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Fuel savers: efficiency not guaranteed!
They’re back! Well, in actual fact, they never left. They’re just more visible now that the price of gas yo-yos from day to day. I want to talk about charlatans, those snake-oil salesmen pitching fuel savings via little vials of miracle liquid, fizzy drops or devices whose only real purpose is to pull the wool over your eyes. It’s gone on for a long time.
Every energy crisis, it’s the same old story. Automobile mechanics are for most people intimidatingly complex, and how an engine works may seem like magic. But it is actually not so complicated: an internal combustion engine needs three things to run: air, fuel (gasoline, diesel, ethanol or hydrogen) and a means of creating combustion (ignition by spark or compression). It’s just that these three elements must be present in the precise proportions and the sequence of events must be perfectly synchronised. That’s basically it.
Nevertheless, there are still people who believe that an additive or a simple device can alone improve the efficiency of an engine by 25 % while at the same time cleaning the engine and reducing its polluting emissions. Well then, I‘ve got these pills you’d like – they remove rust and extend the life of your tires (and provide traction in the snow). Because if you believe the above, then you’d buy these too…
No, unfortunately, good energy efficiency is the fruit of advanced technology, not of a contraption that modifies the composition of gasoline. With millions of vehicles sold every year around the world, don’t you think that the solution would have come from a major manufacturer by now? If there were a simple, inexpensive solution, it would have already been around for a long time given the pace of advancement in this field. Of course, if you are a conspiracy theorist, you may believe that devious oilmen buy up all such inventions and lock them up away in underground vaults.
So forget the water-injection engines, the “turbinator” and other additives; your best guarantee of low fuel consumption is careful driving, well-inflated tires and reasonable speeds.
On the other hand, if you have some personal tricks for saving gas, or believe that you have discovered something interesting on the subject, then this is the place to bring it up.
For those who want to know more, I suggest this article by the CAA. I will take this opportunity as well to introduce you to this Belgian video (in French) of a study of two machines with supposedly miraculous properties. See here as well for what the people at Consumer Report say.
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