Fuel saver - snake oil or not ?

The SMH has an article about a new device that can reputedly reduce petrol consumption and greenhouse emissions by 20% from a company called Moletech. Their marketing campaign at the CES show seems to have been very successful, getting the attention of sites like Engadget.

Unsurprisingly, to my cynical eyes, the article is very short on details about how this feat is achieved. While I'd like think we could get a significant boost to both improve fuel economy and lower emissions so easily, it does rather sound like snake oil, all protestations to the contrary. On the subject of miracle fuel saving technologies, what happened to high profile (last year) company Firepower ?

The retired founder of the Strathfield retail group is going global with his next big project – a fuel saver device that cuts weekly petrol costs by up to 20 per cent and significantly lowers greenhouse gas emissions.

Andrew Kelly, now chief executive officer of Moletech, says his patented Fuel Saver kit is easily installed in any fossil-fuelled vehicle and improves fuel efficiency by changing the properties of gasoline in the tank. No modifications to the original structure of the vehicle are required.

Many have tried and failed to produce a product capable of noticeably improving fuel efficiency and reducing toxic emissions, but Kelly insists he isn't selling snake oil.

According to an assessment of Fuel Saver by associate professor Peter Dingle, of the environmental science department at Australia's Murdoch University, the technology has been independently tested in Australia, China, USA and Taiwan with positive results.

"The test results show enhanced combustion leads to a 20 per cent increase in fuel efficiency, a significant and large decline in toxic hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, and a minimal 20 per cent decrease in greenhouse gases," Dr Dingle wrote. He concluded Fuel Saver demonstrated benefits for all car users and widespread installation would benefit Australians health, environment and economy.

For six cylinder or V8 vehicles a Fuel Saver kit costs $399, while a cheaper $299 kit is available for four cylinder cars. There are different versions of the product depending on whether the vehicle takes gasoline, diesel or LPG. ...

The Fuel Saver kit consists of four ceramic fuel "sensors" that are dropped into the gas tank and attached to the air cleaner and radiator hose.

In proof of concept testing, the California Environmental Engineering laboratory said its results verified with a high level of confidence the viability of Fuel Saver and indicated more dramatic improvements could be expected and achieved with time. "The device, as tested, provided results that are more dramatic than similar technologies previously evaluated," research director Joseph Jones wrote.

In a vehicle emissions test report conducted in October last year, Australia's Department of Transport and Regional Services found Fuel Saver led to "an increasing improvement in fuel economy and a reduction in vehicle tailpipe emissions. This included a significant reduction in greenhouse gases (28 per cent)," the report concluded.