Hi folks, I've owned my 93 4.0 XLT for many years but I'm new to this forum.

I searched the Aerostar archives but I didn't get any hits. Has anyone had any positive experience with a turbonator? I'd love to be able to improve my mileage.

My TurboCoupe friends said they were worthless. It may be different for a normally aspirated engine though. Any comments?

 

Might help mix the air/fuel if close enough to carb in carbureted engine.
Worthless in injected engine, too far from the injector/air mixing point.
Is the Saud Royal family the financiers for the Turbinator Comp.?

 

Welcome!

Don't waste your money. They fall in the catigory of the Tornado, ect. If they were so great at gaining mpg, don't you think that all the manufacturers would be using them?

Spend the money on a new air filter, fuel filter, plugs/wires and use some seafoam/berrymans to decarb the intake. You will see real results with these items.

 

Ok, if they were so great at improving fuel economy, the manufacturers would NOT use them. The reason is, that the automakers are all owned by oil companies, and to make the vehicle much more efficent than the EPA requires would be harmful to their oil profits. However, the Turbonator is a waste of money, because it is the Tornado. If you want to try this type of product, go with SpiralMax, since it works much better than the cheap Tornado/Turbonator. I have tested the SpiralMax personally, and it worked very well in a 92 3.0. The performance gain and fuel economy gain was very significant. It gets 3 MPG better than it did previously, and has more than 20 HP more than a stock Aerostar. Preformance and economy was measured over 1000 miles, and holds steady. It averages 20 MPH city, and the area that I live in is hilly too. The lowest economy measure was 18.9 MPH, and the highest was 22.
However, make sure you try all available tune up items before trying this product. Replace the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and the O2 sensors, and run some Techron concentrate through your fuel system.
If you decide to try a vortec generator, buy the SpiralMax, because
1: it is the original, and still hold the patent
2: it is better built and does not restrict airflow
3: I have tested it on 3.0 Aerostars and found it to work well ( I cannot speak for the 4.0 however)

 

Thanks for the tips. I've always been skeptical of this product - even though they appear to be a sponsor here.
I am getting some pinging under heavy load. I'll try one of the de-carbonizing products. I'm running good quality wires and plugs. 4.0s don't have a cap and rotor. I'll check my log for the last time I replaced an O2 sensor.
I've never heard of the SpiralMax. I'll read up on it.

 

Pinging more than it used to under heavy load does suggest carbon build up. Go ahead and decarbonize. I recommend the Seafoam. Pinging will definately harm your power output.

 

PINGING usually is best alleviated by cleaning your Mass Air Flow sensor. If you are otherwise having carbon build-up problems change your gasoline supplier and/or exercise your engine periodically.
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"Turbonator? - come on guys!

I may not know diddly about Automatic tranny's but serious discussion about swirling the airstream before the throttle body boggles the mind!
I'm a geezer who did some hot-rodding in the sixties and read considerably on intake tuning. Esp the very comprehensive studies by David Vizard.

So does the latest version of "85mpg carburetor stifled because oil companies own the mfrs" bother me.
By the time that swirl gets through the maze of the port EFI intake, the effect is minimal at best... with possible exception of at or near Wide Open Throttle.

WHICH CASE, you will notice, is how they demonstrate its effect. But think about how often you drive at WOT.

And ALL gas induced OTHER than at WOT is eventually burned anyway, under mixture control sensed by the EGO sensor. By eventually I mean within a few strokes. So there is NO way that you can improve mileage on a well tuned, averagely driven, car by an overall ten percent. WOT barely induces 15 % excess gas.
BUT!!! Think about, or research for yourself, WHY the mixture is enriched at WOT in the first place!

The kicker here is that -theoretically- it WOULD work SOME, IF it were strategically placed in the individual intake runners a certain distance ahead of the injector. BUT its configuration would depend on the head intake port layout - whether to go for a RH or LH swirl.
Note the HSC (High Swirl Chamber) design does this AFTER the injector.

Likewise; if designed for specific CFI applications.
But on a CARB application it might help or hurt or have no effect because of the swirl pattern at the venturi changing due to load/volume variations.. not to mention the critical distance to the 'boiloff' in the intake.

I have no problem with those products being advertised on here... I believe in caveat emptor, and, likewise, if you THINK it helps, more power to ya... just dont insult my intelligence by arguing FOR it!

 

The admins of this site don't have much control over all the products advertised here. It's all part of a package deal.
A good way to not get bombarded with ads on here is to become a Club FTE member. Members dont see any of the ads, which makes the whole site easier to use and faster to load

 

Like I say the ads dont bother me a bit! More free enterprise! More discussion=more info... More -common sense- thinking by the average guy... eventually.

 

That's good to know. To the uninitiated, it appears like the site endorses these products. Are you allowed to display a disclaimer?

Anyway, I don't get sucked into these things. Even when they post "customer comments". At least the SpiralMax says Mileage and HP results vary from 0 - **. Meaning they cover their butts if it doesn't work.

 

You would have better performance injecting water in the intake. The water contains a more dense air. A side benefit is the steam that is created in the combustion chamber will clean the carbon off.

P.S. We are talking a small spray mist, Not a water hose