Gas prices are on their way back up … just in time for Memorial Day. I’m sure we would all love to save money on all that gas we are going to spending over the holiday weekend.
To that end, we have tested a few items designed to increase gas mileage … and, so far, we have been disappointed. It seems whatever gas mileage your car has is what it’s going to be. At least that’s what we thought – until we tried the Neosocket.
It costs $50 on-line and it might be the easiest product to use that we have tested on Test It Tuesday. Just plug it into your car’s cigarette lighter and drive. It turns blue when you do this, meaning its powered up … and it stays on even when the car is off. That was a concern of our tester, Noreen Haggerty of Mount Lebanon, but the makers of the device assured us there would be no damage from leaving it in your car unattended.
It claims everything from more power for your vehicle to running your car cleaner, but the question everyone wants answered pertains to its biggest claim: Can it actually improve your gas mileage?
We had Noreen fill her tank last week, then plug in the Neosocket, and drive like she normally does. For Noreen, a mother of three school-age kids, that means 200-400 miles a week for soccer games, practices and activities.
We caught up with her this week to test the results. Her 2005 Chevy Venture averages around 8 mpg. After driving 242 miles, she needed a little more than 12 gallons to fill up her tank. That means she averaged around 20 miles per gallon. Working at a CPA firm, Noreen did the math and that winds up being about extra two miles a gallon — or a 9 percent improvement.
It works … and I know you are wondering how. Well, here’s how the product makers explained it to me in layman’s terms:
“When the Neosocket is plugged into you car’s cigarette lighter adapter, it begins to store energy. As your car demands electricity for accessories, radio,etc. the Neosocket releases the needed electricity thus preventing the increased demand from being taken from the cars overall electrical system namely the cars ignition system (spark plugs). This keeps the ignition system operating at its optimum by increasing and stabilizing the electrical spark in the spark plug. A hotter spark burns more of the fuel in the engine resulting in more power and MPG”
Of course, don’t take their word for it. Give it a try and let me know what results you get. The makers do tell me the mileage will be better the longer you use it .. perhaps as much as 10%, 15% or 20%, but we’ll let you figure that out. All I know is that Noreen is looking forward to saving a few bucks at the pump. She figures she could get an extra 1300 miles out of her van.
For more information about Neosockets, or to purchase one of your oww, here is the website address: www.neosocketusa.com .
