This Earth Day fest, I picked up some literature from a vendor dealing in a product called the 'Blade'.
It is an exaust tip that somehow magically reduces your emissions and improves your FE by 3 - 5 MPG.
I was skeptical, and still am. Looking at the product (
www.bladeyourride.com ) it looks as if it is just a chrome exaust tip with some fiberglass cloth inside of it and a mesh to cap off the end.
If anything, i think that you would se a
REDUCTION of 3 - 5 MPG due to the backpressure issues caused by the screen at the tip.
( To my great surprise ... I was wrong . )
As far as reducing pollution, it may actually collect a small ( tiny ) amount.
I am considering just
making one to test it. I'll save over $ 100.00.
The website is really professional looking and has links to the supposed testers and media reviews. Following the links, I was surprised to see that there may be some truth to their claims.
Tested by a U.T. labratory, it showed a small increase in FE but with current gas prices, the unit would take over three years to pay for its' $ 150 price tag.
The TV news story that covered this test just shower the gas saving side of the story without mention of any emissions test results ( no duh right ? )
I would still like to see an official emissions test.
I could care less about the FE improvements that you get from the thing. What I want to see is concrete proof of any emissions reduction.
I'm skeptical of this Blade thing, but at the same time, I have hopes for it.
What excites me is the potential reduction in emissions.
I am not driving my car anymore ( walk, bike, or bus around town ) so if any of you folks actually buy one of these, please do let us know if the thing works.
The company is right here in Austin, so perhaps I can get in touch with them and see why they charge so much for the thing.
At the Earth Day fest, I overheard a mention of carbon fiber being used as the cloth material. Perhaps they could charge less if they made the material out of fiberglass instead.
( And perhaps I'm showing how little that I know of the melting point of fiberglass and the emissions caused by its incineration. )