Mod eliminates Hummer mileage problem...or does it?
High gas prices combined with the Hummer's bottom-of-the-barrell gas mileage should spell doom for sales for the boxy SUV, right? Well, two Hummer dealerships may have found a technological workaround. Sib blog engadget reports that Detroit Hummer and Hummer of Novi are selling a modification, called the "Mileage Maximizer," that supposedly increases the SUV's miles per gallon up to as much as the mid-twenties. The modification comes from the aftermarket parts company Air Synergy Labs Inc. with the the dealerships charging $185.95 for the device.The modifiers have not yet been tested by Hummer or the brand's parent company, General Motors. Both strongly discourage such modifications and hint they may not honor any warranties to modified vehicles. Also, no governmental body has certified the device's claims. The dealerships, though, are pleased with the brisk sales of the modified SUVs. States Russ Reimer, service director for both dealerships, "....We've had some customers already call us back and say they have seen an improvement."
Do we have to ask? Comments are now open.
[Source: Wall Street Journal via engadget; picture by Getty Images]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
cmonkey 5:10PM (6/30/2006)
Sure the product works. It's called the placebo effect. People need to find a way to justify the $200 useless piece of metal and plastic they just bought. :p
Anyway, the product has been debunked several times, by places like Popular Science and Mythbusters.
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Will 5:13PM (6/30/2006)
These dealers need choked to death. If a magic bullet could add mpg to these vehicles, GM would have installed it from the factory. Everyone else is having problems getting rid of SUVs, these asshats are adding dealer markups.
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James Sonne 5:25PM (6/30/2006)
Placebo effect does not affect machinery. It's a psychological occurance. The Tornado device actually will increase fuel efficiency, but most intake manifolds currently designed already have turbulence creation centers designed in, thus they do not do anything. Current fuel injectors atomize the fuel so well that the Tornado is not able to help out. Of course, with these monsters, I wouldn't be surprised that such advanced manifold designs were not incorporated. I know that the 2005 Ford F-150 benefits from the Tornado. Although I would still not put one of those things in any car I own.
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Hank 5:31PM (6/30/2006)
And have you seen this thing? It's like $0.25 worth of metal.
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Al 5:52PM (6/30/2006)
Anybody doubting who James works for?
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David Wegman 5:55PM (6/30/2006)
Brilliant! It's almost unfair. Skilled marketing departments vs. idiotic public.
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Lee Gibson 6:11PM (6/30/2006)
"Placebo effect does not affect machinery. It's a psychological occurance."
Duh. By the same token, the placebo effect does not affect biological systems. But, in both cases, the effect is described by a human who is drawing conclusions.
It'd be a simple matter to do a double-blind test on this vortexerator. I'll bet you a nice steak that it does nothing.
Let's look at this sentence, shall we?
"The Tornado device actually will increase fuel efficiency...*bunch of speculation*...thus they do not do anything."
Maybe you could explain this part to me.
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PJ 6:13PM (6/30/2006)
Oh, come on, Lee. It makes enough sense to me... put an unnecessary metal blockage in your air intake, and bam! Increased HP and gas mileage!
/sarcasm
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RacetrackOwner 6:20PM (6/30/2006)
"The Tornado device actually will increase fuel efficiency, but most intake manifolds currently designed already have turbulence creation centers designed in, thus they do not do anything. Current fuel injectors atomize the fuel so well that the Tornado is not able to help out. Of course, with these monsters, I wouldn't be surprised that such advanced manifold designs were not incorporated."
You want to REDUCE turbulence. Laminar flow. Look it up.
Cylinder head design strongly emphasizes this, so had you known what you were talking about, you'd be right. The Vortex and devices like it *may have* worked for carbureted engines, but they are useless in a modern engine.
In a fuel injected engine -- ANY fuel injected engine, the effects of a Vortex-like device wouldn't contribute anything to the atomization of fuel. The only conceivable benefit (in a carbureted engine) is to reduce turbulence, which by definition increases the volume of air that can be rammed into the motor over a given period of time.
But the saddest part of this is that the silly little Vortex thing is available at places like Pep Boys for $20 or $30, and these people buying Tahoes -- er, Hummers -- are blowing eight or nine times that much on them.
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Trebz 6:46PM (6/30/2006)
Snake oil.
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joe 7:33PM (6/30/2006)
Please, what a joke. If you can afford a hummer, you can't tell me you're worried about the MPG...
If a hummer owner gave a crap about the environment, that person would be driving something different. Not that I'm judging anyone but this is snake oil + bullshit = /dev/null
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Darren 7:36PM (6/30/2006)
The real cure is called a Duramax diesel engine coupled with a Allison auto trans. I get 18mpg in my fullsized pickup of equil weight and size. Never below 13mpg towing 10+k lb and running hard. Fast, quiet and awesomely powerfull!
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mr 7:40PM (6/30/2006)
This just in:
Hummer drivers dumbasses, dealers douchebags.
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Robert 7:48PM (6/30/2006)
The EPA to date has tested in the neighborhood of 100 gas-saving devices, the most recent at the request of the Federal Trade Commission, and only six "indicated a very small improvement in fuel economy without an increase in exhaust emissions."
Another four also made the itty-bitty improvement cut, but per federal regulations, the exhaust emission trade-offs mean consumers who slap these on their cars could face charges of illegal tampering.
From bankrate.com
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James 3:01AM (7/01/2006)
This just in: mr from Post#13 is a Hummer dealer.
Hey mr, grow up and make an intelligent point---if you can. Hummers are a rediculous over-indulgence that ego maniacs drive. With that said, why do you think that calling them sophmoric names will help your cause?
You just feed their ego by giving them one more reason to believe they are better than you.
The Hummer driver I know are trying to compensate for inadequacies and love making you angry enough to revert to 6th grade insults. They need to be embarassed, but we need a more responsible (an effective) approach----you dumb ass.
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Brian 7:58AM (7/01/2006)
You know I installed one of these tornado devices as well and it actually keeps the outside of my car cleaner due to the vortex effect of it encompassing the entire car and keeping dirt and bugs away. Of course mine has a super secret coating that I would be happy to modify for the low cost of $999.99 but think of the savings in car washes!
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Greg Epps 9:57AM (7/01/2006)
Trebz, that's exactly what I said 2 days ago on my blog!
Will (post #2), Your point is mentioned, if not word for word, by the GM rep quoted in the original WSJ article.
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Speed42 10:04AM (7/01/2006)
Honda makes a similar device that increases gas mileage for Hummers.
It's called the Civic.
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MikeW 1:42PM (7/01/2006)
It is called a 6 speed automatic, then EEGR, then cylinder shutoff.
GM really sucks
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mickey finn 3:24PM (7/04/2006)
Hey, this thing really does work. Since I installed it,my ac is colder,my heater is hotter and my headache is gone!(she ran away with the milkman)
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