Fuel Boosters; Fact or Myth-The Results. Part 2

Elections, Exams and HIV tests all have one thing in common...Results.

We have conducted a test as promised on the efficacy of using fuel treatment as additives in vehicles. Our test was specific and it was ONLY to determine if the fuel treatment could actually increase MPG for vehicles.

To conduct the test, we used a Volkswagen Beetle Type 1 due to its fuel line simplicity and lack of sensors and other electronic gizmos that could intelligently adjust the fuel burn rate due to its sensing of a different fuel mixture.

Test was conducted in a covered space availed to us by Track Automobile Services at Samar Filling Station, Abule Egba, Lagos.

DISCLAIMER

We would like to state that we are in no way affiliated to the product distributor and would refrain from mentioning the product name or details to prevent any form of endorsement. We would also state explicitly that results may vary if different conditions like vehicle type,additive and fuel burn process were used.

 

PROCESS

1. Vehicle was warmed up. A drive of approx. 5 kilometres with an average of 7 minutes spent in traffic.


2. A Brand new fuel filter was installed on the fuel line to reduce interference from previous sediments


3. Fuel line was disconnected from the fuel tank and a rubber hose was attached to the line that led into a plastic bottle. Plastic Bottle used was the normal 75cl water bottle available at any street shop in Nigeria.


4. A laptop with a stopwatch was set up in the vehicle as a timer.


5. First test was with normal unmixed/untreated fuel. Direct from the fuel pump
   
   
   
   • fuel was poured into the bottle and the hose was inserted. There was a slight run off to account for the hose.
   
   
   • Vehicle was started and timer activated.
   
   
   • Vehicle was allowed to run at idle until fuel was exhausted in the bottle, the fuel line and the carburetor.
   
   
   • Vehicle stop time was measured and recorded
   
   
   
   


6. Second test was with normal fuel mixed with a portion of the fuel treatment product in a gallon.
   
   
   
   • the product was added to fuel already in a gallon and mixed thoroughly.
   
   
   • The hose was placed in the gallon and the vehicle was cranked.
   
   
   • Since there was no fuel in either the fuel line, fuel filter or carburetor, the vehicle did not start.
   
   
   • The Carburetor was primed with some carburetor cleaner. This was to serve as a starting fluid. Vehicle was cranked and started after some persuasion.
   
   
   • The vehicle was allowed to run for some minutes to allow the starting fluid burn off and allow the fuel mixture flow into the carburetor.
   
   
   • The mixture was poured into the bottle and the hose inserted as was done in the first test.
   
   
   • Vehicle was started and timer activated.
   
   
   • Vehicle was allowed to run at idle until fuel mixture was exhausted in the bottle, the fuel line and the carburetor.
   
   
   • Vehicle stop time was measured and recorded.
   
   
   
   

 

THE TEST

The test was recorded on video and has been uploaded on YouTube. This is shown Below.

https://youtu.be/7rXs71yptn0

THE RESULT

Test 1: Fuel burned for 34 minutes and 14 Seconds. (2054 Seconds)

Test 2: Fuel burned for 37 minutes and 34 Seconds. (2254 Seconds)

Difference: 200 seconds

Product Cost: N1,500 per vial.

CONCLUSION

First, i was surprised that the Volkswagen Beetle could burn fuel so slowly. Burning a litre of fuel (approx.) for over 30 minutes on both occasion was really interesting.

Secondly, the treated fuel mixture burned 200 seconds longer than the untreated mixture. This is a 9.7% increase in time.

Thirdly, there was no relatively new misfire or hiccup or atomic explosion or death of an Arabian prince during or after the test. Also, the vehicle's driving performance did not improve nor did my Volkswagen Beetle suddenly transform into a Muscle Camaro. It Still drove like an old faithful Volkswagen beetle Drives.

Whilst the product seemed to work, Certain points should be noted.

• The product could have improved on the octane rating of the average fuel sold in Nigeria


• The use of a carburetor cleaner as a starting fluid could have actually made the carburetor orifices cleaner leading to a more efficient burn.


• Is it actually economical to allocate an extra N1,500 to your fuel cost in order to gain 9.6% increase in fuel mileage per gallon? N1,500 will buy 17 extra litres of fuel.

More on the Cost vs Benefit analysis and the real meaning of octane boosting would be discussed in the concluding part of this review....Coming Up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fuel Boosters; Fact or Myth- A Test. Part 1

From drugs that cure HIV and malaria with just a single dosage to miracle procedures that can either elongate, reduce or even increase certain human body proportions, the history of mankind have been dotted with different offers and counter-offers by people willing to sell to other people willing to buy.

Due to a thread that was opened recently on a car forum in Nigeria as regards a particular fuel treatment product that was introduced, we have decided to conduct an independent test on the efficacy of the said product.

TEST VEHICLE

We have decided to use our Volkswagen Beetle for the test. The beetle is the best to use for the test based on the following:

• the beetle does not have a knock sensor to retard anything due to a lower octane level (assumed) of the control.


• the beetle has only one fuel line going to the carburetor. There is no return line. This implies that fuel input into the vehicle is simpler and can be monitored accurately.

CLAIM SUMMARY
The product under review claims to do 5 things:

Improve Performance and Horsepower. It claims to do this by burning more of the available BTU in the fuel. This claim cannot be tested by us.

Increase Fuel Mileage. It claims to reduce fuel consumption and increase MPG by at least 10%.
This implies that by using this product, you can extend the duration of fuel burn with the same fuel quantity. This is the claim we would be testing.

Reduce harmful emissions and pollutants. It claims to reduce carbon residue by 59% to 90%.
This is a huge claim and unfortunately cannot be tested by our team. We would have loved to be able to test this claim and we can still do that in future with available equipment.

Prolongs engine life and reduces wear. The product claims to lubricate the engine and thereby reduces wear.
This claim is huge. Except the product lubricates only the fuel system components, it cannot lubricate the whole engine. We cannot test this too at the moment.

Prolongs the life of stored fuel. It claims to allow the storage of fuel perpetually. This implies that it prevents fuel from going bad ( yes, petrol goes bad after long storage).
We could test this claim by storing a bottle mixed with this product for one year, however, it still remains a huge claim that needs to be investigated.

OUR TEST
We intend to test the claim that the product increases MPG by 10%.

MPG stands for 'Miles Per Gallon' and is a universal way of determining how much fuel your car burns over a certain distance. For example, a 20 MPG means that your car consumes one gallon of fuel to cover a distance of 20 miles. A car with 21 MPG is better at fuel management than a car with 20 MPG.

There are many variables that affect MPG.

Driving style, traffic, weather, engine condition, road structure etc.

In order to get a result as fair as possible, we would be eliminating a whole lot of the variables to get a constant condition-set for the test.

The rest would not involve any driving.

We would idle the warmed up vehicle using a fixed quantity of fuel.

There would be two tests.

Test 1 would involve idling the car by using a fixed quantity of standard fuel. The duration it takes to idle would be measured and recorded.

Test 2 would involve idling the same car by using a mixture of fuel and the treatment. The duration it takes to idle would also be measured and recorded.

The results of both tests would be compared.

We shall modify the fuel input system to run from a bottle instead of from the tank. This would enable us get as accurate a result as possible.

Safety factors would also be taken into cognizance.

The test is going to be as independent as possible with no bias for or against the product.

Grab your pop corn and watch this blog for more details

To head straight to the results, Click Here

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