From time to time someone will make a post to the board asking about one of these Miracle Performance Enhancers… “Does this really work?” The short answer; no.
While far from inclusive, here are a few of our favorite infomercial items that may not make your car run any better but will make your wallet lighter. Due to space limitations, we wont go into a lot of detail as to why they don’t work, but trust us… they don’t.
The Tornado/Turbinator:
This bolt on wonder supposedly creates a vortex that improves airflow into your engine and helps to atomize the air that mixes with the fuel so it will burn more efficiently. There are so many reasons why this wont work I wouldn’t even know where to start.
The only vortex that it will create is the one that replaces the empty space in your wallet where your money used to be.
Electric Supercharger/Turbocharger:
Adding a leaf blower motor to the air intake of your car will give you about as much extra boost as bolting it onto the rear spoiler will.
The 20HP Superchip/Resistor Mod:
Here’s the deal. I’m assuming that you know colder air requires more fuel to burn completely, and that’s why a ‘cold air intake’ will (supposedly) give you more horsepower. Basically, the whole theory is ‘more air in, more power out’ Well there are two sides to that story. You need to be able to flow more air in, yes, but you also need more air out. When you trick the computer into thinking that it’s getting more air coming in, (cold or hot) then you end up with really poor fuel economy. Because the computer is thinking that the engine isn’t warm yet.
This kit is nothing more then a 0.20 cent resistor that you could get from any Radio Shack that changes the voltage the computer sees. If the computer thinks that it’s getting more air, or colder air, or more, colder air, then it’s going to let more fuel into the engine.
The new sucking sound you will hear with this one is from your gas tank because your fuel mileage is going right down the drain. By The Way, let’s not forget that you will foul your plugs because you’ll be running a lot richer than you should be. This is bad in the long run.
Other similar items you may see are things that plug into your exhaust sensor, and they have the same effect, just a different method.
Venom Fuel Control Module:
Similar in concept to the Resistor Mod (above), but instead of $11.00, these guys are hitting you up for $90.
The difference with the Venom Module is that instead of tricking the computer into believing that the engine needs more air, it messes with the throttle position sensor reading (TPS) and tells the computer to set your fuel injectors to wide open when the gas peddle is only half way down.
You can achieve the same result and save yourself $90 by just standing on it.
Slick 50 (And Other Engine Oil Additives):
There are about 50 oil additive products on the market which make the claim that they can extend your engine life and increase horsepower, many of them being just duplicate products under different names from the same company. The price for a pint or quart of these engine oil additives runs from a few dollars to more than $20. Do these products do any good? Not much. Do they do any harm? Sometimes.
What's in these miracle lubricants, anyway? If they're so wonderful, why don't car manufacturers recommend their usage? Why don't oil companies get into the additive business? Where are these studies mentioned by Petrolon (Slick 50)? Probably in the same file cabinet as the tobacco company studies proving the health benefits of smoking.
We would all like our little EXP’s to go faster, and there is always someone out there trying to make a “fast buck” (pun intended) on that desire. Unfortunately there are no simple, cheap, easy solutions to getting your car to perform better. It takes time, patience, and a general understanding of how engines work to make it happen.
Like I tell my kids, “If it was easy, everyone would do it”.
