was the fuel heater ever debunked?
 

I still have my old fuel heater and am thinking about giving it another shot. You know the thing that runs the fuel line over the radiator hose and "pre heats" the fuel. I was just thinking maybe it would help with my WAI. Has anyone looked into this at all since that old thread about it?

It does work. Visit https://www.376milespergallon.com for more hints at it. The more heat is not wasted through the catalytic converter, the better.

um that site was interesting but I'm not sure how that answers my question... hmm makes me wanna try it out on the next fill up though

that was an interesting site but it didn't really fully answer my question... for instance why not use it on your cars then?

IIRC, that car has a very small engine fed by a Yunick-style vapor carburetor, and its improvements are as much from other major changes as they are from that stuff.

As for a more practical, more commonly discussed fuel heater, here's my opinion:
- Merely heating the fuel probably isn't going to do much. Perhaps, possibly, it could cause a slight improvement in atomization, making it vaporize better, which could conceivably make a slight difference in FE.
- One person suggested that heating modern E10 fuel in a copper tube could catalyze the ethanol into something else. I never chased the science behind it, but I suppose that it's not out of the realm of possibility.

For the average driver, hot fuel can preignite & detonate easier.

For those of us who are light on the throttle, this isn't an issue.

-BC