Tornado Air/ K&N Filter?

[RyanH 14]

Has anyone tried either the Tornado Air Mover or the K&N Filter in their vehicle for improved gas mileage? I have a friend who documented everything and found the Tornado to give him a 2mpg improvement in his Chevy 3500 extended cargo van.

My Ram 1500 (rather, my wallet) is lucky to get 12 mpg (typically around 11.5 alone, 10.8 with trailer) and I would like to do something to pick this up, and one success story isn't enough to fully convince me that it is widely applicable. Any experience on either of these?

[JustMe 14]

The FIPK kit from K&N will feed you more air and increase your fuel economy, however I find that most people dig the sound of the fipk and hit the gas more :)

fipk = Fuel injector perfomance kit. Basicaly bypasses the air box and filter with a new system.

[Aplus 525]

I've got the K&N replacement filter installed and it has not helped fuel economy at all. In fact the only time it seems to make a difference in performance is at higher rpm's when pulling a load. Probably a waste of $45.

[RyanH 14]

I bought the Tornado and installed it yesterday. Going on a roadtrip over the weekend, so I will be documenting fuel consumption/mileage along the way. I'll let everyone know the results. Some background info on the truck for those who might have similar:

2003 Dodge Ram 1500

Quad Cab (heavier than standard)

5.7L HEMI

avg. economy: 11.5 mpg (based upon actual distance and gas consumed, not onboard computer)

4.92 rear-end gearing ratio (I believe this is the proper term)

[JustMe 14]

I've got the K&N replacement filter installed and it has not helped fuel economy at all. In fact the only time it seems to make a difference in performance is at higher rpm's when pulling a load. Probably a waste of $45.

Sounds like you just have the drop in, I have never noticed much in the way of fuel savings with them, however they do let it breath better so they are not all bad.

Here is a link to the FIPK's

http://www.knfilters.com/

[reed 500]

I have often wondered if the Torando did what it claims to do.

Reed

[stoppie101 20]

dont know about the tornado, but i can vouch for the k&n. atleast for bikes. it will increase air flow in. on bikes the air filter is twice the size of a typical car/truck. and they only have between 600-1000cc motors. keep us opdated, i would like to know how it works out.

[JustMe 14]

I ran them on my Kawi drag bike over my smooth bores, they do let the motor gulp the air. Only problem I ever had was bad cross winds force feeding the bike, but that thing was so open it had no protection from side winds.

[RyanH 14]

Results thus far.

I did a 330 mile road trip and broke it up into a few parts.

Previous mileage without the Tornado was 12.45 miles per gallon on the interstate.

With the Tornado, I've averaged 16.35 miles per gallon.....clearly an improvement.

After 2100 miles the gizmo will have paid for itself ($70).

These numbers are averages of the three broken up parts to try and provide a good number and take into account for variances in humidity and temperature. There was about a 20% difference in humidity and 15 degree F temperature difference between the starting and ending points and the three parts of the trip spanned those zones, so the numbers seem pretty much on.

I'm a very satisfied customer.

Ryan H.

[RyanH 14]

15.35 mpg in city driving. My wife is getting tired of me stopping by a gas station every 100 miles.

Damn, how about that Tornado!!!!

[Claude 14]

Hey gas is actually going down in Atlanta area......anywhere else that anyone has noticed. Wonder if the "Tornado" would do my 4 cylinder Nissan P/U with over 300 thousand miles any good??

:usa:

Happy Memorial Day ya'll

[RyanH 14]

Georgia claims to have the lowest tax on fuel......oil companies claim that the two largest factors affecting their prices are taxes and oil costs......oil costs from suppliers are constant across the country (I presume).....then why in the world would South Carolina (where I'm spending the weekend) have gas $0.15 CHEAPER on the gallon than Georgia!!!!!!!!

Who is lying? I think the companies in Georgia are trying to screw the customers out of some money. Oh well.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I'd do a mileage test to see what I'm getting, but my odometer quit working about 30k miles ago (that's an estimate, since I have no way of knowing!)

'88 Chevy 2500 5.7L...I get maybe 10mpg towing my rig (of course, that's an estimate)...I wonder if this is something that would help an older truck? It only has 70k miles or so on it, runs great, just lousy mileage.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I also have a 4 cylinder Nissan, '91, sitting in the yard...150k miles on it and still running perfectly...It sat for a year and started right up...Wish I could pull my trailer with it! I keep meaning to clean it up and sell it, but I can't seem to bring myself to get rid of it.

[Mike Williamson 198]

I think the oil companies are screwing everyone, but only to a certain degree...Taxes haven't gone up in the past few months, and the cost of oil right now is actually cheaper than it has been in the past...and yet we are paying record gas prices...where is the increase really? Taxes, oil prices, or oil company profits?

I'm not whining, I just don't like being lied to.

[Claude 14]

I am no defender of the BIG OIL companies but there also hasn't been a new REFINERY built in 28 years.......whasup with that.....surely demand has gone up since then????? I do know that the mom and pop service station that sells the gas don't make a whole heck of a lot of pennies per gallon. They are at the end of the spigot. Once again as in the last embargo.....America needs to figure out new technology for the replacement of fossil fuels!!!

[CCPC 26]

---Hydrogen---

[troyt 14]

Does anyone haul the equipment just on a flat bed, or does everyone use an enclosed trailer?

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

My equipment is in a 97 Dodge 3500 with a 12 foot box