Has anyone tried the Pre-Ignition Catalytic Converter (PICC) Claiming to increase mpg?

Question

the webiste is www.pictv.com
It claims a huge boost in mpg. Anyone have any experiences?

Answer 1

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I saw their ad in PopSci and looked at their website. Both are the usual “scientobabble” that comes with this kind of product and surfaces in a slightly different version every so often.

They say a conventional catalytic converter (CC) “works by breaking down the large gas molecules that were not burned in your engine and turns them into smaller particles that can be burned in your tailpipe”. NOT SO. The CC provides a catalytic surface on which three reactions occur at the right temperature and fuel/air mixture:
1. Reduction of nitrogen oxides to nitrogen and oxygen: 2NOx → xO2 + N2
2. Oxidation (burning) of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide: 2CO + O2 → 2CO2
3. Oxidation (burning) of unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) to carbon dioxide and water: 2CxHy + (2x+y/2)O2 → 2xCO2 + yH2O

The engine oxygen sensor feeds information to the engine control module (ECM) which manages the fuel/air mixture to provide the most complete combustion.

They ask “In other words, what if we “cracked” the gas and broke it down into smaller particles before it went into the engine — not after the engine had wasted it? Everything you would otherwise be throwing away would now be burned IN YOUR ENGINE, providing additional mileage and power! Well, that is what we did!”. MORE NONSENSE.

Gasoline is a complicated mixture of hydrocarbons boiling between 120 and 400 degrees F, with chemical formulas between C6H14 and C12H26, but a good "average" compound is C8H18. (this is normal octane). To break these molecules down into smaller one requires breaking carbon-carbon bonds. If you break an octane molecule in half and add back two hydrogens to get two molecules of butane, you find that the energy of combustion goes from 48.23 to 49.59 kiloJoules per gram including the extra energy obtained by burning the two added hydrogens to water. So even if you broke the octane down to smaller molecules you would not get any extra energy form combustion. You would actually get less.

They claim to turn water into a “pure gas that is mixed with your gasoline in the combustion chamber. The HHO (water) gas is so rich (5x the potential energy of gasoline) that the amount of gas used to get the same power needed can be leaned out” (whatever that means). HHO gas is just water vapor. If it’s hot enough, we call it steam. In any case, being already oxidized, water does not burn.

They say “we got 9X the fuel efficiency from a gas guzzling 318 V-8 Chrysler engine”. While sometimes higher and sometimes lower, the operating efficiency of a typical gasoline internal combustion engine averages around 25%. The rest of the energy in the fuel is lost in exhaust gas, as heat to the cooling system, and to internal friction. A 9x improvement would give an average efficiency of 225%. That’s one hell of a perpetual motion machine………..

I could go on, but basically, don’t waste your money!

Source(s):

I reviewed multiple sources - DOE articles, chemistry sites, Wikipedia articles etc. A P.Chem Ph.D helps too.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

thanks you

Answer 2

Well first of all, the site is www.picctv.com
Second, their own claims keep changing.

"The PICC, Pre-Ignition Catalytic Converter is a breakthrough new technology that could get your car up to five times the gas mileage!"
"The HAFC system will likely double your gas mileage! The kit is ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEED to increase your gas mileage by at least 50% or the cost of the kit will be refunded to you. "
"We have actually improved mileage by more than 300% in some instances."

So, go from "5times" to "will likely double" to "guaranteed to increase by 50%" and then "have improved by more than 300%".

Their own numbers keep changing. If it really did provide a 50+% boost, it would have been bought out by a manufacturer by now so they could use it to bump their fleet average MPG and claim "best mileage in the industry". Who wouldnt want a vehicle with high mileage? Whoever installed it (if it worked) would increase sales by over 40% based on mileage alone.

Answer 3

their claims are tied to two different parts: the HAFC and the PICC. the claims of "double" and "guarantee 50%" are related to the HAFC and the rest of the claims are related to the PICC. the only unknown are the costs and the cost of the covolator additive and just how much of the stuff do you add if you only add 5, 6, or 7 gallons of gas to your tank during fillup. i have requested a quote and info; willl provide you with whatever i receive from them.