Gas-saving magnets

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Gas-saving magnets are devices installed on the fuel line line of automobiles that purport to reduce fuel consumption by using a "Neodymium Rare Earth Magnet" for "splitting the hydrocarbon chain into smaller components with their subsequent ionization, which in turn leads to more complete combustion of gasoline or diesel fuel".[1] In other words, pure automotive woo.

Supposedly, these ultra-powerful magnets allow the "hydrocarbon clusters" to more easily vaporize. Though anyone with basically a high-school education in chemistry and physics should know that this is utter nonsense, they are nonetheless sold in the US for around $30 and claim to improve fuel-efficiency by 20%, so you can't afford not to buy one.

In 2004, the FTC brought charges against one magnet manufacturer, FuelMax, which eventually settled for 4.2 million US smackaroons,[2] though the devices are now available to the general public through a totally different company, FuelMag.

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References[edit]

  1. Official Super Fuel Max page.
  2. Super FuelMAX Marketers Settle FTC Charges. Federal Trade Commission. 2001 November 8.