Snake Oil Sales Men and Other Charletons

[solarite_guy]

Recently our site experienced a visit with offers to everyone of a product made using "hand picked seasoned" "virgin blocks". Whatever, that may be. Never heard of a used virgin.

I developed some curiosity when we were informed Jegs, Summit and Eagle distributed their products and for some reason this was supposed to give this outfit some credibility.

Being curious now, I decided to look for other snake oil carried by either Jegs or Summit the next time I received one of their flyers. Bingo, that happened today. Right on the front cover were these innovative looking spark plugs called E3 Spark Plugs. Just look at how impressive they are:

http://www.jegs.com/p/E3-Spark-Plugs...tm_content=Tub

Increases engine power 8% to 12% over conventional spark plugs!

The unique patented electrode configuration of the E3 spark plug increases the amount of combustion pressure created during each power stroke of an engine, which results in a marked increase in power output, fuel economy, and reduced emissions in all gasoline engines. E3 Spark Plugs are Sold (each).

Powerful and Impressive Ignition Picture Cited Here:

(I wonder where the "Artist's Rendering" footnote is?)

Techno Product Picture Cited Here:

(Clearly a highly advanced piece of engineering and design)

Features:
Produces up to 12% more power, reducing fuel consumption by up to 13% while cutting harmful toxic emissions up to 58%
By reducing carbon deposits, your engine will run cleaner and smoother and last longer
Edge-to-Edge design concentrates spark energy for easier starts in all weather conditions

Do you already have another manufacturer's part number?
See the E3 Spark Plug Cross Reference Chart

They have such fantastic claims. Where have I been, under a rock somewhere?

I then checked Summit and sure as the world they have similar claims.

Hmmmm? Surely the folks at SpeedTalk and YellowBullet must be all over this modern marvel. How could I have possibly missed such a leap forward for mankind and a sure guarantee of continued life for the IC engine? I had to check the 2 aforementioned sites.

http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22151

http://www.yellowbullet.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=115392

Odd. I was expecting these places to be plastered with threads about phenomenal power and fuel utilization improvements with these plugs.

What gives? Two threads in two sites? well YB has another post in a second thread.

Looks like a couple lawn mowers improved their use of fuel.

I like a couple of Joe Sherman's comments. Joe is a well known and respected engine builders in the states and a competitor at Engine Masters. Joe was actually sponsored by E3. They put 2,500 bucks in his pocket too run their plugs in competition. Here is what he had to say:

bigjoe1
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Re: E3 DiamondFire Spark Plugs

Post by bigjoe1 » Fri Jun 18, 2010 11:08 pm
I ran some for a test on a 502 BB Chevy a few months ago=== As near as I could tell, They LOST four horsepower over the NGK that I allway run== Another gimic I would say==

JOE SHERMAN RACING ENGINES
==============================================
Re: E3 DiamondFire Spark Plugs

Post by bigjoe1 » Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:51 pm
When I won the Engines Masters contest I also used the plugs that paid money== They lost 4 or 5 HP over the NGK plugs I usually run in everything, but 2500 dollars they paid was worth it

JOE SHERMAN RACING

There are a couple of other comments back and forth, but, unfortunately no

12% more power, reducing fuel consumption by up to 13%.

Then I started remembering some of the ads I used to see in the J.C. Whitney catalog when I was young. There was something called a "Mini Supercharge" that I saw in 2 configurations. You could get one that mounted under the crab or get one that mounted over the carb. Could not find any images of those adds. However, I found pictures of what looks like the "real thing"





Look at that precision machine work ! Especially around the "turbine housing".

Sine spark plugs were part of the initial subject, I had to search for the surface gap Fire Injector spark plugs offered by J.C. Whitney.




In all fairness, IIRC there was a similar type of surface gap plug that worked "somewhat" in oil fouled conditions...I think?

Then I found a link to Hemmings with a couple pages of products scientifically guaranteed to separate the buyer from their money. Providing the URL as the images are too big.

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2014/1...hrunken-heads/

What kind of snake oil has been offered to the Australian consumers over the years?

Cheers

[roKWiz]

Hiclone comes to mind.


Those E3 plugs looks so good I might use them in my diesel.

[GO FURTHER]

Peter Brock’s Energy Polariser

[Maka]

Bazinga, happy April fools day!!

The shrouding on those plug tips would seriously affect flame propagation in the combustion chamber, yes?

cheers, Maka

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Maka

Bazinga, happy April fools day!!

Well that's just stuffed it, I was going to sell him some of this............with free shipping to 'murrica.

[jpd80]

The Twin Turbo Zet
Manufacturer's Claims:

Increases engine acceleration power up to 30 per cent
Fuel savings up to 30 per cent
Reduces exhaust emissions up to 30 per cent on gasoline engines depending on its condition
Reduces engine noise and vibrations
2 year limited warranty against defects
Value-priced compared to mechanical turbocharger
Maintenance-free

Construction:

Plastic housing with 60mm inlet and outlet tubes
Two plastic-bladed, 55mm diameter electric fans with integral 30mm diameter electric motors; appearing to the uninformed to resemble PC cooling fans
Light-gauge hookup-type wire

Cost:

$300

When connected to power:

Tiny electric fans rotate at speed similar to PC-cooling fans, creating a faint breeze

Reaction of all technical experts who examined the Twin Turbo Zet:

Extreme mirth

[Maka]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Well that's just stuffed it, I was going to sell him some of this............with free shipping to 'murrica.



image

I'll have some if its got PTFE in it, yeah its apparently good for electronic circuits too..

cheers, Maka

[dunga]

What about hydrogen generators surely their not fake I'm on to my 5th one and none of them seem to work .

[commodorenutt]

Ebay resistor mod was a good one. 15000% profit and all it did was make it think you were running leaner (or richer - depending on the AFM system).

And who can forget the elusive, massive power gains, from the "cop chip" era of the 90s...

Funny thing about spark plugs. I've seen myriads of different designs from the teens thru to current - not only from playing around with vintage & veteran cars (and having lots of mates into them) but also because I know a collector who has thousands of them.

There have been many similar types of things tried over the years - including the dual & tri-electrodes - as individuals, rather than that cage, as well as "bullseye" plugs with a flat, round electrode in the middle, with a precision ceramic gap out to the body - so a fixed gap, and the spark eventually erodes the body away in the highest point, before jumping to the next highest etc. These were touted as lasting longer, but fouled badly.

But the common thing, is all those different arrangements of electrodes never made it past the 1960s. If they were any good, they'd still be in service today, and those E3 things look like the tri-electrodes from the 1920s.

Some of the most impressive plugs from 75+ years ago have glass bodies instead of ceramic, so you can see the combustion colour. Apparently it was good for tuning in the early days of the blue-flame 6, and impressed customers. They weren't durable enough to be left in all the time though.

[wodahs]

might be the same sales snakeoil rep that convinced Kenworth that jet turbine motors were good for trucks

https://youtu.be/KOOfBU6Cz0c
well they didn't take off (see what I did there )
http://www.braytonenergy.net/news-an...ruck-launched/

[Pedro]

Similar to a snakeoil politician that sold off the retail arm of Energex Qld and promised that privatisation would make prices plummet. Gone up nearly 200% since ... dang!

[Bill M]

Tablets that the seller claims increase mpg, produces more power etc etc.
They were around in the early 2000's. Fuel Freedom international or as they call themselves now Forever Freedom International. Marketing madness ripping off the gullible.

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Hiclone comes to mind.


Those E3 plugs looks so good I might use them in my diesel.

I looked up the Hiclone. We had something like that here too. With so many youtube vids out there, digging up some before and after comparison tests might be funny.

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

Peter Brock’s Energy Polariser

It's a good thing he got into the business when he did. There is a lot more competition in that technology now.

https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...-saver-gearbox

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by Maka

Bazinga, happy April fools day!!

The shrouding on those plug tips would seriously affect flame propagation in the combustion chamber, yes?

cheers, Maka

That was good timing, wasn't it?

That old stuff is absolutely hilarious when looking at it now. I remember looking at many of those ads when I was young. The J.C. Whitney Catalog was full of them. On one page you could buy factory crate motors (yes, even back then), intakes from Edelbrock, Offy, Weiand, etc, Isky Cams and lifters, etc and on the next page were these wonder gizmos.

Popular Science and Popular Mechanics were other good sources for these ads. Can't forget the "X-Ray Glasses".

It's funny to see Jegs and Summit are a modern version of the same. Buyer beware. Know what it is you are ordering.

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Well that's just stuffed it, I was going to sell him some of this............with free shipping to 'murrica.



image

I absolutely need some of that. My old ZX2 is getting due for blinkers all the way around. I would prefer to extend their life.

Does that outfit still supply muffler bearing packing grease?

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by jpd80

image

image


The Twin Turbo Zet
Manufacturer's Claims:

Increases engine acceleration power up to 30 per cent
Fuel savings up to 30 per cent
Reduces exhaust emissions up to 30 per cent on gasoline engines depending on its condition
Reduces engine noise and vibrations
2 year limited warranty against defects
Value-priced compared to mechanical turbocharger
Maintenance-free

Construction:

Plastic housing with 60mm inlet and outlet tubes
Two plastic-bladed, 55mm diameter electric fans with integral 30mm diameter electric motors; appearing to the uninformed to resemble PC cooling fans
Light-gauge hookup-type wire

Cost:

$300

When connected to power:

Tiny electric fans rotate at speed similar to PC-cooling fans, creating a faint breeze

Reaction of all technical experts who examined the Twin Turbo Zet:

Extreme mirth


image

All that for only $300? It's a bargain. With all that extra boost, a tune is a must have !

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by Maka

I'll have some if its got PTFE in it, yeah its apparently good for electronic circuits too..

cheers, Maka

I hope it has some PCBs too for circuit cooling.

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by dunga

What about hydrogen generators surely their not fake I'm on to my 5th one and none of them seem to work .

Unfortunately, I heard there is a zinc jacks shortage. This will make it very difficult for everybody to get their hydrogen form a glass of water to power their cars.

This tariff debacle is ruining a lot of good ideas like this.

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

Ebay resistor mod was a good one. 15000% profit and all it did was make it think you were running leaner (or richer - depending on the AFM system).

And who can forget the elusive, massive power gains, from the "cop chip" era of the 90s...

Funny thing about spark plugs. I've seen myriads of different designs from the teens thru to current - not only from playing around with vintage & veteran cars (and having lots of mates into them) but also because I know a collector who has thousands of them.

There have been many similar types of things tried over the years - including the dual & tri-electrodes - as individuals, rather than that cage, as well as "bullseye" plugs with a flat, round electrode in the middle, with a precision ceramic gap out to the body - so a fixed gap, and the spark eventually erodes the body away in the highest point, before jumping to the next highest etc. These were touted as lasting longer, but fouled badly.

But the common thing, is all those different arrangements of electrodes never made it past the 1960s. If they were any good, they'd still be in service today, and those E3 things look like the tri-electrodes from the 1920s.

Some of the most impressive plugs from 75+ years ago have glass bodies instead of ceramic, so you can see the combustion colour. Apparently it was good for tuning in the early days of the blue-flame 6, and impressed customers. They weren't durable enough to be left in all the time though.

Everybody needs a 60hp cop chip, right? Don't leave home without it.

Spark plugs provide a alley for the craziest ideas. It is easy to understand the experimentation during the early days of the spark IC engine. I had forgotten about the glass spark plugs. GM held onto that idea from a sales perspective for a while even with the ACDelco "Fire Ring" spark plugs. I absolutely had to have them in the GTO, which was equipped with the AC Delco breaker less captive discharge ignition system sold in the 1960s.

Somewhere, there was a mention of an ad about TF racers using the E3 plugs. Talk about snake oil. True, some folks may have been paid to run them in their lawn mores, or whatever. Nobody is going to make a run in their TF dragster or FC motor.

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by wodahs

might be the same sales snakeoil rep that convinced Kenworth that jet turbine motors were good for trucks
image
https://youtu.be/KOOfBU6Cz0c
well they didn't take off (see what I did there )
http://www.braytonenergy.net/news-an...ruck-launched/

It all makes sense now:

Brayton and Kenworth are performing track trials under a grant from the California Energy Commission.

Side note, the pics are fantastic.

Hmmmm? What about pictures going down hill?

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by Pedro

Similar to a snakeoil...privatisation would make prices plummet. Gone up nearly 200% since ... dang!

Funny thing about that.

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by Bill M

Tablets that the seller claims increase mpg, produces more power etc etc.
They were around in the early 2000's. Fuel Freedom international or as they call themselves now Forever Freedom International. Marketing madness ripping off the gullible.

In my "research" I saw an article from Car and Driver (Card and River) mentioning an aborted tested planned for these. It seems the Fukushima incident put a crimp on the production.

[Fairlane 500]

Seen this stuff advertised on TV lately!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khSlu6ygCCg

[mike_nofx]

Take payment in bitcoin?

[solarite_guy]

Order now and get a second Platinum 20sec free...

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by solarite_guy

Popular Science and Popular Mechanics were other good sources for these ads. Can't forget the "X-Ray Glasses".

And the Sea Monkeys in MAD magazine:

[solarite_guy]

Classic

[Ford17]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

Peter Brock’s Energy Polariser

That's not quite right, in that Brock's intention wasn't to rip anyone off per se; it was more that he passionately believed in the thing, to the point where he let it cost him almost everything he had at the time.

Originally Posted by Bill M

Tablets that the seller claims increase mpg, produces more power etc etc.
They were around in the early 2000's. Fuel Freedom international or as they call themselves now Forever Freedom International. Marketing madness ripping off the gullible.

This one sounds like "Firepower", a mysterious fuel tablet that took a fair while to uncover exactly what it did, and where it was available from.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firepower_International

In the meantime, they were sponsoring Tasman in V8 Supercars, as well promising to sponsor the Rabbitohs and a few other sports teams.



They were set up with the sole intention of ripping people off, from investors to the general public.

[Maka]

Aerofoil / aerodynamic windscreen wipers qualify for this great thread?

cheers, Maka