18% increase! (Fuel Doctor FD-47 busted by Consumer Reports)

[EdKiefer]

Originally Posted by ChopsQube

I was going to say roughly the same thing about the battery. If the battery is in good shape and charging normally, that's pretty much all the stabilization the electrical system needs.

Not only that, but if you have a Scan Gauge or an aftermarket volt meter (that doesn't have built-in suppression), heck, even a simple digital multimeter, you can see how steady the voltage is while the car is running, especially at speed and after the alternator is up to full working temp.

The only component that would need any kind of filtration would be the ECU, but the ECU already has sufficient filtration built in, hence no need for such nonsense as the "anal probe" that the Fuel Doc is ripping people off with.

In there defense you need a Oscilloscope to see the delta in the voltage, but again looking at the pdf in my above link I find it hard to believe that slight more filtering would affect much .
I am very skeptical of only dyno tests, you can make outcome whatever you like especially if your dealing in very small % .
In there test they show an increase of ampere amount but at same voltage , hmm to me only way to get that is to introduce more load (resistance ) . It probably be pretty hard to maintain x current usage on newer ECU system, as just about everything is controlled now by ECU .

[jdgFirefly]

People need to realize that a modern fuel injected engine is extremely effective at delivering and burning fuel at the right portions. If I remember right a modern engine buns about 99.7% of the fuel. Any gizmo that claims to increase FE by making the engine deliver or burn the fuel more efficiently has got to be full of stuff... accept for fuel line magnets they align the fuel molecules to make a more powerful explosion.

[MaxHedrm]

Hahah ... I sure hope that last part was a joke.

[ShadeTreeMech]

Originally Posted by MaxHedrm

Hahah ... I sure hope that last part was a joke.

+1 on that one!

Something else that has occurred to me; somewhere I learned an older car (ie more than 100k miles on it, or 5+years old) tends to experience some corrosion and degredation of wires which puts more strain on the electrical system. The solution was to put in a larger battery to ease out the extra strain, ie adding a capacitor would also help.

[mwebb]

"Something else that has occurred to me; somewhere I learned an older car (ie more than 100k miles on it, or 5+years old) tends to experience some corrosion and degredation of wires which puts more strain on the electrical system.

The solution was to put in a larger battery to ease out the extra strain, ie adding a capacitor would also help."

no ,
that is NOT the solution and adding a capacitor will not help either.

the solution is to do voltage drop testing , ie measure voltage lost across a given wire UNDER LOAD using a DVOM - negative test lead on the most negative side positive test lead on the most positive side

if you screw up and reverse the test leads ,
it does not matter , the value will be negative , just reverse the test leads and retest
or just use the negative amplitude value .

the value must be under 50mv for a smart circuit like a circuit with sensors in it or
under 100mv for a dumb circuit like a circuit with computer operated actuators ie injectors , solenoids , relays , etc
or
under 200mv for supply or starting circuits
like alternators and heater blowers and cooling fans and starters

if you find higher than specified voltage drop , locate and replace the bad component which means replace the connector or solder on new eyelets or replace the cable or what ever it takes to
get voltage drop back to specification
=========================
never use an ohm meter for this
unless you enjoy chasing your own tail with out ever catching it.

[EdKiefer]

Originally Posted by mwebb

"Something else that has occurred to me; somewhere I learned an older car (ie more than 100k miles on it, or 5+years old) tends to experience some corrosion and degredation of wires which puts more strain on the electrical system.

The solution was to put in a larger battery to ease out the extra strain, ie adding a capacitor would also help."

no ,
that is NOT the solution and adding a capacitor will not help either.

the solution is to do voltage drop testing , ie measure voltage lost across a given wire UNDER LOAD using a DVOM - negative test lead on the most negative side positive test lead on the most positive side

if you screw up and reverse the test leads ,
it does not matter , the value will be negative , just reverse the test leads and retest
or just use the negative amplitude value .

the value must be under 50mv for a smart circuit like a circuit with sensors in it or
under 100mv for a dumb circuit like a circuit with computer operated actuators ie injectors , solenoids , relays , etc
or
under 200mv for supply or starting circuits
like alternators and heater blowers and cooling fans and starters

if you find higher than specified voltage drop , locate and replace the bad component which means replace the connector or solder on new eyelets or replace the cable or what ever it takes to
get voltage drop back to specification
=========================
never use an ohm meter for this
unless you enjoy chasing your own tail with out ever catching it.

right that is the reason they sell those ground kits . the ground side of vehicle electrical system is weak link most times as its dealing with body .
Even though many may have multiple ground points from battery >body>trans>engine etc when new . What can happens is with high usage of aluminum and dissimilar metals corrosion occurs . either way voltage drop is way to pin down the issue .

[jdgFirefly]

Originally Posted by MaxHedrm

Hahah ... I sure hope that last part was a joke.

I was joking about the fuel line magnets.

[MetroMPG]

Fuel Doctor FD-47 fails the Consumer Reports mpg test

When we put it through our extensive testing on a number of vehicles, we found that it made no significant difference in any evaluation. As far as we can tell, all it does is light up when it’s plugged in.

We tested two samples of the FD-47 on 10 vehicles, with different types of engines, including four-cylinder models, standard and turbocharged V6s, and gas and turbodiesel-powered V8s. We ran each vehicle through our standard series of acceleration and fuel-economy tests, and the results were virtually the same with or without the device. The company says that the Fuel Doctor is recommended for use on vehicles 24 months old and older but that positive effects can be expected on many newer vehicles as well. Two of our test vehicles were older than 24 months.

In the past, we’ve tested bolt-on devices that were claimed to provide big fueleconomy and performance improvements, including the Fuel Genie, Platinum Gas Saver, and Tornado Fuel Saver. But we have yet to find one that makes a significant difference.

source: http://blogs.consumerreports.org/car...-mpg-test.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKP3W42wxD0

[MetroMPG]

All I can say is DRAT!

I was really hoping this would be the one!

[markweatherill]

Big Oil wins again!