Some say a scam, others say a star

Pukekohe race car builder and panelbeater Dave Mills has fitted more than 300 Fuelstar units.

Replies to a story in the Herald motoring pages about the Fuelstar fuel-saving device have been running three to one against its maker's claims, that it reduces exhaust emissions and improves fuel economy in petrol and diesel engines.

Those who say it doesn't work admit they haven't tested it. Those who say it does, have.

One email said: "Fuelstar is a scam. The Automobile Association tested it - that's good enough for me. Shame on you for putting it in the paper."

Inventor Ian Cornelius, a former Air New Zealand engineer began selling the device in the early 1990s.

He challenges anyone who questions the claims to fit a Fuelstar to their car, bus, truck or motorcycle "and see for themselves."

Fuelstar is a stainless steel canister roughly the size of a beer can that contains metal pellets. The pellets' main ingredient is tin.

Once plumbed into a vehicle's main fuel line, the fuel passes through the canister in the same way it does a simple fuel filter.

The difference, says Cornelius, is that as it passes through the canister, minuscule particles of metallic tin are released into the fuel supply.

They are carried through to the engine's combustion chambers where they act as a catalyst in the combustion process.

Simply, says Cornelius, the tin changes the combustion characteristics of the fuel, giving a more complete and prolonged fuel burn for improved engine efficiency and performance, cleaner emissions and better economy.

But there is no laboratory standard to test its real-world claims. You have to buy it to test it.

Says Cornelius: "If you gather a group of five engineers and ask them for a test protocol you will get five different scenarios."

New Zealand scientist Dr Jim Sprott says: "Fuelstar has complete scientific integrity. (See www.fuelstar.com/scientific.html).

St Heliers man Phillip Wylie had the device fitted a few weeks ago to his 1981 Rolls-Royce with its 6.7-litre V8 engine.

Fuelstar works all right, says Wylie. "I'm now getting five miles to the gallon more than before. I was getting around 15mpg [19litres/100km] around town and now I'm getting around 20mpg [14.5litres/100km].

Pukekohe race car builder and panelbeater Dave Mills has fitted more than 300 Fuelstar units over the years, most of them to high-performance vehicles.

But last year he fitted one to his work vehicle, a 2003 Ford BA Falcon XR6 utility. The result, he says, is a 21 per cent improvement in fuel economy.

The odometer was showing just on 49,000km when the unit was installed last September, he says.

The vehicle has done just a shade under 57,000km now, so it has travelled some 8000km with a Fuelstar fitted.

There is an electronic read-out on the dashboard which monitors fuel consumption, measured in real-time.

"Before the Fuelstar was installed this instrument was reading 14.7 litres/100km [19mpg]. These days the instrument is reading 11.6 litres/100km [24mpg].

This equates to a reduction in fuel consumption of 3.1 litres/100km or 21.1 per cent.

"The range per tank of fuel before installing the Fuelstar was consistently 490km to 510km per tank.

"It is now 600km to 620km per tank.

"The ute is primarily driven by me and does the same routes and loads and, if anything, is driven harder now than before installing the Fuelstar."

Fuelstar says its product lasts for 500,000km or 12,000 engine hours in the case of an off-road engine. It says fuel savings over the life of the product normally pays for the unit at least 10 times over.

Says Cornelius: "We've sold more than 150,000 Fuelstars in 14 years. If they didn't work we would have been out of business 12 years ago. It is as simple as that."