WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Buy It & Try It: Tornado Fuel Saver

Buy It & Try It: Tornado Fuel Saver

(Columbia) May 9, 2002 - The ads call the Tornado Fuel Saver "an automotive air channeling tool that creates a swirling air motion, faster and more efficiently increasing your gas mileage." WIS Troubleshooter Judi Gatson wasn't about to take their word for it, so, with a little help from WIS Sports Director Rick Henry, she put it to the Buy It & Try It test.

Rick didn't think the Tornado Fuel Saver would work, "I never heard of the product. Since you threatened to break my leg if I didn't cooperate, I said, 'Sure.' I'd give it a shot."

Rick puts a lot of miles on his Jeep Cherokee. During the week it's mostly stop and go traffic around the city, but he also makes longer road trips on the weekend, "My son is in school down in Charleston, so I drive there quite a bit and to my hometown of McBee, so I do a lot of driving."

It usually costs him nearly $30 to fill up, "Every time gas prices go up it's like, 'Uh-oh, it's going to hurt me a little more in the wallet.'" He'd be happy just getting a mile or two more per gallon. The Tornado Fuel Saver is supposed to do something with the flow of air, there by improving gas mileage.

The Tornado Fuel Saver clamps onto the engine snugly. Rick says his car ran ok, "No problems at all." But, he was disappointed in the purported savings at the pump, "Before I put the tornado on, I had been getting about 17.5 miles per gallon. With it on, about 17.03," meaning the pump made his Jeep less efficient.

Since Rick tested the Tornado Fuel Saver under different kinds of driving situations, he's going to give it one more try, driving to Charleston and back with the device in to see if it saves gas. A mechanic will supervise the test. Rick will drive one way with the Tornado Fuel Saver, and one way without. The follow-up will air Monday, May 20th. The WIS Smart Shopper will reserve her judgement until then.

by Judi Gatson

updated May 13, 1:07pm by Chris Rees