Improved Consumption Figures

The Surbo gives more energy, enabling quick acceleration towards the more economical higher gears in a shorter time. If driving on highways, the vehicle easily exceeds speed limits due to the higher torque, so there will be more rolling and thus exceptional fuel savings. In the city, there is the same extra rolling momentum due to quicker acceleration, but much of that can be lost to braking. Thus, fuel savings can range from minimum zero (during hard sprinting in the city) to over twenty percent on the highway. Most customers report an overall improvement of 10% in economy. The following cars have been made more frugal with Surbo:

Economy Tips

1. Keep to the factory spec for the overall wheel diameter. This is the size of the rim plus tyres, and if you make the rims bigger, then you can use a lower profile tyre to keep to the original size. You can usually find this size on a sticker on the front door. Likewise, you should use the recommended tyre pressure. This is important for the car body to roll and push the engine the moment the Surbo is activated.

2. In between filter element changes, remove the element and shake the dust off to allow more air in.

3. Have the spark ignition timing tuned to factory spec where adjustable. Also important is the CO (carbon monoxide) emission level--tune by computer to as close to 0% as possible.

4. Top up the battery level, as a lack of electrolyte means a smaller store of available electricity, so the alternator has to load the engine more and make it consume more fuel.

5. Straighten and shorten the air intake layout to minimize friction and bend losses. The Surbo should be fitted nearest to and most directly at the throttle (but before any minor air connection to prevent bypass), to get and deliver the maximum back pressure in the air intake. Note: for before-filter installations, although the filter is in between, these have the advantage of free air before the Surbo, and a pressure-drop analysis will show both cases to be on the same footing.

6. Try to connect to cold air wherever possible as colder air has a higher density. For example, you can connect the air inlet to an opening in the grille.

7. Adding a boost meter might help, as this helps you get the most engine torque per throttle travel. If you press less, less fuel will be used up.

8. Upgrade to Twin Surbos as these simply have better low end torque and have stretched the mileage on single-Surbo cars. The Twin has been shown by the dynamometer to deliver more torque between 2500-3000 rpm so if you spend more time in that region (eg. during cruising) it will give better economy than the single Surbo.

9. Our general guideline is that maximum torque at the low and mid rpm range go hand in hand with fuel economy, because most of the driving time is spent in these ranges. It may not be advisable to shift gears upwards at too low an rpm, as the starting rpm in the next gear may be too low for power, and you will have to press more on the accelerator, and end up spending more time in the low, uneconomical gears. The rate of fuel injected at any moment is proportional to throttle travel x rpm x no. of cylinders. For a given car it must depend mainly on throttle travel (how much you press on the accelerator) and rpm (which you can control via gear selection). The total consumption is the sum of throttle travel x rpm x time spent in each gear over the journey.

Other Reports

*Proton Wira 1.3 manual achieved 20 km/l with Surbo.

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