Hi all, I am seeing more and more of this product called the Turbonator http://www.turbonator.com/index.html?id=adWordsJeep

Has anyone used this before or heard anything else about it. I am thinking about getting it to try in my wrangler's I4. I called to ask about it too when I heard some people installed 2 and you can even put 3 and they said that this is for older cars or engines that haven't been cared for so they need a little extra but a new engine should see noticable gains with one. For the price and the $$$back guarentee (or most of your $$$back after reading the fine print of a %15 restocking fee) I figure maybe I'll give it a try. What do ya'll think of this little thing, I'm just interested in saving at the pump....I doubt I will feel the advertised HP gains

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Save your money for gas and don't fall for these gimmics.

RapRap
1940 ChoppedChevyCoupe

This and along with the magnets that you clamp on your fuel line, will only make you loose $100. or so. The only thing you will feel is your pockets more empty.

chopped40 said it best "GIMMICS"

Ed

haha I figured this thing was a POS but ya never know. eh, it is just like all the other cheap stuff out there....if it is so good and cheap, why don't the auto makers put em on in the first place. Chopped 40 is right, it does sound too good to be true. Hey Ed, what is the magnets that you clamp on your fuel line? never heard of them or what they do.

popular mechanics recently did a piece on add-on fuel saving devices. the best they could claim is, they relieved the purchaser of some hard-earned money!

Ed sent me a link about the magnet things so I'll put it up incase anyone else didn't know what they were. This also has great info on the other gimmics out there like that tornado thing I'm sure a lot of you saw before.

http://www.carbibles.com/retrofitdevices.html

In many conversations out there the sequence of forum talk is _hey, look how cool; and the response is _if it worked, *they'd* have bought it already...

Ford and GM didn't invent the car, and they have spent themselves into oblivion looking for a way to make elephants dance. Would you buy advice from these folks? (ok, some might)

On another forum here]http://www.inliners.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000705>here[/url]
posting just one level up from here, I came across the Groove thing from Somender Singh (also featured in Popular Science for his fuel saving device [hmm.. celebrated for fuel saving device a couple of years ago, but Pop Mech ignores him today when it is important to justify .. sorry, not going there.. here :])

OK this guy seems to have the holy grail of engine performance just for scraping a little metal off the cylinder head.

Everyone seems to doubt first, but then some of the smartest people on the site chime in and suggest that it works as advertised. Then you go see the images posted with times, cam settings, tune settings, race results and the Track they ran it on. Just no Dyno and that's being taken care of apparently by Putzstatistics.

If he's real then the numbers will finally have arrived.

If the numbers describe a different kind of turbulent combustion, then what?

What will a world of 13:1 compression performance and 30% fuel savings do? And if it is an easy retrofit?

IMO it sounds like this guy could just blow the doors off of the status quo.

Not to ring his bell too much tho' - I think a serious issue is increased NOx from hotter, faster flame.

Is that enough to kill the Groove?

http://www.fuelsaving.info/turbulence.htm

I seem to remember that a friend of mine told me a story that he experienced. He was looking for the "Magic" solution to better gas mileage. He swore that a throttle body spacer would work like the advertisemnat stated due to the "Swirling ram effect" and greater atomization of fuel. He purchased it, installed it correctly, (I watched him) and after 2 weeks of driving, he stated he got 1 to 1.5 MPG better! After his exhuberence calmed down, I asked him about his driving conditions. He said he tried to drive the speed limit, did not do the fast starts at the stop lights, drove a more direct and level route, and tried to throttle back on the gas peddle when ever possible. M-m-m-m-m. His aggressive driving ways were changed. After a few months he was back to his old driving ways and I asked him about the MPG. He said the added MPG didn't last and he has not checked recently. The ****n thing stopped working. (I think it's the loose nut behind the wheel)

I installed a Vacuumn gauge years ago on my 2001 Dakota pickup and it does the same thing his throttle body spacer did. It made me aware I was driving too agressive and by keeping a keen eye on the gauge, I saved 1 to 1.5 MPG and $75.00 to boot! My Autometer gauge cost-$45.00. his Throttlebody spacer cost-$120.00. Do the math.

The dyno was done and showed a 3% increase in torque from the groove alone. Compression and other sttings that the groove allows were not made. Expect subsequent tests to show fuel use and more advantages.

It looks like you can drive as aggressively as you like and save fuel doing it.

From other responses and private individuals, around 30% fuel savings in stop/start driving.

Granted it is more involved than the turbonator, but the advantages might be greater as well.

Sorry to preach. As my nick indicates, I'm really into the idea and look forward to when I can get a head retail.

Cheers.

Update on Singh and his Grooves:
Popular Sience Article

Finally he was allowed to bring his engines and hook them to a Benz EC-70 dynamometer with a five-gas analyzer and a Benz gravimetric fuel-measuring device. A week later, he got his results. According to ARAI, at between 2,000 and 2,800 rpm, Singh’s modified engine used between 10 and 42 percent less fuel than its unmodified twin, with no appreciable losses in torque or power. And, as he suspected, it ran cooler too—as much as 16°C cooler.