Love my new truck, but 12mpg is killing me. JC Whitney has a section of the site titled Fuel Savers. If the claims are true, if I only just implement the E3 plugs and AirRaid Throttle Body Spacer, I can bring my 12MPG up to 14.78mpg. Are these products snake oil, or worth the investment?
Fuel Savers from JC Whitney = Snake Oil?
- Thread starter Brandon Gatz
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I am no big fan of JC Whitney right now.They screwed me on an Ebay purchase and only credited me shipping charges back,and I have nothing to show for it.
Gas savers are basically items to attract the attention of those who dont like the high price of gas in a futile attempt to boost economy,all the while making the manufacturer and retailer wealthy.Remember those Tornado things that even NAPA sold? Where oh where are those things now....??
Gas savers are basically items to attract the attention of those who dont like the high price of gas in a futile attempt to boost economy,all the while making the manufacturer and retailer wealthy.Remember those Tornado things that even NAPA sold? Where oh where are those things now....??
If it sounds too good to be true...
Look at it this way, if Ford could have bolted those widgets on for a few bucks (and make no mistake, they're only worth a few bucks) and beat Chevy's MPG by that much...why wouldn't they have done it? Why wouldn't the OEMs just put those widgets on their whole product line and then they wouldn't have to worry about CAFE?
Because the test results are not accurate...the claims are excessive...E.G. the plugs improved the fuel economy by that % vs. worn out plugs, not vs. new....yeah, they're snake oil.
Look at it this way, if Ford could have bolted those widgets on for a few bucks (and make no mistake, they're only worth a few bucks) and beat Chevy's MPG by that much...why wouldn't they have done it? Why wouldn't the OEMs just put those widgets on their whole product line and then they wouldn't have to worry about CAFE?
Because the test results are not accurate...the claims are excessive...E.G. the plugs improved the fuel economy by that % vs. worn out plugs, not vs. new....yeah, they're snake oil.
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I'd just get a small daily driver, some old Corolla or something.
I had a hard time picking between a CR-V and my Honda Fit 2 years ago when gas was 1.17$/Liter up here in Montreal.
I went with the Fit when I saw how much stuff you can put in it. I was able to fit a 26" rolling tool box bottom into it. IN THE SHIPPING BOX.
I can even sleep in my Fit diagonally and I am 6'1" tall.
Would I trade getting almost 50mpg on the highway for anything? At 1.45$/Liter (5.50$ / US Gal), no way. I'm very happy with my purchase.
If you can get an old diesel car that would be the way to go. A buddy I go to school with has an old Jetta that he put a diesel engine into and he gets well over 1,000 km a tank. Wow!!!
I had a hard time picking between a CR-V and my Honda Fit 2 years ago when gas was 1.17$/Liter up here in Montreal.
I went with the Fit when I saw how much stuff you can put in it. I was able to fit a 26" rolling tool box bottom into it. IN THE SHIPPING BOX.
I can even sleep in my Fit diagonally and I am 6'1" tall.
Would I trade getting almost 50mpg on the highway for anything? At 1.45$/Liter (5.50$ / US Gal), no way. I'm very happy with my purchase.
If you can get an old diesel car that would be the way to go. A buddy I go to school with has an old Jetta that he put a diesel engine into and he gets well over 1,000 km a tank. Wow!!!
Spark plugs...burn is burn. Better plugs last longer, thats it. They have zero effect on performance or economy unless your new plugs are gapped properly and your old ones were [censored]. Thats it.
Throttle body spacer. Are you [censored] joking? There is zero science behind how that works and it won't work.
Pretty much all this stuff is garbage.
Throttle body spacer. Are you [censored] joking? There is zero science behind how that works and it won't work.
Pretty much all this stuff is garbage.
Originally Posted By: tightwad
An insult to snakes. Weasel oil.
+1
An insult to snakes. Weasel oil.
+1
Originally Posted By: gr8gatzby
Love my new truck, but 12mpg is killing me. JC Whitney has a section of the site titled Fuel Savers. If the claims are true, if I only just implement the E3 plugs and AirRaid Throttle Body Spacer, I can bring my 12MPG up to 14.78mpg. Are these products snake oil, or worth the investment?
If it were that easy, the engineers would have already done it from the factory.
Love my new truck, but 12mpg is killing me. JC Whitney has a section of the site titled Fuel Savers. If the claims are true, if I only just implement the E3 plugs and AirRaid Throttle Body Spacer, I can bring my 12MPG up to 14.78mpg. Are these products snake oil, or worth the investment?
If it were that easy, the engineers would have already done it from the factory.
I've the heard the argument: "Ford would've used these to increase their CAFE standards from the factory if they actually worked to increase economy."
If this were a new truck, that would be an accurate statement. However technology has changed quite a bit in 17yrs and I'm inclined to think that in the natural evolution of technology has netted products that inherently increase fuel economy as a net effect of 17years of development. It's worth a shot, methinks, for the small investment required. Comparing these to the infamous Tornado is a bit of a stretch though.
If this were a new truck, that would be an accurate statement. However technology has changed quite a bit in 17yrs and I'm inclined to think that in the natural evolution of technology has netted products that inherently increase fuel economy as a net effect of 17years of development. It's worth a shot, methinks, for the small investment required. Comparing these to the infamous Tornado is a bit of a stretch though.
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Lol, okay. You're completely wasting your money then.
Feel free trusting a buncha crooks peddling you greasy wares because nobody else uses any of this garbage, because it doesn't work, and isn't documented to work.
Wanna buy my used motor oil? Guaranteed up to a %25 increase in fuel economy. Its better oil then 17 years ago, must be true.
Feel free trusting a buncha crooks peddling you greasy wares because nobody else uses any of this garbage, because it doesn't work, and isn't documented to work.
Wanna buy my used motor oil? Guaranteed up to a %25 increase in fuel economy. Its better oil then 17 years ago, must be true.
The time to think about mpg is when you buy a car, not after.
I knew what I was stepping into when I bought the vehicle. No buyers remorse here.
What do you blokes think of AutoRX? Started the first treatment 100mi ago.
What do you blokes think of AutoRX? Started the first treatment 100mi ago.
Have you googled them, to see if anyone else has tried them?
If you do buy, make sure to keep driving it identically to how you do now. Sometimes one can get tricked by adjusting their driving habits after installing something; and voila! it worked! when in reality one wasn't doing jackrabbit starts or doing 80mph.
What kind of driving are you doing? City or highway? Gearing change might help. Change in tires maybe. All maintance up to snuff? Maybe it's time to replace the O2 sensor (MAF if it has one?). What kind of cat does it have? Whatever it is, it's old. Once past that, mods start getting expensive (dual exhaust: will it pay for itself? etc).
If you do buy, make sure to keep driving it identically to how you do now. Sometimes one can get tricked by adjusting their driving habits after installing something; and voila! it worked! when in reality one wasn't doing jackrabbit starts or doing 80mph.
What kind of driving are you doing? City or highway? Gearing change might help. Change in tires maybe. All maintance up to snuff? Maybe it's time to replace the O2 sensor (MAF if it has one?). What kind of cat does it have? Whatever it is, it's old. Once past that, mods start getting expensive (dual exhaust: will it pay for itself? etc).
Check out ecomodder for a bunch of free/cheap fuel saving tips. Even going from 12 to 14 mpg will be a big enough savings at the pump to warrant the efforts.
An airdam, grille block, and some sort of real-time MPG feedback will help out tremendously.
An airdam, grille block, and some sort of real-time MPG feedback will help out tremendously.
Originally Posted By: gr8gatzby
I've the heard the argument: "Ford would've used these to increase their CAFE standards from the factory if they actually worked to increase economy."
If this were a new truck, that would be an accurate statement. However technology has changed quite a bit in 17yrs and I'm inclined to think that in the natural evolution of technology has netted products that inherently increase fuel economy as a net effect of 17years of development. It's worth a shot, methinks, for the small investment required. Comparing these to the infamous Tornado is a bit of a stretch though.
And Ford has used technology to increase MPG in the last 17 years. Transmissions with more gears and longer OD ratios and smaller turbocharged ("EcoBoost") engines.
Over the years I've seen a few articles in Popular Mechanics, Car & Driver, and others, testing these sort of "innovations." Not a one of them increased MPG, but some did decrease it.
I've the heard the argument: "Ford would've used these to increase their CAFE standards from the factory if they actually worked to increase economy."
If this were a new truck, that would be an accurate statement. However technology has changed quite a bit in 17yrs and I'm inclined to think that in the natural evolution of technology has netted products that inherently increase fuel economy as a net effect of 17years of development. It's worth a shot, methinks, for the small investment required. Comparing these to the infamous Tornado is a bit of a stretch though.
And Ford has used technology to increase MPG in the last 17 years. Transmissions with more gears and longer OD ratios and smaller turbocharged ("EcoBoost") engines.
Over the years I've seen a few articles in Popular Mechanics, Car & Driver, and others, testing these sort of "innovations." Not a one of them increased MPG, but some did decrease it.
Your truck's engine injects fuel after the throttle body. A throttle body spacer isn't going to help you at all because the fuel and air are mixing after that point.
If your current plugs are old and out of gap, new ones may help, but just changing brands of plug probably won't work any MPG wonders.
If your current plugs are old and out of gap, new ones may help, but just changing brands of plug probably won't work any MPG wonders.
Originally Posted By: gr8gatzby
I've the heard the argument: "Ford would've used these to increase their CAFE standards from the factory if they actually worked to increase economy."
If this were a new truck, that would be an accurate statement. However technology has changed quite a bit in 17yrs and I'm inclined to think that in the natural evolution of technology has netted products that inherently increase fuel economy as a net effect of 17years of development. It's worth a shot, methinks, for the small investment required. Comparing these to the infamous Tornado is a bit of a stretch though.
They're a lot like the Tornado...all promise...no improvement.
And you're misinterpreting the thought you quote...that thought, "if they worked, XXX would have used them" is absolutely true...if all it took was a 3" longer throttle body and it fit, they would have done that at the factory in that model year. The "fuel savers" are nothing like the improvements in engine design and control systems that engineers have developed.
This type of widget has nothing to do with advancing technology...it has everything to do with separating the gullible from their money.
The oldest game in the book...
I've the heard the argument: "Ford would've used these to increase their CAFE standards from the factory if they actually worked to increase economy."
If this were a new truck, that would be an accurate statement. However technology has changed quite a bit in 17yrs and I'm inclined to think that in the natural evolution of technology has netted products that inherently increase fuel economy as a net effect of 17years of development. It's worth a shot, methinks, for the small investment required. Comparing these to the infamous Tornado is a bit of a stretch though.
They're a lot like the Tornado...all promise...no improvement.
And you're misinterpreting the thought you quote...that thought, "if they worked, XXX would have used them" is absolutely true...if all it took was a 3" longer throttle body and it fit, they would have done that at the factory in that model year. The "fuel savers" are nothing like the improvements in engine design and control systems that engineers have developed.
This type of widget has nothing to do with advancing technology...it has everything to do with separating the gullible from their money.
The oldest game in the book...
There's a "gullible one" born every minute.
Or as Samuel L. Clemens once said, "No one ever went broke UNDERESTIMATING the intelligence of the American Public." Or lost an election, for that matter.
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