Sunday, November 30, 2008

What Is A PICC And How Does It Work?

By Sinclair Sonny

Despite the price of crude oil going down in price in the world market, there is still the issue of the world economic slowdown to be concerned about. Any amount of savings is welcome in these uncertain times, and one item in particular stands out when looking for ways to cut costs - the cost of gasoline. Today, people are clamoring for better gas mileage and asking car manufacturers to improve the fuel economy of vehicles.

The truth is that people don't need to wait and rely on car manufacturers to provide technologies that can help provide fuel savings. There are many things you can do already to lower your fuel bill such as looking to bio fuels, home made bio diesel, bio diesel conversions kits. Then there are some promising alternative options such as Hydro Assist Fuel Cells (HAFC) and Pre-Ignition Catalytic Converter (PICC) technology. PICC is technology that has been in here for a long time already but is only new getting noticed.

PICC technology is still in its infant stages and some companies are now gearing up for mass production. But even in this early stage of development, PICC is being touted to provide up to five fold increase in gas mileage for your car.

In truth, every car has a Catalytic Converter, so the technology is not new. Catalytic converters are installed in the car's emission system, right there in the exhaust pipe. It is used for breaking down the large gas molecules that were left un-burnt in your engine into smaller particles that can be incinerated before being released into the air.

The PICC system posits to use this system in reverse - instead of breaking down the gas pot-ignition, it burns it pre-ignition before it is routed to the engine. PICC turns fuel into a gaseous form, breaks down the fuel into smaller particles and THEN burns it in the engine. The fuel will burn better because it is broken down into its basic components. Better burning, less fuel needed. That is how PICC is touted to work.

How can fuel savings be achieved, and how much?

Already, modern fuel injectors made by car manufacturers have been effective in controlling just the right amount of fuel into the engine to improve a car's fuel economy. Adding the PICC system and tweaking fuel injector controls can further lessen the fuel needed to run and engine.

In one PICC scientific test, a 318 V-8 Chrysler engine (a known gas guzzler) was put to the test on a brand new dynamometer the same as Detroit manufacturers use. It was run at 3,000rpms under a 50% load for an hour. Pre PICC modification, the engine ate up 18 pounds of fuel. Converted this approximates to 22 mpg. The second run was conducted with the PICC on, and the same test was run under the exact same conditions. Posttest checks confirmed the engine used only 2 pounds of fuel, a 9-fold increase for a 200 m per gallon mileage.

PICC is almost ready, but even in the development and testing stages, it is beginning to create a buzz in the car community. When it is finally perfected, it would mean more savings for consumers. - 16759

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