin and I've heard this one discussed numerous times. I've considered buying one but, every time I do, I read a negative comment that makes me think a little more...

I'm really on the fence post with this thing...

RP

 

The only thing that keeps me from getting one is this:

Car and truck manufacturers spend a lot of effort and money trying to get the milage rating of their vehicles as high as they can. It couldn't cost much to engineer some sort of a vortex generator in the intake. Even if it only gave you an increase of 1mpg, the manufacturer would jump on it.

However, the theory behind a vortex generator make lots of sense. I'd like to see Consumer Reports or Guru Reports do an independent test them. I'd just hate to spend $75 ($150 for the big broncos) on a piece of metal that doesn't work.

'03 SCab 4x4
'94 Bronco
'89 Bronco
'73 Bronco

 

It is in fact complete BS! You can tell in the commercial when they are doing the test on the impala SS they have in on the dyno. It pushes like 230hp. After the tornado is installed it shows an increase of about 6hp. They all stand there looking amazed. If you look close enough you will see that the impala is now equiped with a K&N intake.

Higgins ford did a test recently with a 99 mustang GT. It was put on a dyno in stock form 3 times and then again 3 times with the Tornado installed. The mustang lost 6-11hp on each of the 3 runs. Yeah thats right, LOST! Stay away.

http://www.higginsfordperformance.com/

 

All those tornades are good to be used for is to play freezbie with.... i had one in my truck for about 3 hours and it felt like it wanted to bog down!! so now i use it to play freezbie..it flys REALLY WELL...

lata,
Drew

 

...and next year they will modify the color and sell it under a different name

 

Originally posted by yysenhimer
...and next year they will modify the color and sell it under a different name

Yeah, the Vornado.

 

I have seen dyno sheets where cars have lost between 2-6 whp with them installed. However, I have also noticed 1-4 whp gains on other chevy small block applications.

My old roomate's father is an engineer that uses one and swears by it. The "catch" though is that he only sees gains when coupled with a K&N. I don't remember the dyno gain (can't be much) but the MPG went up by 2 consistantly. That was measured on an Accord, Blazer, and 1500 350 Chevy; the Chevy being the only car on a dyno The odd thing is that he actually installed it upside down to mismatch the airflow--making sense to create somewhat of a vortex. Installing it the way he was supposed to created no gains at all.

All in all, it'd be a better idea to spend the 100 bucks elsewhere such as a K&N or the like which is tried and true. Hope this helps.

 

I've always thought abut this thing in the back of my mind, but figured it was possibly just snake oil. After all, I don't see ANY top tuners using it! Thanks for the input, guys.

 

Yeah never looked real popular to me! So I stayed away!

 

I've never had one, but my interest led me to read comments on them. From what I can tell they work as designed at low rpm and provide better gas milage, but at high rpm they block the air flow more than anything resulting in reduced hp. I suppose if you ran a dyno at half throttle you would see more hp.

So if your are looking for better gas milage it's a go, but if you want more power look elsewhere.

 

you can't spin air by forcing it through a vane, once the air is past the obstruction, the pump (engine) is just going to pull it forward as fast as it can. it does not care if it just went through a 90 dollar gimmick.

 

Bought a version of the Tornado(Vortex) for my 01 Mustang Bullitt when the car was stock. Dynoed it and lost 7 rwhp between the runs I did. Installed it when I put a CAI on and lost even more. Piece of crap. The laws of physics dectate that it will not help any, because it is actually restricting airflow. Makes no sense.

~Colby