Above: blue Surbo (inside a black housing) clipped to inlet of air filter of Honda Civic 1.3 Hybrid.
A hybrid vehicle is one with an internal combustion engine (petrol or diesel) that is coupled with an electric motor, powered by batteries that are charged up when the engine revs or when the vehicle slows down, using engine brake regeneration. At low speeds, the electric motor will move the vehicle, and later the engine will be started and they will work in combination. When the charge runs out, for example on a long climb, the engine will work alone. How can the Surbo benefit such vehicles?
Firstly, hybrid vehicles have downsized engines, and when there is no charge left in the batteries, they will be underpowered. In this case, the Surbo's added torque and higher revving capability will aid the generation of electricity.
Secondly, the Surbo is known to push vehicles further than normal when the accelerator is released completely, because the engine back pressure formed charges the Surbo and it increases air density to the engine. This means that the Surbo-equipped hybrid vehicle will charge and store electricity at a higher rate during engine braking. The resultant increase in charge stored will mean more distance possible on just electricity, or better acceleration on its own, or in combination with the engine.
Thirdly, there could be more fuel saving and more quiet driving with the electric motor alone due to the increased charge stored.
The Surbo has been installed in a Honda Civic 1.3 hybrid (with cvt gearbox). The owner said that for gentle acceleration, only 2500 rpm was required from the engine, whereas 3000 rpm was needed without Surbo. This showed the improvement in low end torque. The hesitation was gone, and the drive had become smoother. The charging of the battery became faster--previously he had to slow down whenever battery level was low, especially upslope. During faster acceleration, the engine could go above 4000 rpm, previously not possible.
On another similar car, the coordination between the electric motor and engine was perfected due to the Surbo giving more torque to the engine, and acceleration was made smooother.
On a Toyota 1.5 Prius C (shown below, similar to Toyota Aqua), the charging of one bar of electricity was acheived within 5 minutes while it normally took 10. This means more reserve for pure electic driving, or combined performance, the momentum of which is regenerated during braking. A less depleted battery will also extend the battery life.
Done by our dealer in Thailand, the 407 bhp supercharged and turbcharged hybrid Volvo 2017 XC90 T8 2.0 had a "violent first gear" and could reach top speed very quickly.
The Surbo has also been installed on hybrid versions of Honda Jade 1.5, Shuttle 1.5 and Vezel 1.5 (shown below), the Freed hybrid too, the Toyota Camry hybrid 2.5, and the 2017 Suzuki Swift 1.2.
Latest additions to this list are the Toyota Sienta 1.5 hybrid, Toyota Prius Plus, Hyundai Ionic and Lexus IS 300.
If you have a hybrid vehicle and wish to improve its performance, come try the Surbo. The fuel savings will also help you to offset the higher initial purchase price of the vehicle.
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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