I saw this on ebay and it got me thinking....
This thing is just a blower attached between the MAF and air cleaner. If you found a good electric blower, you could just wire it up to a switch on the dash somewhere. Then you could turn on and off your blower. I know it's pretty ghetto, but what do you guys think? Think it works?

Saw a pic on the net years ago of someone who wired an electric leaf blower into their air intake system... now that was g h e t t o <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" /> To answer your question about that product: its snake oil. Forced induction isn't just about blowing air; its about compressing it so it is much more dense. There is no way that thing is capable of doing so (at least, not to any measure that is worth your while). Sorry <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/baby.gif" alt="" />

You could do it, but it won't do anything.
A blower like that will move a large volume of air, but it will not compress the air to any noticable pressure. If it were able to compress the air, it would cause the electric motor to work harder. The harder an electric motor works, the more electricity it takes to make the motor run. Where does that electricity come from? Your alternator. The more electrical load your alternator has on it, the more horsepower your engine is funneling to the alternator.
A turbo charger works off lost heat energy that is normally wasted through the exhaust gases. If this electric "turbo" would work, you would be creating more power or energy from what energy you are using, which is called perpetual energy which is impossible. Don't waste your money.

It has to do something, because your engine has to suck air in. If the air is slightly pushed in, that will help some. I have a big sound system in my truck, when i really push the volume, i never notice a difference in power. I was thinking about a leaf blower at one time. Those things have some power. Id rather get a $60 af blower then a 3000 dollar charger.

kevan

Litnin I think you missed the point/are confusing efficiency with overall power production.

By your logic (energy taken directly from the engine cannot create energy) a supercharger will not work. Of course in reality they do work. They work to create more power by allowing more fuel to be pumped through and burned to match the greater air being delivered. Hence more power is created. Granted it is at a lower efficiency. However more total energy is created and delivered to the wheels.

A leaf blower (i.e. electric supercharger) would have even a greater inefficiency as you have to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy back to mechcanical energy to move the air. Again though just because it is less efficient doesn't mean it couldn't deliver more power. Granted a less efficient power but more power than the engine otherwise would deliver.

I do though agree that such a system is not worth much. I just fail to see that much of a power gain and too many costs (including more fuel) and things to go wrong for such a system to be worth it.

No, I wasn't confusing anything... but what you said is basically what I was trying to say. An electric motor that is capable of producing the "boost" or pressure required to work at any reasonable efficiency would have to be HUGE and be an extreme current hog. These little motors that these electric blowers are using are not capable of compressing air enough to make any noticable boost. Remember, just blowing a large volume of air at your engine won't do anything... the engine will only draw what it needs to breathe. Without compressing the air molecules, you aren't going to get more air in to the engine.. It's called "Volumetic efficiency". That's why turbo's work... they use otherwise wasted heat energy to power the turbine which in turn compresses the air dramatically... it doesn't just throw a large volume of air at the engine. It throws the large volume of air at the engine under a lot of compression. The amount of current needed to power an electric motor big enough to make any noticable boost would null any power gains that it could produce.

If you can help the engine breathe in any way, it will make more horsepower (uhh cold air intake, k&n air filter) Now if you helped the engine put air into the engine then it has to help. That motor cant draw anymore power then my sound system, which has no noticable power loss.

And if you draw it straight to the battery with a switch, then that should help right?

kevan

Well to be technically correct, an engine doesn't "suck" air in. As the piston goes down it tries to draw air in. The throttle valve creates a restriction therefore causing a vacuum or negative air pressure state. The outside air, being of higher pressure 14.7:1 (at sea level) tries to force it's way to the lower air pressure area. It's actually atmostpheric pressure trying to push it's way in to the engine... the engine doesn't "suck" in air.

You're right, it probably doesn't draw more power than your stereo system... you have no noticable power loss.. well, with an 'electric turbo' you'll have no noticble power gain.

As for the cold air intake idea... that is a totally separate issue. It's a known fact that hot air is less dense than cold air. Draw hot air from under the hood and you don't have as many air molecules entering the intake as you do if you draw fresh "cooler" air from outside the engine compartment. More air molecules allows the fuel to burn more efficiently which will create more power.

With the electric turbo, unless you can compress the air going in, you won't get any more air going through it than what atmostpheric pressure can force in. The electric motors that small just aren't capable of creating boost in the levels high enough to make any noticable power increases. Also, keep in mind that when you compress air it gets hot. Hot air has less molecules than cold air... that's why turbo chargers 'usually' have intercoolers on the intake air stream after the turbo.
They use the intercooler to help cool the compressed air.

I'm not going to sit an argue over something that has been proven time and time again that it doesn't work. If you wish to go waste your money, that's fine with me. It's your vehicle and it's your money. If it was so inexpensive to do and it worked, then why don't the manufacturers use them instead of using exhuast driven turbos or belt driven superchargers? It sure would be cheaper, don'tcha think?
If they really worked, I would think they would be sold in performance and speed shops, rather than by someone on Ebay..

Oh, and as far as running straight from the battery to the switch, well, last time I checked, the alternator charges the battery. The heavier the load you draw on the battery, the alternator has to work that much harder to keep the battery in a charged state. It wont' matter where you pull the current from, the alternator is the work horse that has to replace the current.

Just a reminder to everyone, be civil. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Litin said it, but not exactly. The concept is to compress the air before it enters the engine. A super charger (screw or centrifugal) and a turbo both compress the air within their housing before putting it into the intake. We call them blowers, but they really are compressors. The thing on ebay is most likely a boat exhaust fan. Fan, fans blow, but are very poor at compressing anything.

Other things to remember is a) you put a boat fan in your intake tube and it is going to be a huge restriction. It will restrict when it is on, it will restrict when it is off. b) I also doubt it can even come close to moving the required CFM for an engine. c) as Litin said, anything electric that has the ability to move and compress air will require a large amount of juice to run. Not to mention that your alt may put out x-amps peak, but that is only at a certain RPM, what happens when you are not in that range? Well, any electric motor that is run with insufficient amperage will just burn up.

Good Luck,
Michael

I snagged a few quotes from their past customers' feedback (just a few of the ones that were obviously in reference to the little fan).
Because I'm a negative person in general, I'll start with the negatives:
-i didnt get enough wire to install, and the results werent as good as said.
-It was not really what I expect
-Don't buy this product, it is nothing but a boat bilge fan; thence the no return
-fast delivery,but didn't notice difference in horse power
-i was expecting something a lil more for the money i payed i got a a/c blower
-Part doesn't fit, not what it said and they wont refund the money. bad business
-no hookup components,no noticable change,good delivery time.
And now some positive feedback comments...
-Great item, fun to install, nice boost in HP and makes the engine run better.
-My son just raves about the outstanding performance of this supercharger!
-The product is awesome! Total boost on horsepower. Will definitly deal again!

What did the last three people install it on? A lawn tractor? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />