GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Any word on these "mircale" fuel saving gizmos????

Could you post some links?My gut reaction is - just another snakeoil salesman smelling a new opportunity for cons now that gas prices are going up and up.I think you can rest assured that the only things that are going to really make a difference in your gas mileage are:1) The car you drive2) The way you drive3) Keeping your tire pressures up4) Keeping your car maintained

You talkin' 'bout this?http://www.jcwhitney.com/webap...10101

I'll take an order of one of these magnetic thingies, the tornado, the electric supercharger, and the mystery e-bay "chip," er, resistor to go please! Seriously though, I wonder if these really do work? Signs point to no, but I'm just plain ol' skeptical anyway and I'm too lazy to do research on the matter so I can't say for sure if my skepticism is justified.

Quote, originally posted by ZubenElGenubi »You talkin' 'bout this?http://www.jcwhitney.com/webap...10101thats the device!!

Only one way to find out if it works. Someone buy one and try it out. then post up your review.

I am skeptical. Anyone going to test it?

Heck, I've got twenty bucks burning a whole in my wallet...why not?Seriously, I've seen several brands out there...anyone got an idea which one I should try out?Fuel Boss @ JC Whitney (link)Ecoflow (UK) (link)FuelSaver Pro (link)

OTOH, the Federal Trade Commission sued a couple of manufacturers about their claims:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/fuelmax.htmlIf you want to ROFL...read the whole article and then browse through all the Ads by Google all around it! Gave me a good laugh.Here's the FTC's opinion on the topic:http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline...e.htmAnd here's a good debunking article:http://www.fuelsaving.info/magnets.htm

I think I'll pass...after reading all the articles (and dusting off the part of my brain that knows organic chemistry), I don't see how this could possibly work. But, what the heck, if y'all wanted to pitch in a couple of bucks here and there (PayPal, of course), I'd give it a try for grins. Hey, I'm halfway to "GenVibe God status". Guess that makes me a Semigod.

Bah do it the cheap way,http://www.emanator.demon.co.u...t.htmI should ask my physics prof what he thinks about this......

I just doesn't make any sense..."When gasoline remains in your tank over time, the fuel molecules start to cluster" - gasoline generally remains in storage tanks, shipping trucks, and station tanks alot longer than in anyone's tank I know."They deliver an abrupt designed magnetic field to break up these fuel clusters, exposing all molecules to the oxygen, ensuring the best fuel burn possible!" - Exposing to what oxygen? If there's air in your fuel line, you've got other problems.....

I heard on the radio the other day, for every 5 mph you go above 65, it costs, on average, an additional $0.30 PER GALLON in added fuel expenses!30 cents a mile doesn't sound like much, but figure this. 5 days a week, I drive 80 miles round trip to work. I usually average 70 to 75 mph. We'll say 70 for the sake of argument. That means, in one day, I waste 30 cents x 1 (because I only go 5 mph above 65) = 30 cents per gallon. So on average, I put in 10 gallons of fuel when I fill. That means each fill, I'm paying an extra $3. If I fill 3 times a week (on average), I'm wasting $9 per week. I've been commuting to this store for abotu 2 months now. So that means 8 weeks, at $9 a week, is $72 bucks wasted in excess fuel. Over a year, that would be $468 in fuel waste. And that's JUST for 5mph. If I traveled 80 mph on average, I would be wasting over $1400 in excess fuel burned over the course of a year! Insane!

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I'll take an order of one of these magnetic thingies, the tornado, the electric supercharger, and the mystery e-bay "chip," er, resistor to go please! If you add all that CP, won't you have like negative gas usage?

I don't know about the JC Whitney thing, but there is a product that some guys up here in Canada are attempting to bring to market. The basic principle apparently relies on generating a magnetic field of some type to change the properties of the fuel before it gets dispersed into the combustion chamber.Now, all this is engineer-speak, so take it only as that.(My background is machinist/toolmaker, currently doing CAD design, my respect for engineers is limited, ask anyone who's had to deal with them!)My question is this:If these actually work, then why hasn't somebody like Consumer Reports done a study on them and pronounced it the next big thing?

Well, I tried it, and I did notice moderate fuel mileage gains, but only when following really close to the car in front of me.

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Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »5 days a week, I drive 80 miles round trip to work. I usually average 70 to 75 mph. We'll say 70 for the sake of argument. That means, in one day, I waste 30 cents x 1 (because I only go 5 mph above 65) = 30 cents per gallon. So on average, I put in 10 gallons of fuel when I fill. That means each fill, I'm paying an extra $3. If I fill 3 times a week (on average), I'm wasting $9 per week. I've been commuting to this store for abotu 2 months now. So that means 8 weeks, at $9 a week, is $72 bucks wasted in excess fuel. Over a year, that would be $468 in fuel waste. And that's JUST for 5mph. If I traveled 80 mph on average, I would be wasting over $1400 in excess fuel burned over the course of a year! Insane!Something's not right with your givens:80 mile round trip per day = 1 gallon? (you only said 30 cents x 1)I would think that an 80 mile RT would be more like 2.5-3.0 gallons (26.7-32 mpg).Also, the extra cost per gallon per 5mph over 65 would also depend on how long one drives at that rate. Obviously, driving faster creates diminishing returns, but I'm not sure the costs are that easy to figure out.

You want to really save on gasoline? Turn your car off if you are going to be stopped for more than 20 seconds.

Quote, originally posted by ZubenElGenubi »You want to really save on gasoline? Turn your car off if you are going to be stopped for more than 20 seconds. I always shut mine off at train crossings (when there's a train!), but no one else seems to do this. Despite that we're having Red level ozone days all the time this summer.... (PS- This usually happens at night, so the car doesn't get hot very quickly at all)

Quote, originally posted by ZubenElGenubi »You want to really save on gasoline? Turn your car off if you are going to be stopped for more than 20 seconds. then use the money saved to replace your starter!!

Quote, originally posted by tnpartsguy »If you add all that CP, won't you have like negative gas usage? Oh yeah... But it'll be the fastestestest vibe ever!

Actually, the wear on the starter is less than you might think. Warm starts are quicker, so even if you stop your car two additional times on a commute, you're probably only doubling the starter wear (not tripling).I still don't know why so many sites say to leave your car idling up to one minute. Fuel-injection has changed the efficiency of starts so that less gas is wasted, i.e., starting the car is equivalent to less idling time.Any engine techs around to fill in the gaps here?

Quote, originally posted by ZubenElGenubi »You want to really save on gasoline? Turn your car off if you are going to be stopped for more than 20 seconds. So idling is bad? How much of a difference does this make?

Quote, originally posted by ZubenElGenubi »Actually, the wear on the starter is less than you might think. Warm starts are quicker, so even if you stop your car two additional times on a commute, you're probably only doubling the starter wear (not tripling).I still don't know why so many sites say to leave your car idling up to one minute. Fuel-injection has changed the efficiency of starts so that less gas is wasted, i.e., starting the car is equivalent to less idling time.Any engine techs around to fill in the gaps here?Sorry, can't fill in the technical details. However, in Germany it is the law that you have to turn off your engine if it would be idling for more than 30 seconds.Despite their rather unreliable auto industry, it hasn't resulted in a spike in start motor replacements. See the following link, section 7-11 (b)http://rmv.hqusareur.army.mil/drivrman/190-34.htm

ill admit i have tried one of these gizmos this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...wItem sorry for large link but thats the one im using and i noticed moderate gains in HP in low and mid rpm range and i just traveled 70 miles on 5 gal gas and that is like 37 mpg so i think that is pretty impressive

Quote, originally posted by hhsgiant »ill admit i have tried one of these gizmos this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...wItem sorry for large link but thats the one im using and i noticed moderate gains in HP in low and mid rpm range and i just traveled 70 miles on 5 gal gas and that is like 37 mpg so i think that is pretty impressiveWell - I am not an engineer so I can't comment on the science behind this, but I do believe in economics. If a $20 part would increase HP and decrease fuel consumption the auto companies would be all over it. Even when gas was $1 fuel economy was a major selling point.

jake75 if you remember the big three and the carb that had the awsome fuel mileage the big buisness and the goverment offten silence or debunk things in the hope people wont use them so that they make even a little more on costs. Also even tho cars are set up to run at about peak effecency there is still the fact that the vvt-i reprograms itself every time you drive and that allows it to become sluggish under certain conditions the chip i listed is just a way to keep the CPU programed remotely the same and so far i have enjoyed it

I know how to save you money. Buy one of those magnetic fuel savers and keep it in your wallet...next to all the credit cards.

You use more gas shutting your vehicle off and starting it than letting it sit idle for 5 or so minutes.