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June 2002 Hydrogen-Boost Newsletter
Saturn SL1 Tests:
61.6 mpg, 27.6:1 air/fuel mix
I have put over 4000 miles on my 1996 Saturn SL1, 5-speed
since I bought it. Usually when I purchase a vehicle I will do a baseline
mileage test and immediately install the Hydrogen-Boost system. Because
of this I have been unable to test new devices on the market that may influence
mileage. This time I decided to add the other devices first and install
the Hydrogen-Boost last.
My baseline test drive was a trip from Boston, where I
purchased the vehicle, to Glens Falls, New York, a 240 mile drive. I
tested at 70 mile per hour cruise and achieved 40 mpg stock. This
compared exactly to the EPA published highway mileage figure so I used the EPA
published city mileage figure for my city baseline.
My first modifications were to install a Condensator and a
Power Cube obtained from Bruce McBurney. My next test drive was a trip to
Plattsburgh, NY at 70 mph cruise on which I also got the same 40 mpg. On
my return trip I traveled at 55 mpg cruise and achieved 47 mpg. I
concluded that improvements were achieved by either device, but for protection
of the engine I left the Condensator installed.
Since the Power Cube was not designed for increased mileage but for increased
power I tested it for power. With the Power Cube disconnected by removing
the fuse, I ran eight acceleration tests from 20 to 60 mph in 5th gear, and
eight acceleration tests from 10 to 40 mpg in 2nd gear. After throwing
out the fastest and slowest times for each scenario I averaged the remaining
times and got something like the following: 21.6 seconds for 20-60, and 8.6 for
10-40mph. Then replaced the fuse to the Power Cube and repeated the
acceleration tests. My averages were within .04 seconds of the baseline
tests so I concluded that no increase in power was caused by the Power
Cube.
Next I installed a Trasko spin on “by-pass” oil
filter and 0w30 synthetic oil, and pumped up the tires to 50 psi. Very
little change in fuel mileage was noticed. Adding the XCEL Plus engine
treatment also cause little increase in mileage.
Then I installed the Fuel Enhancer sold by Trasko and found
absolutely no increase in mileage as expected.
Then I added the fuel heater I sell for the Hydrogen-Boost
system and achieved 50 mpg at 55 mph highway. I also achieved 50 mpg in
the city by applying all the driving techniques in the Hydrogen-Boost manual
except shutting down the engine during coasting.
After three tanks full I decided to finally add the hydrogen
generator and go for a real improvement test. You have to remember that
with a fuel heater on an EFI equipped vehicle with a return fuel line, the fuel
in the tank gets warm and causes thermal expansion. I noticed this on all
of my previous test vehicles. Usually the thermal expansion, on a short
(43 miles) test drive, would cause a .2 to .3 gallon discrepancy in the amount
of fuel used, if I started with a cold tank full and ended with a warm tank
full. This discrepancy could be countered by filling when the tank was
warm and almost full and do repeated tests, filling after each 43 mile
test. Also I could start with a cold tank and let the tank cool overnight
before refilling to counter the need for adjustment, however care would have to
be taken to insure that the outside air temperature at the time of the original
filling for the test was the same as the temperature the next day when the tank
was refilled. Sometimes I had to refill on a cold morning, which caused a
need for a thermal contraction adjustment. Only when the test was
done with a cold tank and ended with a warm tank did I have to make a
substantial adjustment for thermal expansion of the fuel.
After installing the Hydrogen-Boost gas generator I did a
few tests and achieved a best result of 57.5 mpg at 55 mph cruise, and 50 mpg
at 70 mph cruise. I installed and properly adjusted an EFIE (electronic
fuel injection enhancer) from Eagle Research, a vacuum gage, and my water mist
system and did another test at 55 mph cruise, achieving 61.6 mpg. During
the last two test drives I noted the vacuum setting at each steady cruising
speed and used these for some calculations.
Noting that on the test drive the intake vacuum hovered
around 16 inches of mercury (standard pressure is about 30 inches), and the
tachometer read about 1920 RPM, I used the following calculations to figure the
air to fuel ratio during the test drive:
1 gallon X .9167 mi X 4 quarts X 1 liter X 760 grams =
41.1 grams fuel per minute
61.6 mi I minute 1
gallon 1.1 quarts 1 liter
1920 rev X 14” Hg intake pressure X 2 liter displacement =
896 liters air per minute
1 minute 30” Hg standard pressure 2
revs/intake stroke
Then we can make a small adjustment to the total volume of the air to adjust
for the portion of the fuel that evaporates in the intake, which contributes to
the manifold absolute pressure. Assuming that 1/4 of the fuel evaporated
in the intake we calculate:
41.1g X 1 X 1 liter(density of evaporated fuel) = 1.713 liters evap. fuel in
the intake/min
fuel 4 6
grams
subtracting 896-1.713= 894.287 liters STP air
multiplying by the density of air 1.27 g/liter X 894.287 liters = 1135.7 grams
air/minute
dividing the air per minute by the fuel per minute 1135.7/41.1 = 27.6 to 1 air
to fuel ratio
This air/fuel mixture seemed quite lean to me and I
hesitated to even report it, but then I checked the files at the supercarbs
egroup at Yahoo, and found that for gasoline the best stochiometric ratio was
1.76% which translates to a 56.8 to 1 ratio. So even though the normal
air/fuel ration for an EFI equipped vehicle is 14.5 to 1, a 27.6 to 1 is not
really impossible. However comparing the 27.6/1 ratio with the perfect
case 56.8/1 ratio reported in the files at supercarbs, it is obvious that there
is still much room for improvement before we get our engines to be totally
efficient. Comparing these ratios leads me to believe that the mileage of
the Saturn could be increased to over 100 mpg under perfect conditions and
modifications
I will have to admit that the mixture during my test drive was leaner than what
most people would call comfortable, because a slight to moderate depression of
the accelerator would cause a hesitation of the smooth acceleration of the
vehicle. But when real acceleration was needed I could depress the
accelerator further and the ECU would kick into default mode, giving me all the
smooth acceleration I needed, of course at the expense of fuel mileage. I
will likely not run the mixture quite so lean because this is an aluminum
engine and I don’t know how it might affect the valve seats.
Note: Further examination of the above calculations of air/fuel ratio
reveals a flaw in the logic of the calculations. Though the vacuum
reading of the vacuum gauge attached to the intake manifold was relatively
accurate, it does not give us an accurate measurement of the vacuum or absolute
pressure in the combustion chamber at the bottom of the intake stroke.
Since the piston is sucking the low pressure intake air into the cylinder, the
actual absolute pressure in the cylinder would be somewhat lower that the
calculations reveal. Therefore, the actual air/fuel ratio is likely
somewhat lower than the 27.6/1 that the calculations bore.
Conclusions: The following devices made no difference in fuel mileage:
Power Cube (not advertised to improve mileage)
Condensator (likely to improve mileage on older or worn out
vehicles)
Trasko Enhancer (not likely to improve mileage on any
vehicle)
Trasko Filter (not advertised to improve mileage)
The following components made a minor improvement in fuel mileage.
XCEL PLUS engine treatment
0W30 Synthetic Motor Oil
50 psi air pressure in the tires
The following components in conjunction made major improvements in fuel mileage
Fuel heater
Hydrogen-Boost hydrogen gas generator
EFIE device from Eagle Research
Water Mist system
The following component was not installed
0W30 motor oil in the manual transmission (the Saturn comes
with light weight automatic transmission fluid in the manual transmission)
Improvements achieved over EPA reported mileage/baseline tested mileage:
Highway (70 mph): 50 mpg, 25% improvement before EFIE
and water mist
Highway (55 mph) 61.6 mpg, 54% improvement
City 50 mpg, 72.4% improvement before EFIE and water
mist
I expect that further tests with the EFIE and water mist will achieve 55mpg at
70 mph, and 55 mpg in the city. This would represent a 37.5% increase at
70 mph and a 90% increase in the city. When full implementation of the
driving tips in the Hydrogen-Boost operator’s manual are used in the city
(including shutting off the engine during coasting) I expect to achieve at
least 61.5 mpg for a 112% increase over the EPA reported city mileage figure.
The reported and expected results are consistent with every other vehicle I
have tested with the Hydrogen-Boost system except the automatic transmission
equipped Dodge Dakota, which was sold before development of the full
system. A later longer test drive (250 miles) on the hilly back roads of
New York and Vermont yielded an average mileage of 55.0 mpg.
Church and State Radio Show
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