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Road test with Nissan Frontier didn't lift MPG, but truck sometimes felt like it had more oomph.
Larry Edsall / Special to The Detroit News
I admit that I'm skeptical any time I hear about an inexpensive aftermarket product that promises to improve fuel economy. But the prospect of more miles per gallon by simply changing spark plugs intrigued me.
And since I was about to do a 5,000-mile drive -- a distance long enough to show whether the plugs really made a difference -- I accepted an offer to install a set of E3 spark plugs in my personal vehicle and put them to the test.
Late each summer for the past three years, I've driven my 2000 Nissan Frontier pickup truck from Phoenix, Ariz., to Michigan. I have detailed records on each trip, often using the same roads and highways and with the vehicle carrying very similar loads.
In 2005, I averaged 20.11 miles per gallon. In 2006, that figure fell slightly, to 19.94.
Before leaving Phoenix this year, I had the oil changed, tire pressures checked, etc., but also had the original-equipment NGK spark plugs replaced with a set of the new E3s.
The result? I averaged 19.18 miles per gallon.
"Typically, what we are seeing is a 3-5 percent fuel economy improvement," said Steve Joiner, E3 vice president of sales and marketing.
He said only one other user ever reported no improvement in fuel economy with the plugs, which feature what E3 calls DiamondFire technology designed to enhance combustion and thus enhance efficiency, energy and ecology -- the three Es in E3.
Joiner said that when he put the plugs in his own vehicle, an Isuzu Rodeo, fuel economy improved from 17.5 to 19.0. Based on such results, it appears my truck should have improved to nearly 21 mpg, which it didn't.
For the record, my fuel economy figures for the recent trip ranged from a low of 15.8 while fighting a 40-mph wind in Nebraska to 23.0 while driving out of the Colorado Rockies and down across the Arizona desert to Phoenix on a cool day with the air conditioning turned off.
While I didn't get the fuel economy boost, there were times when it felt like the truck was making a bit more horsepower.
Joiner said the biggest factor in the creation of the new plugs was ecological: E3's primary effort wasn't for cars but for small engines such as those used on lawn mowers and snow blowers. Such engines don't benefit from catalytic converters and thus pump out a lot of pollution. The idea was to enhance combustion and thus reduce nasty exhaust.
Based in Ponte Vedra, Fla., E3 was founded 10 years ago. After its development, it worked with Georgia Tech, Michigan State and the Environmental Protection Agency on verification that its plugs helped fuel burn more efficiently. The plugs have a diamond-shaped electrode that doesn't extend like a hook directly over the center of ignition, thus providing what Joiner called a chimney effect to aid combustion and to reduce emissions, increase fuel efficiency and power output.
E3 plugs are available for small engine and automotive applications and are sold at a variety of retail outlets. They are generally priced in the $6-$7 range.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/AUTO03/710170429/1149/AUTO03
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