Do Fuel-Saving Gadgets Take You for a Ride?

High gas prices have produced a bountiful supply of one kind of product: fuel-saving gadgets for your car.

These devices, which cost anywhere from $35 to $300, are pitched as simple ways to improve fuel economy. While not all of the devices are new, $4-a-gallon gasoline has increased consumer interest and inspired new ad campaigns -- often evoking hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels.

A kit called Water4Gas, for example, has instructions for converting your car into a "water hybrid" that uses "the atomic power of hydrogen" for less than $150. The Magnetizer offers to save fuel by rearranging the ions in your fuel line. The maker of the Fuel Saver 7000 says the $170 device boosts fuel economy by treating gasoline to a "3-stage" vaporization process.

One familiar type of fuel saver looks like a fan or turbine made of sheet metal or plastic and ranges from $35 to $65. Installed in a vehicle's air-intake system -- typically by the driver -- such products, with names like Turbonator, Spiral Max or CycloneFuelSaver, are supposed to improve fuel combustion inside engines by causing incoming air to swirl.

Another type of device works on the fuel to make it burn more efficiently. Some systems inject air, water or other vapors or liquids into the fuel mixture before it enters the engine or infuse fuel with tiny amounts of platinum. Others use heaters to expand the fuel or employ magnets attached to the fuel line to modify the fuel.

But auto-industry officials and federal energy experts say most fuel-saving add-ons don't work. The Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Trade Commission have tested products that claim to boost fuel economy and found they generally don't improve vehicles' efficiency -- and they sometimes actually harm performance and increase emissions. The dozens of products tested include some air-swirling gadgets, magnetic devices and liquid-injection systems, though not specifically the FuelSaver 7000, Water4Gas, Magnetizer, Turbonator, Spiral Max or Cyclone. And drivers, beware: In some cases, installing certain devices can void cars' factory warranties.

"We have tested a range of these products and have found they generally do not improve fuel economy," says EPA spokeswoman Cathy Milbourn.

'Best and the Worst'

Manufacturers of the devices stand by their products, some saying the EPA and FTC reports make negative statements that are too broad. "The high price of gasoline has brought out the best and the worst, and there are a lot of gimmicks on the market," says Roy Martin, owner of Fuel Concepts LLC, the North Royalton, Ohio, company that makes the Fuel Saver 7000. "I've read the EPA reports, and I say they're crazy. My product works," he says.

The EPA and FTC "only test the ones that don't work," says Louis H. Elwell III, chairman and president of Vortex Fluid Optimizer Corp. The Hattiesburg, Miss., company makes the Vortex Fuel Saver, a system that uses magnets to affect the fuel, air and coolant entering an engine. He says the Vortex uses technology that boosts fuel economy by at least 10%.

Despite the skeptics, many consumers are turning to fuel-saving products, hoping for an easy way to get more out of each gallon of gasoline. John Signorotti was looking for a quick, simple way to improve the fuel economy of his 2004 Toyota pickup truck. For about $70, he bought the TornadoFuelSaver, a small, fan-like device that swirls air into the engine in an effort to improve fuel combustion.

"It didn't work," says the California financial adviser. "I tested it and then returned it for a full refund." He says local mechanics told him any swirling effect would dissipate by the time the air mixed with the fuel and entered the engine. But he says he did have some luck with a device called a throttle-body spacer, which swirled the air and fuel mixture closer to the engine. He says it boosted his fuel economy by about 10%. The maker of the Tornado product, now called CycloneFuelSaver, couldn't be reached to comment.

Sales of Products Grow

Sales of fuel-saving products, which also include fuel and oil additives, have continued to grow even as the overall auto and auto-parts markets have sagged. Peter MacGillivray, a spokesman for the Specialty Equipment Market Association, a trade group that includes some manufacturers of fuel-saving devices, says 2008 so far has been the biggest sales year ever for add-on fuel-saving products. While the group doesn't release sales figures for the segment, it says fuel-saving products contributed to 4% growth last year in the auto aftermarket.

Mr. MacGillivray says the broad category includes some "smoke and mirrors" products, but it also includes many that improve engine efficiency, such as certain high-performance air-intake and exhaust systems. These upgrades, ranging from improved mufflers to entire exhaust systems, can cost $1,000 or more, and they require more time and skill to install than the products covered in the EPA and FTC reports.

How to Improve Efficiency

EPA officials say there are simple, proven methods people can use to increase fuel efficiency, starting with changing their driving style. Avoiding rapid acceleration and hard braking, coasting whenever possible and obeying highway speed limits can increase fuel economy by more than 20%, according to the EPA. Properly inflating tires, keeping the engine in tune, removing excess weight from the vehicle and avoiding idling for long periods also helps.

Aaron Flies, a coffee-shop owner in Vancouver, Wash., bought a device called a Scan Gauge II with a screen that gives readouts of moment-by-moment fuel economy, average and throttle position. It is meant to remind drivers to go easy on the gas pedal. Mr. Flies says the company van was getting 12 to 13 miles per gallon, mostly in urban driving, and has logged 15 to16 mpg since he changed his driving technique.

"Now I'm saving about $120 a month on fuel," he said.