Fuel Economy Tip - Gas Saving Devices Mostly A Scam

Today's tip won't help you save any gas, but it'll help save you from wasting your money on scams that claim to help you increase your car's gas mileage.

Avoid buying devices or products that claim to help increase your vehicle's fuel economy - they are more than likely a scam.

The basis for this tip came from an article I read on MSN.com, which talked about various devices and products (like many of the AdSense links on this site) that claim to increase fuel economy, but almost always fall well short of their claims.

Whether these devices bleed air into the carburetor, heat the gas before it is ignited, or try to change the gas' molecular structure, one thing remains constant - they don't work!

There are a couple of items from this article that I though were particularly interesting and want to elaborate on:

1. In the September 2005 issue of Popular Mechanics, experts tested seven "fuel saving" products and found that none of them increased gas mileage, and two actually increased fuel consumption (decreased gas mileage). With some of these items costing what a tank of gas typically runs, it sounds to me like you would be better off just keeping that money in your pocket.
2. The advertising that goes along with these products is often faulty and very misleading. For example, one advertisement may make the claim that the product will increase your gas mileage by up to 20%. That's all fine and dandy, but there is no information given as to how they were able to come up with that figure. As you know from reading this blog, there are many different ways to affect gas mileage - you driving habits (speeding, jack rabbit driving), traffic, your car's condition, etc. So, unless the advertisement states that the product was tested in identical conditions as what most drivers face, don't believe the hype.
3. Fuel tank additives really don't work. This one was the one that got me, because I actually believed the claims that these additives would help clean my car's fuel line. That being said, there are enough detergents already in gasoline that this shouldn't be an issue.
4. There is no conspiracy among the automotive manufactures. If car makers could come up with new ways to help increase their vehicles' fuel economy, they would probably go ahead and incorporate it into the vehicles. So, these products that are all add-on, have all been reviewed my automotive manufacturers and have been deemed to not live up to the hype. If a company that has billions of research dollars at its disposal doesn't believe in a product's claims, you probably shouldn't either.

So, the moral of this story is (much like I have claimed all along) the only real way for you to increase your car's gas mileage is to change your driving habits.