Fuel savers

[Sharky]

I have to say that I'm a bit skeptic about all these things but advertising does make you doubt. The latest fuel saver which is being advertised is one made out of neodymium magnets which is strapped to the fuel line and, supposedly, improves performance and saves as much as 30% in fuel costs by "rearranging" the molecules. This all sounds ridiculous but what puzzles me is the fact that they always offer a money back guarantee.

Anyone has any experiences with these kinds of schemes?

[graham bahr]

if any of these gimmics really worked, then car manufacturers who spend millions trying to get better and better fuel consumption would be fitting them.

money back guarentee, thats got to be nothing more than a way to boost sales the chances are the guarentee will boost sales by several 100% so its no big deal if they have to give a few refunds, after all how many will bother claiming a refund? assuming they havn't lost the nec paper work etc, the chances are few, even then i bet most of the claims will be rejected due to small print

[Sharky]

I also thought it was a load of rubbish. But their marketing strategies are so aggressive that they do raise a bit of a doubt even among the most skeptics.

I thought that perhaps they used the fact that many people aren't really aware of how many mpg/kmpg their car does but once they buy it they do the math and, psychologically, they arrive to the conclusion that they are in fact saving fuel.

[Mackmot]

we use them on our trucks. They give us about 15 minutes extra running time from a full tank on a 7.5tonner and 25mins on an artic. Ive never noticed a difference on a petrol car but maybe a miniscule ammount on diesels

[Dave Brand]

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/autos/gasave.htm

[graham bahr]

that just about says it all

[SpawnyWhippet]

I have never come across a scientific report that concluded these should be fitted to a car. On the other hand, I have seen a couple that said they shouldn't. On balance, I think if you really want to save on fuel costs, drive slower or get a LPG conversion!

[Sharky]

Indeed Andy and thanksfor the link Dave.i think that not many people are aware that the best fuelsaver is within their hands;driving habits.

Example: My dad has the nasty habit of not keeping the accelerator in one place. He's always pressing and releasing. I kept telling him about how much fuelhe wouldsave otherwise. Well, I think I finally mademy point. He gets about 35-38 Kmpg (1.6L 2004 Mazda 323). The other day I used his car for a couple of days and,although I'm not exactly the slowest driver out there, I got around 46Kmpg. He's now trying to change his driving habits