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- Fuel tablets promising to save you money at the petrol station and reduce your consumption are ineffective.
- The fuel aftermarket industry is riddled with many products promising bold results, but South African authorities have not tested them.
- Consumers should be cautious about putting foreign objects or chemicals in their tanks.
- You may also lose the warranty on your vehicle if you operate it outside of the manual and guides by the manufacturer.
- For more stories, go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
Fuel and motor experts have called the bluff on so-called fuel-saving tablets and other related products promising to dramatically reduce fuel consumption and help consumers save money at the pump.
With fuel prices soaring to all-time highs and motorists buckling under financial pressure to get by with the cost of food rising, fuel-saving mechanisms may look like an attractive proposition.
The fuel aftermarket has seen a rise in new products and devices such as airflow modifiers, magnets, and consumables such as tablets or bottled additives.
Recently, a fuel pill by a US-based brand called B-Eco has made its way into South Africa, going viral on social media platforms. Its makers promise that the pills improve fuel consumption by up to 15%.
But any product claiming to improve consumption to that dramatic effect is “certainly a scam,” and often, these products “disappear from the market as quickly as they come”, Adrian Velaers, Senior Engineer, Technical Marketing Services, at Sasol’s Cape Town Fuels Research Centre told Business Insider South Africa.
The B-Eco fuel tablets are manufactured by a company called Pro-One. The brand was co-founded by South African businessman Lawrence Kahn, according to a YouTube question and answer session on the product.
In the interview, Kahn claims that the US’s Environmental Protection Agency approved the tablets, but the brand or its makers were not on the agency’s list of Registered Gasoline Additives.
“…to sell a product in the US that’s added to fuel, you have to be EPA registered, and we have been EPA registered since, I believe 2009, with this product,” Kahn said in the video.
“It took an inordinate amount of time and money to get through that EPA process because, while all other fuel additives can simply fly through by virtue of their ingredients, the EPA had not seen a product like this, a catalyst, and they had to go through special approval committees and so on to get it approved,” he further said.
He said the pills save petrol by lowering the temperature at which the fuel burns.
None were effective
Kahn partnered with a US brand called B-Epic, distributors of the fuel tablets that make up its catalogue products. Asked about the veracity of the product’s claims, its distributor, Michael Leczo, did not provide specific answers to Insider’s questions.
Over the years, Sasol’s Fuels Research Centre has tested various fuel aftermarket products. Although suppliers claim miraculous benefits, none of them were effective, Velaers said.
“We constantly test additives to select the best ones that do give small improvements by cleaning your engine or reducing friction, and these are already in the fuel you buy at a Sasol forecourt,” he said.
“However, any additive that claims to improve the combustion efficiency and improve overall fuel consumption by more than 3% is not scientifically possible and definitely a scam,” said Velaers.
The Automotive Business Council has expressed its deep concern about the plethora of products marketed to cash strapped consumers looking to evade the steep fuel costs.
Besides the fact that local authorities have not tested these products as part of South Africa’s current emissions standards, they simply do not work, Mikel Mabasa, CEO of the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa.
“Any product used in vehicles in SA should be tested and approved by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications, and many of these products have not passed the test,” Mabasa said.
Mabasa warned that consumers might risk relinquishing the warranty on their vehicles by using foreign objects, given that they would have been operated outside of manufacturer manuals.
“Consumers are advised to check with the manufacturers of their vehicles first before they inject any foreign properties into their tanks or engines. Vehicles are manufactured to specific standards, and they are supposed to use prescribed products approved by the manufacturer for the efficacy and longevity of the engine,” Mabasa said.
“We warn consumers to be careful and check with their dealerships before they are misled by those seeking to make a quick buck out of desperate consumers,” he said.
While fuel is expensive, vehicles are far more expensive, Velaers said.
“I wouldn’t advise putting any of these aftermarket products in your car because all of them do carry a risk; they can damage systems in the car. Modern cars especially have very sensitive sensors… things that can be damaged by chemicals and these physical products,” he said.
Velaers said some of the best ways to save fuel are travelling less, sharing rides, maintaining your vehicle well, and keeping tyre pressure at an optimum level.
He also said motorists should guard against using the air conditioner unnecessarily, adding that they should keep windows closed while driving, accelerate slowly, and braking early.
“If you get into the habit of driving well, you can actually save a lot of fuel; far more than any additives would give you, and that’s free, its just a behaviour change,” said Velaers.
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