Miracle Fuel-saving Devices that Didn't Work ...

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What about the mysterious Chevy Caprice that was mistakenly sold
from a dealer, later to learn by the new owner that the gas level
hardly dropped in a few weeks time,it was getting maybe 100mpg
from some experimental carb,so he brought it back to the dealer stating his claims and
wondering what the problem was, and they
confiscated the car or just gave him a new one back.Not really sure the whole story and i've
heard several different versions .Does anyone know the real story?
 
Of course, the story actually predates the use of the Caprice name in trade, even.
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The real story is that this is fiction.
 
I use to buy a lot of Mobil 1
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I think Slick 50 was the only one I used, and they did try to claim a fuel savings with it.
 
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The only fuel saving device that worked was the connection between my foot and the throttle. As far as any snake oil devices, I've always had a healthy dose of skepticism; I've never bought into any of that junk.

Originally Posted By: toneydoc

Anybody here remember points? And the way to adjust them to the correct opening? Kids these days would not have a clue about how to do that adjustment. Wow I am showing my age here.


Remember them? I still have 4 engines that have them.
 
I heard a variation of this story c. 1978 - a fellow in Ontario had bought a new full-sized Dodge or Plymouth with a big engine - could have been a 440. Anyway, he was racking up 40 MPG, and told a friend in the RCMP who borrowed the car to verify the claim. Driven hard as a ghost-car for a tankful, the car delivered 38 MPG. The owner mentioned it to the dealership when he took the car in for its first service. The dealership kept it longer than he'd expected, and when he got it back it delivered more typical mileage (14 MPG or whatever).

I bet this story's been around as long as cars have.
 
A few years ago I was at a NAPA, and there was a demo set up for the Tornado or somesuch, a 'drop-in turbocharger' which was supposed to swirl the intake air, better atomizing the air-fuel mixture. The young counter guys said that they had one in their delivery vehicle, and it had improved mileage 10%. I asked them if they had one in their personal vehicles and they admitted they didn't. Glad to say this was one I didn't fall for.
 
Originally Posted By: Number_35
Hey, who else has purchased a miracle automotive product only to find it didn't work? Here are a few that come to mind:

About two and a half years later, I purchased a Cagle fuel pressure regulator from the Minit-Tune shop where I worked as an oil change & tune-up tech. I pulled in $3.75/hr. (Classic Liberal Arts grad story.) The principle was that a mechanical fuel pump was designed to produce sufficient pressure for open throttle operation (5-7 PSI) but that at idle and cruise 1-1/2 PSI was sufficient. However, the fuel pump's unregulated pressure would overwhelm the needle & float mechanism in the carb at idle and cruise, forcing extra fuel into the float bowl.

The Cagle spliced into the fuel line before the carb, and was regulated by vacuum from the intake manifold. High vacuum = low load = low fuel pressure requirement. Low vacuum = high load = high fuel pressure requirement.

Again, underwhelming results ... no measurable change in gas mileage. That one was $92.50 plus tax. At $3.75/hr, that one ate up the better part of a week's wages...


The Cagle did indeed work, but was never intended to affect fuel economy. It only provided low fuel pressure at idle to the old Stromberg 94/07 carbs that couldn't withstand high fuel pressures...FWIW
 
My brother in law bought plans for a 100mpg carburetor, at the time he had a Chevy Parkwood station wagon with a 400ci SB

I don't think it worked.

British cars with Lucas (points)distributors typically had 6-10 degrees of points scatter, from the factory.

EI really has no downside.
 
The downside for electronic ignition is cost and complexity. The sum total makes it beneficial overall versus carburation.

The only snake oil I fell for was Slick 50. All my colleagues were raving over this back then.

Also back then, there was a fuel saving product where you put screens at the bottom of your carburetor to break up the fuel droplets. Instead I cut some stock screen from my basement and installed it in my carburetor. It made no difference in fuel mileage except that it further choked the throttle and reduced my high end performance.
 
I have resisted all the gadgets and miracle additives.

To save gas I:

Combine & limit trips,
Air up tires,
Remove junk weight from the vehicles,
Use cruise control when possible, and
Drive with a light foot.
 
Originally Posted By: expat
My brother in law bought plans for a 100mpg carburetor, at the time he had a Chevy Parkwood station wagon with a 400ci SB

I don't think it worked.

British cars with Lucas (points)distributors typically had 6-10 degrees of points scatter, from the factory.

EI really has no downside.


Study the Pogue Vapor Carburetor...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E-H6JseCXY
 
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Sometimes it's not so much the product that amazes me as it is the people that buy them, and even further, the people that rave over these gizmos.
 
It goes to show how "gullible" most avg joes are (out there).

Fact is, some chose to become "gullible", and/or decided to stay that way.

Others (like myself), not so much.

Ignorance and education plays their role in this also.

Q.
 
With The cafe requirements it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out if something worked the auto manufactures would put on the car from the factory .
 
Back in the mid '70's I bought some plans on how to make Ethanol in the backyard. (I think that qualifies as fuel-saving.) Then I did the math, given I live in the city. The math told me it was more expensive per gallon than gasoline. A fair number of people were talking about Ethanol as an alternate fuel back then.
 
A while ago I read an article on how lead got into gasoline. Back in the 20's ethanol was being thought of to increase octane and/or replace gasoline when crude ran out.
 
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