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Old 04-26-2008, 04:33 PM   #4 (permalink)
Lazarus
ECO-Evolution
 
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Location: Central Texas
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Quote:
Originally Posted by .Cd View Post
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. )
Hello neighbor Pflugervillian here.

Talk to the vendor again tell him about the site and that you want to test it. Who knows maybe he give you one to test for the website.

When they say 34% increase that's just sounds way off. I could see 1-5% but 34% ,that just seems out there.
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