Gadget That Decreses Fuel Consumption

[QED]

Hi All,

I don't post much on the motor forum but do read, and know there are some very knowledgable people out there. Just wondered if any of you have heard of this, or had an opinion.

We have a gadget, which apparently reduces fuel consumption by up to 30% (in diesels), as well as increasing engine performance (power and torque) and reducing emissions. Fuel reduction works in petrols as well apparently, but only at around 5%, although you still get the other benefits.

A long story short - we will receive said gadget next week, first job is to fit it in a diesel and get it on a Dyno (after a baseline test) to see if the claims are true. A friend of a very good friend has got hold of one, and swears that it works, I am still sceptical.

I don't want to give too much away but these are being made in a backyard at prototype numbers at the moment, it is not even patented. We intend to get a license to manufacture here in Thailand and then a patent, and mass produce them for what could be a phenomenally huge market. I already have backers waiting in the wings for the results of the Dyno tests.

My question is, have any of you guys ever heard of such a gadget? Is there something similar already available? What are your thoughts?

I remain firmly in the 'too good to be true' camp until I see it working for myself. Please don't think I am some crazy get rich quick schemer with new ideas every week, the truth couldn't be further, but I am just a little excited about this.

[WarpSpeed]

How does anyone comment on this post? It couldn't be more general nor vague..The answer is yes there are several products that claim to increase fuel mileage and economy and have been for years beyond that it's impossible to comment based on what you've posted....

fuel tornado

Plenty of snake oil products on the market this ones been around for years maybe it has some merit? Have never tried it but it seems to be getting into the mainstream market..

[MoonRiverOasis]

Plenty of snake oil products on the market

That's the key right there.. I've lost count of how many supposed fuel saving devices I've seen over the years - from 'electric turbos' (that do nothing except restrict airflow), 'air swirliers' (that claim to improve combustion effeciency but again just restrict flow), 'hydrogen generators' (that use more electricity to do so than the energy they create), to 'fuel line magnets' (that magically align your fuel particles with Uranus to capture stray radiation from the Sun - or something like that ) - and everything else inbetween..

None of them work.

Ever.

Period.

Prove me wrong!

[MoonRiverOasis]

maybe it has some merit? Have never tried it but it seems to be getting into the mainstream market..

'Monster Cable' audio/video interconnects have been mainstream for years too, but no-one's ever scientifically proven they even change the sound or picture when compared to a non-faulty $2 interconnect, let alone improve it... Just because something has enough marketing thrown at it for long enough that people start beleiving the lies, doesn't mean that it suddenly works It's all just Placebo effect, because people want to beleive..

[MikeyIdea]

There are several gadgets like that available on the Thai market already (mainly aimed at petrol engines I think). Most of them don't work at all. None of them work as advertised. I have heard of one that didn't reduce fuel consumption but actually enabled the car to run on lower octane equally smoothly and without increasing fuel consumption, that's actually an improvement.

Very sceptical

[QED]

Plenty of snake oil products on the market

That's the key right there.. I've lost count of how many supposed fuel saving devices I've seen over the years - from 'electric turbos' (that do nothing except restrict airflow), 'air swirliers' (that claim to improve combustion effeciency but again just restrict flow), 'hydrogen generators' (that use more electricity to do so than the energy they create), to 'fuel line magnets' (that magically align your fuel particles with Uranus to capture stray radiation from the Sun - or something like that ) - and everything else inbetween..

None of them work.

Ever.

Period.

Prove me wrong!

Haha, my thoughts exactly - initially, but I am now at the open minded stage.....until I can get one tested.

Thanks for your input guys, sorry about the vagueness WS but I have to be at this stage.

Will post back when we have the dyno test results.

[juehoe]

I am not a specialist in diesel engines but the claims look not realistic to me.

as mentioned by others; there are lot of such gadgets on the market and just all of them only increase the performance of the seller's bank account...

[katabeachbum]

Working for a car manufactorer, we actually spent 3 days late 80s trying out every device availabel. Nothing worked, without reducing power.

What does work on some large petrolengines, V8 or larger, 4000cc or larger, is something called Slick or similar (2 decades ago I did it). Ad a quarter to clean engine oil, run for a few thousand miles, new oil and filter, and internal friction thus heatbuildup is reduced. Hard to mesure such small decreases in fuelconsumption though:rolleyes:.

Same procuct did not work on GM/Detroit 6,5 or Ford/International 7,3 or Caterpillar3208

[apetley]

I can't believe that all the worlds major motor/engine manufacturers could be so incompetent that somebody could produce a simple add on device in their own backyard that instantly saves fuel and increases performance.

Wishful thinking imho.

[QED]

I can't believe that all the worlds major motor/engine manufacturers could be so incompetent that somebody could produce a simple add on device in their own backyard that instantly saves fuel and increases performance.

Wishful thinking imho.

Again my initial reaction, but everything had to be invented by someone, sometime.

[WarpSpeed]

maybe it has some merit? Have never tried it but it seems to be getting into the mainstream market..

'Monster Cable' audio/video interconnects have been mainstream for years too, but no-one's ever scientifically proven they even change the sound or picture when compared to a non-faulty $2 interconnect, let alone improve it... Just because something has enough marketing thrown at it for long enough that people start beleiving the lies, doesn't mean that it suddenly works It's all just Placebo effect, because people want to beleive..

And I guess this symbol [?] doesn't mean much to you?? (I used 2 this time for emphasis) But there is the fact that retailers and such have to back what they sell and if it becomes too much of an issue then it is dropped from their shelves as they have legitimate stock to fill them with..

Anyway my reply was not any sort of endorsement, quite the contrary..

Edited June 17, 2010 by WarpSpeed

[WarpSpeed]

I can't believe that all the worlds major motor/engine manufacturers could be so incompetent that somebody could produce a simple add on device in their own backyard that instantly saves fuel and increases performance.

Wishful thinking imho.

Again my initial reaction, but everything had to be invented by someone, sometime.

I'll go with that, no intention to discourage on my part people have a tendency to think everything has already been invented and someone else must have thought of it first? Also they fail to understand that sometimes the simplest answer is not so complicated (intentional play on words) and right under their nose but they tend to over-engineer and not look for the answer as being so simplistic..

[MoonRiverOasis]

Anyway my reply was not any sort of endorsement, quite the contrary..

Yes I know, and I was actually backing your statement up with another real-world example Warp

We need a universally understood "I'm not taking the piss nor arguing with you" icon on this board, heh

[Donnyboy]

just include a free set of steak knives with every order, and you'll sell a shit load

[MoonRiverOasis]

just include a free set of steak knives with every order, and you'll sell a shit load

Yes, and load the marketing guff with superlatives like: Amazing! Incredible! As-seen-on-TV! World-First! Innovation! NASA! Secret! and Conspiracy!

[aussiebebe]

The only gadgets I've used which have helped with fuel consumption were K&N air filters and a 90 USD 'KIWI MPG' monitor which plugs in under the steering column and provides real-time MPG readings so you can monitor your driving. Most modern cars have this options on the dash, but I found the KIWI improved my driving habits and I could cut my MPG by around 5% city and 20-30% highway in my old Toyota. The shipping to Thailand was rather expensive, and the plastic housing is rather cheap, but you can see on the website PLX Kiwi - Save Gas, Improve MPG, Drive Green, Reduce CO2 there's a 300 dollar version with 'driving lessons' to improve, which I haven't tried.

It's really fascinating to me how every vehicle has a speed for optimum efficiency, and how this varies constantly depending on road surface, weather conditions, weight, tire inflation, and inclines/declines. The maxim used to be '56mph for cars', but with the KIWI gadget I could see how the true 'best' speed changes all the time.

[WarpSpeed]

Anyway my reply was not any sort of endorsement, quite the contrary..

Yes I know, and I was actually backing your statement up with another real-world example Warp

We need a universally understood "I'm not taking the piss nor arguing with you" icon on this board, heh

Yeah and maybe since it seems that someone is always doing that with me and frankly gets a bit tiresome that maybe sometimes I get a bit touchy.. You know, like that tooth nerve a little too close to the surface and constantly being irritated without cause just because it's there.. A lot like that, makes it difficult to post at times...

[katabeachbum]

I can't believe that all the worlds major motor/engine manufacturers could be so incompetent that somebody could produce a simple add on device in their own backyard that instantly saves fuel and increases performance.

Wishful thinking imho.

Again my initial reaction, but everything had to be invented by someone, sometime.

I'll go with that, no intention to discourage on my part people have a tendency to think everything has already been invented and someone else must have thought of it first? Also they fail to understand that sometimes the simplest answer is not so complicated (intentional play on words) and right under their nose but they tend to over-engineer and not look for the answer as being so simplistic..

Actually I belive there are several ways of running engines with same power and less fuel. 3 decades ago 2000cc was 100hp, today its 150-250 hp using less fuel. i just dont think there is a device to plug to engine to obtain this. its development day by day, week by week. Besides a device reducing fuelconsumption with 30% and increasing power would damage any engine. Running lean, less fuel, burns engines internals. For now at least.

[JusMe]

Urban myth that's been around for decades (century?)

The rest of the myth said that whenever someone invented a working model in his backyard, one of the oil companies moved in, payed him gazillions of dollars, and buried the whole thing.

Mythed something?

[MoonRiverOasis]

Besides a device reducing fuelconsumption with 30% and increasing power would damage any engine. Running lean, less fuel, burns engines internals. For now at least.

Agree 100% The only way to increase fuel effeciency by 30% is by reducing HP.

How about engines that are already designed for FE (Fuel Effeciency) using techniques like advanced conrod angles, lightened (weaker) parts etc where even 15-20% HP increase becomes potentially fatal to the engine? The Toyota 1NZ-FE (as used in Yaris, Vios, Avanza) springs to mind here...

IMHO, there's no substitute for the hard and slow work of refining engine designs in an incremental fashion.

[Murf]

Assuming this device works you want to get a patent out on this in Thailand?

Is that a joke? Somchai will have it copied and will be selling it before you even get to the patent stage...

[stingray]

The only gadgets I've used which have helped with fuel consumption were K&N air filters and a 90 USD 'KIWI MPG' monitor which plugs in under the steering column and provides real-time MPG readings so you can monitor your driving. Most modern cars have this options on the dash, but I found the KIWI improved my driving habits and I could cut my MPG by around 5% city and 20-30% highway in my old Toyota. The shipping to Thailand was rather expensive, and the plastic housing is rather cheap, but you can see on the website PLX Kiwi - Save Gas, Improve MPG, Drive Green, Reduce CO2 there's a 300 dollar version with 'driving lessons' to improve, which I haven't tried.

It's really fascinating to me how every vehicle has a speed for optimum efficiency, and how this varies constantly depending on road surface, weather conditions, weight, tire inflation, and inclines/declines. The maxim used to be '56mph for cars', but with the KIWI gadget I could see how the true 'best' speed changes all the time.

U can fit in a 400 Baht vacum gauge instead, if you realy want read the fuel consumption. BTW with a Vacum meter you can also "read" the condition of your engine and valves.

[aussiebebe]

The only gadgets I've used which have helped with fuel consumption were K&N air filters and a 90 USD 'KIWI MPG' monitor which plugs in under the steering column and provides real-time MPG readings so you can monitor your driving. Most modern cars have this options on the dash, but I found the KIWI improved my driving habits and I could cut my MPG by around 5% city and 20-30% highway in my old Toyota. The shipping to Thailand was rather expensive, and the plastic housing is rather cheap, but you can see on the website PLX Kiwi - Save Gas, Improve MPG, Drive Green, Reduce CO2 there's a 300 dollar version with 'driving lessons' to improve, which I haven't tried.

It's really fascinating to me how every vehicle has a speed for optimum efficiency, and how this varies constantly depending on road surface, weather conditions, weight, tire inflation, and inclines/declines. The maxim used to be '56mph for cars', but with the KIWI gadget I could see how the true 'best' speed changes all the time.

U can fit in a 400 Baht vacum gauge instead, if you realy want read the fuel consumption. BTW with a Vacum meter you can also "read" the condition of your engine and valves.

That's really interesting, thanks, I didn't know about those gauges (actually I don't know much about cars, period). As I wrote, most modern cars display fuel consumption, so the KIWI gadget is unecessary but I thought it was unique - looks like I could of saved a packet, but I bought it a while back now.