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BLADE tailpipe - Decrease catalytic warmup time?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by gge5, Aug 8, 2008.

  1. gge5

    gge5 New Member

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    The BLADE Blade Your Ride: Save Gas, Save Money, Stop Global Warming is a filter that fits over the end of your tailpipe. They claim that:

    1. It prevents soot from exiting your tailpipe and out into the atmosphere
    2. It keeps the hot exhaust gasses in your tailpipe longer, thereby warming up the catalytic converter more quickly (it apparently makes the pulses of engine exhaust into a more constant stream by restricting the flow rate).
    So my question is: how much of this is rooted in logical arguments? I see they're showing scientific data tests from 3rd parties in Brazil and California.

    I have an engine block heater, so would this really be of any benefit? Does the EBH help warm up the catalytic converter, or does the onboard computer assume it's warm because the engine is?

    The blade seems pretty spendy at $200, and each cartridge is $20 and is rated for 5-10K miles. So, is there any logic in buying this for a Prius (especially one with an EBH)?
     
    #1 gge5, Aug 8, 2008
  2. Celtic Blue

    Celtic Blue New Member

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    Restricting the outlet and holding more back pressure will heat the cat up sooner I suppose, but it also would tend to reduce power output when you need it most. I doubt that this would be a good idea for the Prius as the ICE is not exactly a monster anyway.

    I would be interested in hearing what someone who has used one has to say.
     
    #2 Celtic Blue, Aug 8, 2008
  3. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    It's a crock o' sh!t. Toyota spent years optimizing the system for emissions and fuel economy. Some doofus piece of chicken wire is not going to improve it.
     
    #3 richard schumacher, Aug 14, 2008
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    More snake oil. The exhaust system on the Prius is already optimized for the Prius. Add this to the dumpster with the fuel line magnets and the HHO generators.

    Tom
     
    #4 qbee42, Aug 14, 2008
  5. Sheepdog

    Sheepdog C'Mere Sheepie!

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    oh no! and my combination magnet hho generator blind safe noise maker just got here!
    shoot. I should read here closer!!!
     
    #5 Sheepdog, Aug 14, 2008
  6. donee

    donee New Member

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    Hi All,

    For $200 it should at least turn itself off when the catlytic converter is up to temperature. All it is is a tube, clamp, screen, and some high temperature porous insulation.
     
    #6 donee, Aug 14, 2008
  7. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    Yeah... so it can clog your engine. Real smart there.
     
    #7 Bob64, Aug 15, 2008
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