Improve Your Car's Fuel Efficiency Without Damaging It

Many of the gas saving devices being advertised do not work and can actually damage your vehicle.

The Environmental Protection Agency did tests on over 100 fuel saving devices and found that most did not improve efficiency at all and the rest didn't improve it by that much.

The gas-saving products on the market seem to fall into clearly defined categories. These include, but are not limited to: vapour-bleed devices, liquid injection devices, ignition devices, fuel line devices, mixture enhancers, internal engine modification devices, fuels and fuel additives, oils and oil additives, and driving habit modifiers.

The EPA's test were designed to evaluate whether the devices had any significant impact on a vehicle fuel economy. What they could not test for was whether the devices would have any adverse effects on a cars performance over time.

For example, if an "air bleed" device actually adds significant amounts of air to the air-and-fuel mixture, it may cause an engine to misfire, a condition which greatly increases the potential engine damage or mechanical failure. This is especially likely to happen on cars manufactured between 1974 and 1982, because their carburetors are pre-set for a maximum amount of air to be burned with the fuel. "Air-bleed" devices will not work at all on many cars manufactured after 1982, because these cars have "feedback" carburetors that automatically adjust the air-and-fuel mixture rendering the device useless.

There are too many factors that affect fuel consumption such as driver's habits, condition of the vehicle. Because of this it is hard to believe the claims many of these product manufacturers make.

In one case a consumer sent a letter to a company praising its gas-saving product. But what was not mentioned in the advertisement was the fact that the consumers vehicle also had an engine tune-up at the time the device was installed.

There are claims in some advertisments that a product is endorsed or approved by a government agency. This is a falacy. Government agencies will never endorse a product of this type. It may have been tested by the EPA and if so, you will be able to request a copy of the test results.

You may have already bought one of these devices. If you are not happy then you are well within your right to ask for a refund. Any honest company will offer a money back guarantee. If they do not, you can file a complaint with the state consumer protection agency.

Regular maintenance and servicing is one of the best way to ensure that your vehicle is running at it's maximum fuel efficeincy. You can find out service intervals by looking in the vehicle manual.

Three simple steps that will help improve gas mileage in all vehicles:

Get an engine tune-up.

Checking tire pressure.

Take out any unnecessary objects from your trunk to rid your vehicle of excess weight.

Article Source: http://www.search4allinfo.com

Robert C. Beiro has collected together 100's more articles on making your car fuel efficient and has also written a number of motoring articles on his website, OldboyArticles.com

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