Device claimed to cut petrol use

Press, 16 February 1980, Page 6

Device claimed to cut petrol use

Exhaustive tests will be held in the next two weeks to evaluate a locally developed device that is claimed to cut petrol consumption as much as 20 per cent. Mr B. E. Briggs, a Barrington Street garage proprietor, has developed small gauze cones which fit in each engine inlet port. They are designed to fit between the cylinder head and the inlet manifold as part of the manifold gasket. The gauze is said to disperse the fuel and improve the gas flow. The cones kept a constant “head” of atomised fuel in the manifold, Mr Briggs said. Several customers at Mr Briggs’s garage have tested the device which has been fitted to about 15 cars. Different engine and manifold designs could have a bearing on efficiency, Mr Briggs said. The tests were done on three 1600 cu.cm. Cortinas, two 1500 s and one 1300 of the same model. Other cars used included Mark II and Mark 111 Zephyrs, a V 8 Pontiac and a Wolseley 4-44. The cars were all welltuned before the start of the experiment, which was made as efficient as possible by resetting carburettors to suit the right air-fuel ratio, and

advancing ignition timing slightly. The results, said Mr Briggs, were good in all cases except one. The best, was a 32 per cent improvement, and most of the other vehicles came close to this. A later test, with no adjustment, showed a minimum saving of 9.3 per cent. The only side-effect, according to Mr Briggs, was a small loss in performance. Two cars were tested for this at top speeds of more

than 140km/h; in both cases the reduction was less than skm/h. If the process were to be accepted further professional and independent tests were essential, Mr Briggs said. Ruapuna race-track or Tram Road could be used, so that long distances could be covered at set and steady speeds. That way there would be no discrepancies in the number of times the throttle was pressed. The initial response to. Mr Briggs’s device has been encouraging. He said that three local companies had approached him and expressed interest. He hoped to hand over the process to a firm that could make and sell the unit. “But I want a contract to say that the firm will promote it and not just shelve it,” he said. Similar systems have been bought up in the past, kept back for the right moment, then forgotten.” Mr Briggs emphasised that the device did not promise a miraculous end to the problems caused by the fuel shortage. “Some people are expecting cars to run on nothing, which is not right. My unit is designed to save petrol in small amounts, to the extent of 10 or 20 per cent,” he said.