Gizmos Tested On Fleet Of AAA Trucks
Wayne Havrelly
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Consumer Investigator
It's here at last: Secret fuel saving technology!
Sound familiar?
Every time gas prices rise, so do claims about gadgets that are supposed to dramatically improve your car's fuel economy.
Some of these claims are amazing, like a product that claims it will increase your mileage by 27 percent!
We installed several different gas-saving gizmos on a fleet of trucks so we could put these amazing claims to the test -- from air-spinning devices in your car's air intake to powerful magnets designed to make the fuel in your car burn more efficiently.
We tested several of these claims that promise to save you big money at the pump by improving your car's fuel economy.
With the help of American Automobile Association's fleet of service trucks, we put all these devices through a month of extensive testing.
"We actually monitor the fuel mileage of these vehicles constantly, so we already had a very established base line to what they are getting," said Don Beyer of AAA.
The "Fuel Saver Pro" is a $65 dollar magnetic gadget that snaps over the fuel line. It's supposed to increase mileage up to 27% by magnetizing fuel and making it more efficient.
A $74 whirling air device called "The Tornado" spins inside the air intake hose. According to a television infomercial, it improves the air fuel mixture which increases mileage.
We paid $90 for the "Super Fuel Max," which turned out to be identical to the first magnetic device we bought -- except it costs about 25 dollars more.
For fun, we slapped some duct tape on a fourth truck.
"We contend that this fuel saving device probably works as well as the others," said Don Beyer.
As the trucks went through tank after tank of fuel, the mileage was closely monitored every time.
So in the end, which gas saver saved the most?
The mileage actually got worse three percent on the truck with the Fuel Saver Pro magnet.
The Super Fuel Max magnet performed even worse, decreasing mileage by nearly five percent.
After 15,00 miles of driving, the Tornado air swirling device increased mileage 5.3 percent.
So how did our duct tape perform?
"The KIRO fuel-saving device actually finished in first place … with a six percent increase in fuel economy!" said Beyer.
But let's put this in perspective: Six percent may sound impressive, but it's only an improvement of one mile per gallon.
Now that duct tape isn't really doing anything. But it did prove that all those devices didn't work in our test.
All the companies that make these products declined to comment on our findings.
Over the years the federal government has tested more than a hundred of these devices, and not one has shown a significant increase in gas mileage.
Your best bet is to keep your car tuned up and keep the right air pressure in your tires.
Don't worry. If there really is an amazing gas saving secret out there, we'll let you know when we find it.
Copyright 2003 by KIROTV.com. All rights reserved.
Article Source
Wayne Havrelly
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Consumer Investigator
It's here at last: Secret fuel saving technology!
Sound familiar?
Every time gas prices rise, so do claims about gadgets that are supposed to dramatically improve your car's fuel economy.
Some of these claims are amazing, like a product that claims it will increase your mileage by 27 percent!
We installed several different gas-saving gizmos on a fleet of trucks so we could put these amazing claims to the test -- from air-spinning devices in your car's air intake to powerful magnets designed to make the fuel in your car burn more efficiently.
We tested several of these claims that promise to save you big money at the pump by improving your car's fuel economy.
With the help of American Automobile Association's fleet of service trucks, we put all these devices through a month of extensive testing.
"We actually monitor the fuel mileage of these vehicles constantly, so we already had a very established base line to what they are getting," said Don Beyer of AAA.
The "Fuel Saver Pro" is a $65 dollar magnetic gadget that snaps over the fuel line. It's supposed to increase mileage up to 27% by magnetizing fuel and making it more efficient.
A $74 whirling air device called "The Tornado" spins inside the air intake hose. According to a television infomercial, it improves the air fuel mixture which increases mileage.
We paid $90 for the "Super Fuel Max," which turned out to be identical to the first magnetic device we bought -- except it costs about 25 dollars more.
For fun, we slapped some duct tape on a fourth truck.
"We contend that this fuel saving device probably works as well as the others," said Don Beyer.
As the trucks went through tank after tank of fuel, the mileage was closely monitored every time.
So in the end, which gas saver saved the most?
The mileage actually got worse three percent on the truck with the Fuel Saver Pro magnet.
The Super Fuel Max magnet performed even worse, decreasing mileage by nearly five percent.
After 15,00 miles of driving, the Tornado air swirling device increased mileage 5.3 percent.
So how did our duct tape perform?
"The KIRO fuel-saving device actually finished in first place … with a six percent increase in fuel economy!" said Beyer.
But let's put this in perspective: Six percent may sound impressive, but it's only an improvement of one mile per gallon.
Now that duct tape isn't really doing anything. But it did prove that all those devices didn't work in our test.
All the companies that make these products declined to comment on our findings.
Over the years the federal government has tested more than a hundred of these devices, and not one has shown a significant increase in gas mileage.
Your best bet is to keep your car tuned up and keep the right air pressure in your tires.
Don't worry. If there really is an amazing gas saving secret out there, we'll let you know when we find it.
Copyright 2003 by KIROTV.com. All rights reserved.
Article Source
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