poor man's TAG?

[Forrest Nearing]

no, not the watch... Turbo Air Guide...



seen a few positive reviews, and the theory is sound...



it got me to thinking... lots of OEM gassers come with a diffuser screen in front of the air meter to straighten out the incoming air to get a proper metering. seems that one could put some screen on the turbo inlet and get similar results. I realize that the TAG has a better design w/ its honeycomb shape, but the screen could be done VERY cheap.



worth trying... I might have to give it a go.



Forrest

 

[SRadke]

Sounds reasonable but be sure it's sound enough to withstand the enviroment you put it in. Wouldn't want pieces of steel tearing through your compressor and floating around in your aftercooler only to lodge under a delivery valve or possibly worse. You know what I mean.



-Scott

 

[snowracer69]

So what you're saying is that I'm worried about the TAG, of which there are 200+ out on the market right now, coming apart and taking out my turbo, and you're thinking about designing and putting your own "cheaper" system in there? HA! You couldn't pay me to run that!



Try the TAG, if you don't like it or don't feel it's worth the cost, get your money back... am seriously considering this option to get rid of my huffing problem.



Josh

 

[Forrest Nearing]

yes, I am considering running something cheaper... I'm not considering running something that will "come apart"!



after doing a search on the net, I've found some honeycomb mesh that looks pretty decent. it's not as good as the TAG's mesh design, but it's also only $15 for a square foot.



Forrest

 

[RustyJC]

As I've posted a number of times, the secret to using honeycomb mesh or anything similar as a flow straightener is the ratio of individual cell diameter to length (or thickness). If you treat an individual cell as a piece of pipe, effective flow straightening requires that the length (or thickness of the honeycomb mesh) be at least 5 times the inside diameter of the individual cell. In other words, if each cell is 1/2" id, the honeycomb should be a minimum of 1/2" x 5, or 2-1/2" thick.



Rusty

 

[mhenon]

Honeycomb stuff

Forrest, where did you find that honeycomb stuff on the web. Is it stainless or what. Give us some info as I would also like to look at it.

Mike

 

[Forrest Nearing]

Rusty,



good info!!!! and therein lies the fault in the mesh I've been looking at... it's just perforated sheet metal I was thinking maybe I could stack it, but cost would go up QUICK! LOL!



but, I figure if a wire mesh screen cleans up the air enough for a hot-wire mass air meter to get a good sample, maybe the honeycomb mesh will clean it up at least enough to make a difference...



Mike,



just do a search online for "honeycomb mesh" you can also use "stainless" or "aluminum"... also, I found some by searching for "perforated metal". I found it in all different cell sizes and material types. It would take me a few minutes to find the one that I decided looked best, but the bottom line is there's a lot of it out there. BUT, the TAG mesh is clearly a superior design for straightening air!



Forrest

 

[SRadke]

I'm not saying I'm worried about the TAG coming apart nor am I dicrediting DPP's product because I've never actually seen one in person. What I'm saying is if you try to make one and don't do it right... you are your own warrantee station.





-Scott

 

[Forrest Nearing]

obviously... I'm always my own warranty station... if I installed the TAG, I'd be my own warranty station too.



I appreciate the heads up, but I guess my fragile ego took it as an insult to my intelligence!



Forrest

 

[Car_nut57]

Originally posted by Forrest Nearing

no, not the watch... Turbo Air Guide...



seen a few positive reviews, and the theory is sound...



it got me to thinking... lots of OEM gassers come with a diffuser screen in front of the air meter to straighten out the incoming air to get a proper metering. seems that one could put some screen on the turbo inlet and get similar results. I realize that the TAG has a better design w/ its honeycomb shape, but the screen could be done VERY cheap.



worth trying... I might have to give it a go.



Forrest

The TAG is a little more than just a screen. The cells of the honeycomb have depth to correspond to the cell size to yield the desired effect. Without this depth its just a screen. Also a word of caution, the air entering the turbo can travel at very high velocity and your screen will be subjected many strong forces.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I understand the design of the TAG (as illustrated in my posts)



I also understand that there's high velocity involved... I'm not talking about cramming a brillo pad in the turbo inlet and calling it good...



I realize the TAG has a better design for straightening the air, but saying that a screen is just a screen seems a little general don't you think? why do car manufacturers put screens in front of their air meters to cut turbulance and give a better reading? and why does the removal of that screen generally yield worse performance?



Forrest

 

[rweis]

I tried the TAG and like it!



I went for the quieting the KSB1-B / Scotty II (with cowl opening) down, which it did by about 60%.



Got lower boost (1#) under ALL conditions as a bennie (gauge).



Got better low end spool as a bennie (SOP).



Got better even acceleration as a bennie (SOP).



Got smoother idle as a bennie (tach).



Wife likes truck better, works for me. If wife is happy, then .....



Bob Weis

 

[Forrest Nearing]

good info Bob... maybe I'll just plunk on the TAG!

 

[truckstom]

is there a link for the TAG??

 

[SRadke]

Originally posted by truckstom

is there a link for the TAG??

http://www.dieselpowerproducts.com/

 

[Diesel&Donuts]

Forrest, I can understand why you would like to save some money but I don't think you could beat the way DPP made their TAG. I have one and like it very much. It's built sturdy and I don't worry about it coming apart.

Harold

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I've got a slogan that goes, "pay now or do it yourself cheaper"



I've already found a couple suppliers of the same type honeycomb mesh used in the TAG who are sending me "samples for testing" (told them I needed at least 4" squares)



my resources will remain anonymous out of respect for the manufacturer of the TAG because I fully believe they are offering a great product and a fair price. I just can't afford it right now.



your resident po' boy,



Forrest