The Only Fuel Savings Procedure That Actually Works is the

"BG" Fuel Injector Cleaning Auto Maintenance System

If it doesn't say BG--AVOID IT! In the mean time, here are some "tricks" that you'll want to avoid as well...

Fuel-saving gizmos are gimmicks...

Today’s reader-replies column is a follow-up to a previous one about fuel-saving gizmos and the likelihood that any of them work.

Though “hope springs eternal in the human breast,” when hope is used to sell a quick fix for the high price of gasoline, the Federal Trade Commission scrutinizes the practice.

For the past several years – until recently – the International Research & Development Corp. of Nevada, through its Web site and broadcast e-mails, claimed its magnetically based FuelMax and Super FuelMax devices reduced vehicle emissions and increased fuel economy by 27 percent.

In August of this year, the FTC settled a suit against the company. Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, explains:

“Consumers are looking for ways to increase fuel efficiency and save money at the pump. There are some practical ways to do that, like following the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual, combining errands and avoiding jackrabbit starts. The fact is that many products that claim to save fuel don’t work, and worse yet, may damage your car and end up costing you more.”

The FTC settlement imposes a “lifetime ban on the manufacture, advertising or sale of FuelMax, Super FuelMax, or any similar fuel saving or emissions decreasing product.”

It bars the defendants from making “false or unsubstantiated claims and misrepresentations that products increase gas mileage or reduce emissions” and from “assisting others or providing others with the means and instrumentalities to commit deception.”

The settlement also recovers $4.2 million for “consumer redress.” If you have bought FuelMax or Super FuelMax, you could be entitled to a refund. The FTC hotline for the settlement is 1-877-382-2020, option 1.

Reader Lynn Lunquist weighs in with his opinion on another putative fuel-saving device:

“Of course the Vortex Valve works! I get concerned enough about gas prices to send them my $69.95, I have now shifted from frustration-about-gas-prices mode to do-something-about-it mode. I put the Vortex Valve in and start driving like I expect it to work. And it does! I save 10 percent to 15 percent on my gas bill because I am driving better ... Unfortunately, when the motivation to save gasoline wanes, then the Vortex Valve tends to develop space strings which clog the engine aspiration and mileage again drops off. But that’s OK! There are magnets for the fuel line, or oil additives, or ...”

Reader Edward O’Neal of Norfolk, Va., offers a more sensible suggestion for dramatically increasing fuel economy – a device with neither installation requirements nor upfront costs:

“What your readers need to understand is that they can drastically improve fuel efficiency by simply slowing down. Wind resistance, which is a major factor at highway speeds, increases with the square of the speed. Reducing speed by 10 mph can reduce fuel consumption by up to 30 percent.

“In my 1996 Volvo 960 with a 6-cylinder engine, my mileage goes up from 24 to 27 mpg when I reduce speed from 70 mph to 60 mph. The reduction is much less at in-town speeds, but at highway speeds, the improvement is dramatic.”

-Chip Keen

Chip's article reflects the garbage that is out there in the market place that repeatedly is used to scam the auto repair consumer.

Yes...slowing down "does" actually work. However, I personally like passionate, spirited driving...so...I want something that will work regardless of the MPH...

The good news is that there is a product that works--I mean it REALLY works. It's called BG Fuel Injection/Induction Cleaner. For videos, news clips, and all the proof you'll need, visit Fuel Injector Auto Maintenance for a full discussion.

-Ted Olson
RepairTrust
Making Sense of Auto Repair Costs