| Item | Strength | Weakness | Compatibility | How Does Surbo Compare? |
| Non-powered spinning fan put inside air pipe. Inspired by external wind fans of airplanes, but there is no wind to blow at the fan inside the car's air pipe. Instead, it uses up part of engine vacuum to pull itself into a spin | This fan is faster than the engine when the engine is braked, possibly increasing rolling distance. | During acceleration the engine is faster than this fan, so it uses up power to pull the fan into a spin. As air speed cannot be increased quickly, this is not good for gearchanges downwards. | Better to remove this item as this can retard air feed to the Surbo. This item has also been mistakenly called Surbo in one video. | The Surbo uses just part of the engine's vacuum to induce air through itself, and upon generating a vortex internally, forms its own deep vacuum so that the engine's vacuum can be preserved for extended power, using just part throttle |
| Cyclones. These tumble the air, forcing the air to turn using metal guides | Cyclones are easy to put into air pipes and carburetor filter cases due to various sizes. The carburetor type works as the air input swirls and the output is perpendicular and continuous with the input, automatically forming a vortex. | However, the EFi type cyclone where input and output are not at right angles may not form such a natural vortex. Users who have experienced both types also said the carburetor type was better. | Does not matter unless the same space is required | The Surbo's sealed installation generates an engine back pressure when the throttle is held or slightly closed. This back pressure causes the gradually curved pointed fins to emit crossed, compressive air jets, fed by the Surbo's internal suction vortex. The back pressure level is the same for most engines, so they listen to this back pressure signal and jet the air through the Surbo to charge the air, irrespective of the engine size or rpm. So, with the Surbo you "press less to get more", and it is more powerful than even the carburetor cyclone, which delivers more power if the accelerator is pressed more. In fact, the Surbo is able to generate its full power using just half throttle |
| Racing spark plugs | Real increase in power as shown on test charts | The thin tips of some brands can erode prematurely and cause misfiring. | Yes | The Surbo still gives a sharp increase in torque that can be felt every time it is activated. One Surbo user commented that twin tip sparks like the Spiltfire brand was useful before the Surbo was up. However,once the Surbo was working it would mask over the sparks' effect. |
| Spark amplifiers | Added power that can readily be felt from low rpm, like the aircon was turned off | Shock risk as reported by owner of a 1980 Honda Accord 1.6 | Yes | No electrical risk as the Surbo is not connected to electricity |
| Sport filter elements | Washable, more power as tested | Fine dust will get through, as seen by wiping the air pipe with a finger. Some brands do not fit so well, and some collapse under filter lid pressure because the thin seals of the original design are hard to imitate (for example, Toyotas). When they give way, not only will more dust enter, air suction power is affected as the air will not flow through the mesh properly. If the air flow meter is fitted directly after it, dust can affect the metering, as the AFM is a dual temperature sensor | Does not matter if Surbo is fitted after this filter (Surbo between filter and engine), but original filter required if Surbo is fitted before the filter (Surbo before filter and engine). | The Surbo's airtight installation will prevent dust from entering through gaps in air pipes, if there is a good original filter. The Surbo's increased air suction due to its internal vortex means that the effective air suction of a Surbo through an original filter element is greater than that of a metal-mesh filter alone, the best of which reportedly increases air flow by just 1%. |
| Straight through muffler | Power gain at higher rpm | Loss of exhaust back pressure means a weaker low end, and increased fuel consumption as a result. This is particularly problematic for automatic cars as they usually work at a low rpm | Ok for manual cars, as revving can be controlled by the driver | The Surbo gives high end power easily so long as the low end power is good. There is probably no need for exhaust changes when a Surbo is installed |
| 4-2-1 exhaust manifold | Improved high rpm power as it avoids the congestion at high air flow of a 4-1 exhaust pipe design. | The high rpm power is achieved at the expense of low rpm power, because the mutual pushing of the individual exhaust pipes at low air flow in a 4-1 arrangement is lost | As above | As above. |
| Cone filters with steel pipes | Improvement at the top end when wind is able to rush in | Air can get hotter. Some come without oil breathers so insist that the oil breather be fixed in the same position as the original intake | Yes, if there is space for the Surbo | The Surbo will still add power to such intakes. They are useful if the Surbo cannot be fitted to the original air pipe or filter case due to lack of space, or a filter cover that cannot be sealed. |
| Electric fan air chargers | Good when engine speed is low as the fan can accelerate fast enough to push the engine | Fan probably too small to push large engines at high rpm. Air pipe has to be cut to accomodate this item | Mutually exclusive | Surbo is charged to the engine back pressure, which is the same for most vehicles and does not depend on cc or rpm |
| Air bypasses. These have a small opening for air, and are put along air tubes connected to the engine manifold, such as the brake tubes, or some other vacuum tube. When opened they allow air to flow into the engine without going through the throttle | Easier for air to enter when throttle opening is small, since it is a secondary air inlet | Splits the air suction with the main air filter, weakening it, and when the air bypasses' opening is clogged with dirt, it does not give this benefit anymore, and higher rpm power suffers. Also, the tight vacuum required for braking is broken, so that it takes more time for the brake pump to react, and braking distance is increased | No | The Surbo does not tamper with the engine's vacuum, but because of the sealing requirement for Surbo installation, the installer only deepens the vacuum as he seeks to cover every gap, so improving the brake sensitivity |
| Fuel additives. These are refillable and added for every tank of fuel. The fuel becomes more combustible with these. | There may be fuel economy improvements as the fuel is more easily burnt | The fuel can become too easy to burn, and knocking sometimes occurs when the accelerator is pressed too much, as cylinder compression alone can cause the air fuel mixture to ignite, before the spark is fired. We have experienced this with a certain fuel additive and stopped using it | Use these sparingly | The Surbo gets around the knocking problem by using half throttling to get more power. When only half throttle is used, the fuel input is also lessened, so the likelihood of knocking is greatly reduced. A Chevrolet Captiva 2.4 owner said while testing the Surbo that the knocking noises previously heard were gone. |
| Engine oil additives | Improves compression immediately as gaps in the cylinder walls are lessened by a coating, for example | Yes | The Surbo improves the compression in the cylinders by putting more air in using air jets | |
| Throttle controllers | Quick way to alter throttle response, with economy, normal and power modes | Economy mode reduces power, while power mode increases fuel consumption | Useful for overcoming weak low ends, that are caused by oversized wheels and tyres, or other mods | The Surbo gives the high end like this item, but with better fuel consumption |
| ECU tuning for turbocharged cars | This usually results in more turbo pressure to the engine, so that there is a power gain. | Excessive air pressure may shorten the life of the engine | Yes | The Surbo allows higher revving with a smaller throttle opening, and on our test Peugeot 508 1.6 turbo, the rpm limit is achieved with part throttle at just 0.5-0.6 bar, thus relieving the engine of excessive air pressure. Another way of looking at this is that the Surbo allows more headroom, for example, if the rpm limit is to be raised. |
Related pages:
Watch the video above showing how an engine revs with Surbo. Or watch it with the How it works page.
Above: video of Volvo XC90 T8 with Surbo, sprinting to 130 kph.
Above: video of Volvo XC90 T8 with Surbo, sprinting to 211 kph.
Above: video of Volvo XC90 T8 with Surbo, sprinting to 224 kph.
More torque and BHP (dyno test)
Quick revving (1/2 throttle to RPM limit)
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