I love reading about all the crazy devices we're sold to help our gas milage.
My absolute favorite is the Tornado. Its that little heavily advertised impeller that goes in your air intake and gives you "up to 24% better fuel economy and 15 horsepower"
when tested, it did nothing except reduce wallet thickness by 3 twenty dollar bills
My second favorite is that expensive magnet that wraps around your fuel line, supposedly breaking up the heavier molecular clumps in your fuel. Its even been shown to decrease milage!
Joined: Aug 02, 2006
Posts: 705
Location: McLean, VA, USA
Posted:
Mon Nov 06, 2006 12:20 am
When I was working in the industry, part of my job was testing those crazy devices. Not a single one showed any measurable improvement, and many of them did actually hurt either fuel economy, or power, or both.
If you think how much money and effort automakers put into increasing power and improving mileage, you would realize they would rush to use anything that gives real improvement along these lines.
“If something looks too good to be true, it probably is”
If you really want to save on gas, check out my Fuel Saving Tips.
some of the types of devices that are used as fuel saver
Types Of Devices: Fuel Additives...
There are many types of fuel additives that make the same claims. These work with varying degrees of effectiveness. The most common are the fuel system cleaner types. These products claim to clean the fuel system and help keep fuel injectors operating at peak performance. It's a good idea, and some do work, but most are of questionable effectiveness at best. Now the rub here is if you live in a state that mandates all fuel sold contain a 10% ethanol blend, as I do. In that case, you are already getting the active ingredient in a fuel line cleaner: ethanol. Ethanol, or methanol, is also the ingredient used in fuel line antifreeze.
Types Of Devices: Magnets & Catalysts...
These types of devices supposedly "line up the fuel ions" in order to make the fuel burn more completely and efficiently. They wrap a magnet around the fuel line and as the fuel passes by, it changes the burn properties of the fuel. The only problem is, magnets have no effect on fuel or the fuel "ions". I tested one such product that sold for over $300.00!!! The other type is a fuel catalyst. This type fits into the fuel line and as the fuel runs through it, special materials cause the fuel to "improve fuel performance in the areas of decreased fuel consumption reduced exhaust emissions and restored fuel properties."
Southwest Research Institute San Antonio Txtardec Fuels And Lubricants Research Facility (SwRI/TFLRF) tested three such devices and found "Under the conditions tested no fuel economy benefit was observed for the baseline device".
Next time around I will go into some other types of devices. but before I go let me leave you with this: the best way to improve gas mileage is to keep your engine well-tuned and check your tire pressure every time you fill up.
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