Ah, yet another fuel saving gizmo... Does it really work?
Rongjia Tao, chair of Temple's Physics Department, has developed a simple device which could improve automotive fuel efficiency by 20 percent. The device creates an electric field that thins fuel, or reduces its viscosity, so that smaller droplets are injected into the engine which in turn leads to more efficient and cleaner combustion. In six months of road testing a diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz showed the device improved mileage from 32 mpg to 38 mpg.
Full story here.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
07:15 AM, 10/ 2/08
Here's the link to the Temple research paper (please delete if this violates Edmunds guidelines):
http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/enfuem/asap/pdf/ef8004898.pdf
firstwagon says:
08:17 AM, 10/ 2/08
Interesting but driving style can change your mileage that much too. If the tester wanted to get better mileage then he would.
That's how most of the gadgets work, you want it to work so you drive accordingly even if you don't realize it.
I'd like to ask an product development engineer at a Diesel manufactor what they think.
ateixeira says:
02:07 PM, 10/ 2/08
I agree, this was probably a placebo effect, with a bit of driver help.
Diesel Benzes are very efficient so 38mpg doesn't sound hard to do.