Fitch Fuel Catalyst

[MTUboi86]

Originally Posted by theholycow

The issue is that, to effectively convince skeptics as you seem to want to do, you need to provide more than what it takes to convince yourself. Just like that 8th grade math teacher, skeptics want to see the work.

I'm still interested to see the results, but without enough believable data to satisfy me I probably would see it as inconclusive.

I'm not trying to prove anything just yet. All I'm trying to do is provide my basis for wanting to test the device... and providing my test results.

You are correct, though. I'm sure not having an kept-up gas log will help to discredit my findings (whatever those may be). I know how the vehicle performs and have driven it for many years. That may not be enough to prove to others that it works (which I don't know yet). I'd say if my average for the trip, highway only, is 32mpg or better, the device probably works.

But, we will see with time what the results are.

[Ford Man]

I too am interested in see your results. What kind of mileage do you usually get on the highway? I'm also skeptical of fuel saving devices. but I still experiment some, especially with ideas of my own or things that I can build that usually only cost a few dollars. A few years ago I did experiment with a Fuel Vaporizer 2000 simply because it had a 60 day money back guarantee. I played with it until the 60 days was almost up then sent it back for a refund.

[MTUboi86]

Originally Posted by Ford Man

What kind of mileage do you usually get on the highway?

I typically get around 30mpg. That is usually my average for the 1,000 mile trip from Houghton, MI to Lansing, MI and back to Houghton, MI ... driving 55mph for 4.5-5 hours and 70 mph for 3.5-4 hours (the speed limits)

My max fuel mileage ever obtained was ~38mpg. Did that once on this trip, driving the 55mph section, going the speed limit. No idea what caused that. Though, I did get 38mpg again during a trip to south dakota/colorado with the car fully loaded down with camping gear, food and a passenger. Also got 35 mpg once or twice on that trip. But, those are the sporadic outlying data that I can't reproduce. I assume the wind was either blowing in the right direction, or I was going downhill most of the time.
At one point, I did have a mechanical failure that resulted in higher gas mileage, which was odd. IAC valve was stuck and my car was idling really fast (no tach, but without touching the gas I was going 35mph), which also caused my engine to get quite hot... and both my city and highway mileage improved, even though I had to brake most of the time driving thru the city (25mph speed limits). It was odd. (IAC valve was 2? years ago)

I typically get between 16mpg and 17mpg in the city, regardless of how I drive the car - I tend to be more of a 'stomp on the gas' driver in the city, though I changed my driving habits after gas topped $4/gal this spring... with no change in gas mileage. But, it is easier on an 18 y/o car, so I decided to stick with laying off the gas pedal for now.

[MTUboi86]

I've gotten back from this trip... I have uploaded two gas mileage calculations to the gas log on here. These are from my return trip. I was pleasantly surprised by the increase in gas mileage.

On the way down (from memory) I got slightly over 32mpg from Baraga, MI to Gaylord, MI (300 miles, 66 at 70mph, rest at 55mph). This was with extra stops because my dog threw up twice and had diarrhea (he got into trail mix w/ raisins and M&Ms the night before... both are poisonous to dogs) . This is slightly more than I was expecting for gas mileage. The A/C was on for nearly 90% of this time, as temps were 90 degrees w/ high humidity

From Gaylord, MI to Lansing, MI I got slightly above 28mpg, which is around normal. 29mpg is usually what I expect there. A/C was on for maybe 70% of the time.

Made a trip from Lansing, MI to Marshall, MI and back... which included taking it to the mechanic (see below) and them test-driving it on the highway. I could have cared less about gas mileage during this "trip"... so it wasn't calculated yet (I was pushing the car by flooring it several times, A/C on in the city, and some short trips...) I'll get those numbers too, but they wouldn't be an accurate representation.

.....
The car's wheels were balanced, and found that one wheel had no weights on it (it was unbalanced for the trip downstate)... and the tire pressure was LOWERED by 7 PSI, thanks to the guys at the tire shop (I had tires at 42 PSI (max 44), and they lowered them to 35 PSI). I didn't bother with blowing them up again... kept forgetting, and when I tried I couldn't find any free air.

... from my understanding, unbalanced wheels would lower fuel economy, and lower tire pressure would lower fuel economy as well
.....
I ended up making a trip from Lansing, MI to DeWitt, MI (filled up), to Ann Arbor, MI to Temperance, MI to Cedar Point (sandusky, Ohio)... and returned the same route. Car had more than 500 pounds of additional weight (3 passengers), plus a cooler/food. The A/C was on for the entire trip down to Cedar Point, and was on for a very small portion of the return trip. From memory, I got approx 29.5 mpg ... better than I was expecting. Also included probably a total of about 30 miles city driving with A/C on.

(I'll have to add those to my gas log later)

Entered into gas log:
I filled up in DeWitt, MI after returning from Cedar Point... the car then sat for several days without being used after being driven to Lansing, MI. Loaded the car up with all the crap I was taking back up north with me (car was visibly weighed down, rear end was sagging). From Lansing to Gaylord I got 30.9(?)mpg, A/C on for at least 15 miles of city driving, and for maybe 80% of the highway trip.

From Gaylord to Baraga I got 33.48mpg with A/C on for maybe 10% of the trip.

Overall, I got better gas mileage than I expected after that first 500 miles.

Air Conditioning use hasn't really noticeably reduced my gas mileage in the past, unless used in the city... I think the majority of times I've gotten better-than-average highway gas mileage was with my A/C on, versus windows-up and just the vent fan on. Which, doesn't make sense.

I'm back to city-only driving for a while now... I expect to fill up again in about 2 weeks (short trips... all less than 4 miles [small town]). Typically average 16-18mpg city (always under 18) no-matter my driving style. Got 14mpg once due to mechanical issue (dirty MAF sensor). So... we'll see how city mileage turns out.

I'm not sold on it yet... but the results, initially, look good. There's a 90-day satisfaction guarantee on it, so I still have time to return it if I feel it doesn't work.

-------------
unrelated:
everything about this car and how things break is "odd". Even wheel bearings and hubs. They don't make ANY noise when they start to go bad. During one trip from Lansing to Houghton, MI ... my wheel was close to falling off because one of the rear hubs was bad. The only symptom: occasionally feeling a "wobble" while driving. I've replaced bearings 3-4 times on the front and hubs 3-4 times on the rear... none showed signs of going bad, except when you jack up the car and try to wobble the wheel back and forth... even when they were really bad. (yes, I know these shouldn't be needing replacement so quickly - it is combination of my "aggressive" city driving - taking turns way fast- and the dang potholes! ... rear hubs may be going bad due to an undiagnosed misalignment in the suspension/car body after my car was totaled in an accident- I was rear-ended, car was repaired by local vocation school for price of parts)
And getting better gas mileage when the IAC went bad... they're things that shouldn't happen, but they do with this car.

[MTUboi86]

Oh... and with the exception of Baraga, I filled up using the same pumps at the various stations I used. The original pump I used on the way down was out-of-order when I returned.

Also, something to note, The gas in Baraga, MI was ETHANOL FREE for the trip down ... and they changed it during the 1.5 weeks I was gone... now all the pumps say "may contain up to 10% ethanol", except for Premium. (they previously advertised that ALL of their gas was ethanol free... it was even on the big sign with the gas price.)
... This means I should have gotten better gas mileage than expected from Baraga, MI to Gaylord, MI. I did, but maybe only by 1mpg. All the other fill-ups were with "up to 10% Ethanol" fuel. I always use 87 octane as well (car-manufacturer recommended).

This variable is something I did not expect... but I always fill up in Baraga because gas is usually 10-20 cents cheaper per gallon, and is right on the "highway". If anything, it seems this variable would work in-favor of the Fitch Fuel Catalyst because ethanol free = higher mpg... after the initial 500 mile break-in period, the gas mileage was increased with gas that had ethanol in it.
Though, there you could argue the air conditioner use. But, I typically don't use the air conditioner, and my ~30mpg average for this Houghton > Lansing > Houghton trip is without air conditioner use. Weather for this trip required A/C use, though.

[Ford Man]

What did your overall average for the whole trip work out to?

[bowtieguy]

Originally Posted by MTUboi86

On the way down (from memory) I got slightly over 32mpg from Baraga, MI to Gaylord, MI (300 miles, 66 at 70mph, rest at 55mph). This was with extra stops because my dog threw up twice and had diarrhea (he got into trail mix w/ raisins and M&Ms the night before...

good info

i love reading product reviews especially when the "poster" goes on a tangent and digresses, describing how his girl friend didn't agree w/ the purchase, so he bought it in spite...or some such similar unrelated nonsense!
_____________________________

keep testing and keep us informed!

[MTUboi86]

Originally Posted by Ford Man

What did your overall average for the whole trip work out to?

The ENTIRE trip? Or just the Baraga to Lansing, back to Baraga portion? (which is what I am mainly comparing the gas mileage against for my average).

Regardless... I'll have to get back to you on that. Can't seem to remember to grab the receipts out of the car. I'll let ya know the full fuel results from the entire ~1,500 mile "Vacation" as soon as possible - when I remember to bring the receipts in. lol.

[MTUboi86]

I updated the fuel log with all the receipts I could find in my car that were contiguous. That sure lowered my average gas mileage, because it includes city mileage.

But, the four gas receipts from the trip are on there (the last four). I'm not sure what happened to a few of the receipts (trip to Marshall, MI and trip to Cedar Point). I'll keep looking for those.

It appears I'll be making this trip AGAIN tomorrow (I'm sick of driving this route...after 6 years of it). I'll post mileage from my current city driving when I fill up, and the results from the highway trip when I get a chance.

From adding the Fuel total and Mileage total from the trip, I get 31.71 MPG average. (998.15 miles / 31.476 gallons)

Average for down trip: 30.998 (still break-in period for F.F.C.)
Average for return trip: 32.433

[MTUboi86]

Just got gas, city mileage, plus some highway (~20 miles at 60-65mph) leaves me at ~17.59mpg... over a short distance. Leaving in the morning to do the Baraga > Lansing > Baraga trip again. Will fill up again in Baraga. I'm going to put my tire pressure back at 42 PSI, which is what it was originally on my trip downstate last time (and most times before when I've made this trip)... unless someone here has something to say about that.
42 is what my tires are normally at, the tire shop reduced the pressure to 35 after balancing and I never blew them back up.

Found the missing gas receipts as well. That's in the gaslog.
Cedar Point trip: 29.11 mpg (better than I expected)
Trip to Marshall, MI and misc. city and highway driving mainly with AC on: 21.74 (wasn't trying to conserve gas)