Sabertec Blade - any good on a Prius?

[dwreed3rd]

Attaching anything to your tailpipe that will impede airflow, which any filter will do, will reduce mpg not increase it.

[JimN]

Originally Posted by vertigo1

I don't understand why everyone assumes that if it works, auto companies would be using it.
1. Auto companies are even more skeptical than us half the time.
2. It requires filter replacements - People already have difficulty remembering to change their oil and if this thing could harm your car if you DON'T change it, they aren't gonna take the risk of a law suit.
3. It would take them months if not years to get something like this approved safety wise in every automobile. Seeing as this thing JUST came out less than a year ago, even if they pitched to a skeptical auto company, they'd still be in testing phase right now.
I'm not saying this thing does or could work. I'm just saying stop using the "if automakers don't have it, it must not work" excuse.
Case in point - it's been proven that synthetic oil is better for vehicles and allows them to last longer. Why then isn't this a REQUIREMENT from the factory?

From the manufacturer's point of view the vehicle only has to last through the warranty period. There's no money in building a car that doesn't need maintenance, repairs, or replacement.

How long before the Conspiracy Theorists claim that the oil industry is behind discrediting this device so they can sell more gas?

[cairo94507]

That junk does not even pass the laugh test.

[dwreed3rd]

Gee! If you add this and a PICC to the new Shelby Ultimate Aero EV car, it may be like the electric utilities, you'll be able to sell the excess energy you generate back to the oil companies.

[markderail]

My comment on this, based on previous experience, is if flow through the muffler is constricted, Horsepower will suffer, yet on most non-Hybrids, where there is Way Too Much HP, a small drop in HP to force exhaust through an additional filter, could be a good thing.

Especially on cars that are 4-5 years old and more, the catalytic converter is probably not working as it should anymore.

-Mark



Seen Today on TreeHugger.com

Is This the Most Eco-Friendly Car Innovation Since the Hybrid?

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Los Angeles, California on 10.23.08


FTA:

The device filters particulate matter as well as other solid inorganic emissions that would otherwise end up in your lungs. It improves the efficiency of your catalytic converter to lower emissions. And it increases the volumetric efficiency of the engine, helping your engine to burn more efficiently so that it increases fuel economy and reduces CO2.

According to Sabertec, which developed Blade, the gadget can reduce vehicle air pollution up to 57 percent and greenhouse gases up to 34 percent while increasing fuel economy up to five miles per gallon in lab testing. Here’s the direct quote: “If every car and light truck in American had a Blade, drivers would save over $42 billion per year, and the nation’s total greenhouse gas reduction would be equivalent to removing roughly 50 million cars from the road.”

Here's the NEWS part.

Sound unbelievable?


The California Air Resources Board is a believer—they licensed the device earlier this year. Blade was also accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency. And because it increases fuel efficiency, thus cutting down on fueling costs, Sabertec's CEO Bill O’Brien thinks Blade has the potential to convert even the non-environmentally minded—which means big dividends in terms of environmental benefits.

[berinker]

Originally Posted by dwreed3rd

Attaching anything to your tailpipe that will impede airflow, which any filter will do, will reduce mpg not increase it.

I AGREE with the logic above.
Anything impeding the exhaust
flow will reduce mpg unless it does
some exhaust 'tuning' and in that
case, each one would have to be
different for each type engine.

[Device Node]

This is just so absurd.

Just exactly how much "particulate matter" comes out of a car? NOTHING, IMO, if your car is working. If you have an old junker SUBURBAN which has more carbon than steel inside the engine, you could get some particulate matter coming out. But particulate matter has nothing to do with greenhouse gases or MPG. And passive filters can do NOTHING to affect greenhouse gases. This is a complete and utter hoax.

Their claims are full of classic psychological manipulation techniques used in propaganda using free association and just objective, outright lies that are so absurd you think they must be true because no one would be so stupid as to lie like this. This is a tactic we've encountered quite a bit, especially in the last couple of months before a national election.

If it was accepted by the EPA, it was only accepted as not ADDING to dangerous pollution (not considering pollution of people's minds). And as far as the CA Air Resources Board goes, if this isn't just a bald-faced lie, then it's an example of the P.T. Barnum principle: "there's a fool born every minute." (What do they mean by "licensing," anyway?)

Just hang some crystals from your mirror and I bet you'll notice fuel economy improving a few MPG. This friend of mine did that and says it really helps...