ca40

[Kire]

I ordered 32 ounces of CA-40 (1 quart), which is a fuel addative that at least gets 10% more out of your 15-20 gallons of gas when you add 1 ounce of the product to your fill up...so for $1 per fill up, you can save 4 to 5 bucks, and that's just calculating for 10%. I've heard for cars like mine (a 2005 Pontiac grand prix), it's more like 15-20%.

I'll update down the line after having used it and let you guys know if you're curious. I've heard enough testimonials to think it'll be worth it, but we'll see.

http://www.ca40g.com/home.php

[Smurf Taco]

Re: ca40

sounds like a scam to me, but what do I know?

[The Toecutter]

Re: ca40

Often times, people using these additives will subconsciously drive less aggressively, therefore helping fuel economy.

The only valid way to see if it works is to conduct 3 trials in similar whether conditions on the same road over a given distance. This way, it's easy to filter out any results that aren't statistically significant.

The folks on gassavers.org have tried all sorts of fuel additives and the vast majority of them have had no effect.




The best things you could do to increase your fuel economy that require at most a few hundred dollars(in order from most to least significant):

1) Aerodynamic modifications
2) Adjustment of driving style(most effective if you have a manual. If you're stuck with an automatic, not much you can do)
3) Synthetic transmission and engine oils
4) Low Rolling Resistance Tires
5) ECU modification
6) New ignition system

[Kire]

Re: ca40

I doubt it'll change my driving style; I'm pretty efficient and I pretty much time my green lights so I usually hit them rolling. We'll see what happens.

[The Toecutter]

Re: ca40

Try measuring fuel economy at steady state cruising speeds over long distances(20+ miles) with multiple trials. Make sure the weather is conducive to it with a minimum of crosswinds and with similar humidity, temperature and air pressure for each trial. That will really tell you if it is doing what it is supposed to.

The vast majority of these products are scams.

If you want to know what instantaneous fuel economy you are getting, you might want to purchase a scangauge. It measures fuel consumption from the engine's fuel injection system for any OBDII car.

http://www.scangauge.com/

It also works very well according to tens of people I've spoken with who have one equipped in their cars. To figure out how to adjust driving style:

http://www.crxmpg.com/fedisplay.html

[Kire]

Re: ca40

The idea of shutting off your car while driving kinda terrifies me. I'll try it though.

[The Toecutter]

Re: ca40

I do it all the time in areas of low traffic. Try it first in parking lots and areas of sparse traffic: you DO NOT want to be trying it one day only to find you need your power steering and power brakes and they aren't working since the starter battery is drained!

Use air conditioning instead of windows at speeds > 40 mph as well, and reverse this for speeds less than 40 mph. Open windows contribute a huge amount to aerodynamic drag, so much so that with them open you will probably never get the EPA highway mileage.

[Kire]

Re: ca40

Why is the rule reverse for less than 40 mph then?

[Magik]

Re: ca40

The effect of the drag becomes less draining than the amount of energy required to run the AC.

[The Toecutter]

Re: ca40

And in addition to what Magik has stated, that 40 mph is a 'rule of thumb'. Drag force is determined by the following equation:

Aerodynamic drag Force = .5 * Rho * Cross Sectional Area * Drag Coefficient * Velocity^2

Aerodynamic drag force is expressed in Newtons
Rho is the air density, usually 1.25 kilograms per cubic meter
Cross sectional area is expressed in square meters
Drag coefficient is determined by the car's shape
Velocity is expressed in meters per second


Given that the air drag varies as a square of speed, the power to overcome air drag varies as a cube of speed. Thus, your engine will need to devlote 8 times as much horsepower to overcoming air drag at 60 mph than it would at 30 mph.

You also have rolling force, determined by your car's weiught and tire rolling resistance characteristics. Unlike air drag, power to overcome rolling force varies linearly with speed. Thus, at 60 mph, you will need twice the horsepower devoted to overcoming rolling drag than at 30 mph.



Obviously, weight won't effect fuel economy worth a damn except on hills and in low speed driving.

[Alex]

Re: ca40

You'll get more miles adding vodka to your gas tank. Stop falling for and advertising this bull****.