Hiclones ... a comment

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A

AJG

Guest
Having read the 'Fuelstar' thread and Neil Brownlee's pointer to
"Tony's" fuelsaving web site (hereafter referred to as 'Tony') with some
interest I feel it's time to give my final opinion as promised some time
ago on Hiclones.

Firstly, to recap, I do not drive a vehicle with heavy feedback
controlled emissions so this will have a bearing on the results. I run a
cobbled together 3.5 carb V8 so no, the fuel burn efficiency is not
going to be optimal however much I try. Tony is correct when referring
to modern engine thermodynamics but I'm talking 50 year old engine
designs here! I did not purchase the units - they were given to me by a
dealer FOC in exchange for an honest test (which I insisted on before
taking delivery) and I submitted results for it last year. I have
continued to test the units to satisfy my own curiosity more than
anything.

Ok then, on to the nitty gritty.

Firstly emissions. CO and HC emissions both dropped significantly when
Hiclones were fitted as measured on a commercial emissions tester.
Figures are available but not really relevant for these comments.

MPG figures as Tony rightly comments are a pain in the proverbials to
measure accurately on the road. I have been testing these things in
various configurations for the last year so I'm not basing this on a
tankful. However according to my figures both with and without hiclones
and also with hiclones in different inlet positions I noticed an
increase of 1-1.5mpg with the units fitted. Without Hiclones I get
between 15 and 16mpg, with I get 16-17mpg and have achieved 17.8 on two
occasions ... not large but statistically significant.

Both emissions and mpg figures were measurable results and, more
important, fundamentally repeatable. I make no comment about why the
results are as quoted only that they are. I have absolutely no way of
investigating *why* they produce those results so don't ask me to
speculate as whatever I think is irrelevant.

The final comment is one that I originally refused to make. I always
said I would not give a 'subjective' result i.e. one not based on hard
figures. However I've changed my mind as I had to find a way to
demonstrate the before/after difference to myself! Basically I felt that
Hiclones give me more very low down torque. Again I can't explain this
but I can demonstrate it with the Hiclones by being able to negotiate a
certain fairly tortuous route around a housing estate with little to no
throttle whilst in top gear and overdrive engaged pulling from under 600
revs ... Without the units she'll just about pull the top gear from
those revs but not the overdrive ... don't ask me to explain why.

So my summary would be that in my test vehicle, with the conditions
under which I tested the units I found them to give positive, repeatable
results with respect to emissions, mpg and low-down torque.

Are Hiclones worth their cost? Well, I think they are silly money and
personally if I had to buy them I probably couldn't economically justify
any saving they make. However, until somebody shows me how to get the
torque from my motor that I'm getting now *without* Hiclones they're
staying in!

--
AndyG
 
cheers Andy for that. I have been in two minds about buying hiclones, and like you said, it might not save much money in fuel terms, but the extra torque makes it worth it i think.

did you just have the one hiclone fitted? according to their website my engine (96 2.5 turbodiesel) is better with two (well they would say that wouldnt they!!).
 
In message <[email protected]>, Bigstoo
<[email protected]> writes
>
>cheers Andy for that. I have been in two minds about buying hiclones,
>and like you said, it might not save much money in fuel terms, but the
>extra torque makes it worth it i think.
>

Be aware that your findings may not replicate mine!!

>did you just have the one hiclone fitted? according to their website
>my engine (96 2.5 turbodiesel) is better with two (well they would say
>that wouldnt they!!).

I'm running a petrol V8 so needed a pair - one for each carb. However I
did test it with two in each intake elbow, one at each end. I did get
slightly better results on the emissions test than using singles but I
didn't see a significant difference in real life.

As far as I'm concerned installation before a turbo or intercooler is a
waste of time ... I'd suggest you try one before the manifold if you
wish. Subject to the results being good enough by all means try a second
.... but don't jump in with both feet having bought an expensive
lifejacket only to find the water's only a puddle! ... :)

--
AndyG
 
there is also another product same as this called SpiralMax available
from the USA at $69 .
they have website .

i havent tried them but the price compared to hiclones might be more
favourable .

 
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