intake modifications

[Major Softie]

Sorry, Jeff; I'll help you out here. As Unclviny clearly recognized, my post was totally tongue-in-cheek. Sorry if it wasn't obvious enough.

You are quite right, it is total snake oil.

REALLY???????????

Don't do it, Jeff. Just don't!

[dwerbil]

I rigged up a homemade water injection on a VW beetle I had back in the late
'70's. The gadget was made out of a milk jug, some aquarium parts, and tubes, hooking up to a vacuum port under the carb. Probably ten bucks in parts today. Ran it for a few weeks. It was a 1600 dual port stock engine, with headers. Fuel mileage bumped up from around 35 to about 38 averaged. Engine felt a bit peppier too.
Always wanted to try it on maybe the /7, see what happens. Just hadn't gotten around to it.

[the quinner]

I rigged up a homemade water injection on a VW beetle I had back in the late
'70's. The gadget was made out of a milk jug, some aquarium parts, and tubes, hooking up to a vacuum port under the carb. Probably ten bucks in parts today. Ran it for a few weeks. It was a 1600 dual port stock engine, with headers. Fuel mileage bumped up from around 35 to about 38 averaged. Engine felt a bit peppier too.
Always wanted to try it on maybe the /7, see what happens. Just hadn't gotten around to it.

I had a water injection system on an airhead...it was dead simple, too. The problem is...one of the things that made it dead simple (and necessary) was the fact that it was on a turbocharged engine. When the turbo was spooled and pressurizing the intake, the H2O squirted through a small jet...when the turbo wasn't pressurizing the system, no water. There are extra benefits if you run a partial mix of isopropyl alcohol in the H2O injection.

[Major Softie]

Yeah, I've never heard of water injection for mileage improvement. I'm well aware of the anti-detonation value for turbos.

[dwerbil]

Yeah, I've never heard of water injection for mileage improvement. I'm well aware of the anti-detonation value for turbos.

Most of us have read or heard of WWII fighters with turbocharged engines routinely using water injection.

I was interested in getting better gas mileage. (Always have had a streak of green in me)
What caught my interests back in the mid '70's was my farming uncle mentioned of water injection a bit (although I now don't recall to what extent that he did, maybe it was about being available to retro to a car engine). I do remember at least of him saying he could always feel a bit of a smoother power from an old John Deere tractor driving down and up through a morning humid slew or hollow, same with a car. On that premise, I jerry-rigged the simple water injector on my beetle.

Power seemed a little bit better or smooth with above mention of a efficiency kick to boot.

I played around a little with other homemade gizmos to see if it affected/improved mileage. One dead end was a fuel preheater. That was on a '65 Ford Van. I ran a coil of gas fuel line in and out of a pipe which radiator fluid circulated. Course that caused vapor-lock, big time. Onward thru the fog.

I had later luck in 1980 with a rebuilding a VW engine to run on two cylinders giving up to 60 mpg. Car would work fine as a small town commuter. In a big city as here in Austin, one would be killed out-right with a e-v-e-r s-o s-l-o-w performance....it took about a minute to go from 0 to 45 mph. That was with a stock car and transmission. Imagine that could improve with lower gearing and a fiberglass body to save weight. Think I wrote a bit about this on the forum years ago.

[Chuey]

Randy, that is some cool stuff! There is a device developed and marketed by Gene Berg Enterprises for VWs (Real VWs, not liquid cooled Euro FuFu mobiles). It is basically a screen that goes between the carb and manifold. It really does give better mileage.

Chuey

[twist]

(as I understand it, adding turbulence to intake reduces efficiency)

That is SO wrong. If that was true, then this device wouldn't be the wonderful miracle that it is!




10% mileage improvements are very common. This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that turbulence in the intake tract is, in fact, a great efficiency booster.

that little device looks neat. Too bad it doesn't spin, might give a turbo sound. The only person this thing works for is the guy who came up with the idea. Great way to finance the obsession/addiction.

[dwerbil]

that little device looks neat. Too bad it doesn't spin, might give a turbo sound. The only person this thing works for is the guy who came up with the idea. Great way to finance the obsession/addiction.

Nice placebo effect with this invention. Watch video.

[twist]

that's funny. I really enjoyed what the demonstrator said about the sound making you want to go out and thrash the guts out of your respectable family car. Around here there is something similar. it's a device that fits in the exhaust of a car and makes the car sound turbocharged, (while suffocating the motor).

[Jeff in W.C.]

Sorry, Jeff; I'll help you out here. As Unclviny clearly recognized, my post was totally tongue-in-cheek. Sorry if it wasn't obvious enough.

You are quite right, it is total snake oil.

DAMNABIT I hate it when I miss the sarcasm (aka tongue-in-cheek).