GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Car Gadgets You Don?t NeedYou?d be better off staying alert and in tune.by Eric Peters (2006-01-02) From "Motor Honey" to the 100-mpg carburetor, we've all heard about - and sometimes, paid good money for - automotive gadgets that don't work as advertised. Or don't work at all. Before you spend your hard-earned money on any of them, know that you'll probably do more for your driving experience by keeping your car's tires properly inflated and your eyes wide open.Here are some top contenders for car gadgets you're better off without:Deer whistles: Glue or screw one to your car's fender and an ultrasonic signal only deer can hear is supposed to be created by the flow of air over the device as you drive, alerting deer to your oncoming presence and hopefully, keeping them from jumping through your windshield. Problem is, there's no evidence deer whistles actually work - and plenty that they don't. Maybe tacking one the fender of your Aztek will improve its good looks but it's doubtful it'll repel Bambi. Fuel system "energizer:" Or "vitalizer" or some such high-tech-sounding name. Usually nothing more than a hollow tube that's supposed to improve fuel economy by "energizing" or "vitalizing" the fuel "molecules" so that they burn more efficiently. Some use magnets, some don't. None have ever been shown to improve fuel economy. Buy one if you think it'd make a neat amulet or necklace.Engine (or transmission) "rebuild" in a can: Who needs a mechanic when you can just "pour in" the fix? Right? Wrong. That goop you pour into the engine may cut down on the clouds of blue smoke pouring out of the tailpipe or quiet the death rattle of worn-out bearings for just long enough to unload the car on some poor sucker. The "fix" is more like a cover-up, and the heavy glop can actually accelerate the Final End by increasing friction within the engine.Air intake "vortex" or "tornado:" It looks like a gerbil wheel and supposedly increases airflow (and thus engine power) by creating "vortexes" in the air intake system. But all this product really does is create a vortex that sucks money out of your wallet and routes it directly to the company that sold you this rip-off. In fact, independent testing of these devices has found they actually lower horsepower (and hurt fuel economy) by creating excess turbulence or impeding airflow into the engine. "Cathodic" rust prevention: This one's really sly, because the process does work in certain industrial applications. Basically, a flow of charged electrons is used to prevent oxidation (rust) from eating away at things like buried pipelines and sea-going ships. But for the CP process to work, there must be a complete circuit. In the case of a ship, this is provided by contact with seawater; in the case of pipelines (and even buried reinforced concrete) by contact with the soil. But your car is insulated from "ground" by its tires, and the only way for the process to work would be to drive it into the ocean or bury it in the ground. There have been lawsuits and court orders in both theU.S. and Canada to keep these products from being marketed and sold for use in automotive applications because they work about as well as a pet rock. There are many others, and all have one thing in common: they don't work. Beware of any product that makes claims for itself that sound too good to be true. In virtually every case, they are - and you end up wasting your money on a useless piece of junk that does nothing to make your car more efficient, more powerful, or longer-lasting.

Thanks for the heads up. I was actually considering the Intake Vortex thingy. It looked like a legit item. You just saved me some much needed money!

I too am glad to hear the evidence of the vortex. I keep seeing it and the 'marketing claims', but I don't think that I've read an actual unbiased review.Tyke

And I've seen a lot of those deer whistles lol... mostly used by old people.

Vortex is still being advertised. Although I haven't seen a 1/2 hour infomercial for it in a while... They were so convincing that even I was considering one - then reality kicked in.It was also proven to cause a horsepower drop and loss of MPG...

That "vortex" thing was a big deal on ZR2.com for awhile. Then, all the people that had put them on their trucks seamed to have malfunctioning mass air flow sensors. Needless to say they got rid of those damn things fast!

I think I saw the guys on Two Guys Garage on TLC putting one of those tornado things on a car and stating that it really worked.Seems kind of fishy to me though.How can something so far upstream have any effect on the behaviour of the air once it has travelled to inside the manifold and then the combustion chamber?I believe there is something to those magnetic type that wraps around the fuel line.Not the straight magnetic ones, but the ones that are powered and have a circuit to connect to the MAF and engine computer.

someone posted a thing on here a little while ago about Popular Mechanics had decided to test all the products and give them a chance. and they found that none actually worked but some actually decreased efficiency(the vortex)

Even if that "vortex" thing works. The throttle body plate will disrupt the swirling airflow, especially at part throttle.

Quote, originally posted by Atomic »I believe there is something to those magnetic type that wraps around the fuel line.Not the straight magnetic ones, but the ones that are powered and have a circuit to connect to the MAF and engine computer.Really? I wouldn't suggest putting any money into it....

The Deer Whistle got me, years ago though. Actually my wife was paranoid at night from Deer, so I got them. I think I paid a buck or two at a discount store!

I haven't seen a deer whistle in a long time. The last time I did...they were on my Grandfathers old old old Dodge Ram truck. By the way that truck no longer exists do to an accident involving an 8-point Buck. Ironic...I know

yeah the vortex has always been a stupid idea in my book. as andy put it, the plate on the throttle body would mess it up. i don't know much bout engines at all and i figured that one out. as for the deer whistles, yeah i only saw em on cars that were owned by people 60 or older, maybe a handful of younger folks. the only thing they do is entertain the grandchildren who are standin in the driveway blowing into the things til they're blue in the face to see if they can hear it as well. and yes, i was one of those grandchildren

Don't the cylinder heads create the vortex effect inside the cylinder where it belongs?

actually, i think ragingfish had the deer thingy on his g6.

and they came right for him too lol.no but this is good to know and not get ripped off. Great Find!

any of you cats seen THE TURBONATOR?now THAT **** is funny, you should seethe website they have set up for that thing..matter-of-fact, lemme find it quick.....http://www.turbonator.comyou will LAUGH I GUARANTEE YOU!

good thing Helix Power Tower wasn't mentioned.

My father-in-law's insurance company practically demands that he have the deer whistles because of where he lives and the fact that he hit one once. It seems that after putting them on his truck, it actually made him more prone to hitting them. He hit three in the first month after putting them on. He threw them away after that. It seems that when you drive by a deer without the whistles, they will just stare at you, but if you have the whistles, it will actually startle them into running. Which tends to be bad for both the deer and the driver. That's his theory anyway. Earlier this summer, he was cutting hay and accidentally killed a doe. Happens quite often since they hide in the tall hay. He got off the tractor to have a look, and just a few yards in front of the tractor was a baby deer that must have been maybe 2 days old. We named her Fender Bender because of all the deer that get hit in the area.