More torque from Yellow Powder?

[SnakeLogic]

OK, so my local dealer showed me a mod he's done to many Tdi engines.  It's a little canister with containing some rare-earth elements that supposedly boosts power and lowers CO output.  

It's made by Greek company called Celcat.  Anybody have any experience with this?  Any feedback one way or the other?

[thermidorthelobster]

Judging by the name, and the fact it contains "rare earth elements", it must be a catalyst of some kind.  Sounds suspiciously like snake oil to me.  If it's lowering CO2 output then it must be doing something else with the carbon and the oxygen... what?

[Steven]

Is there a catch with it?  :? Sounds good...
 :lol:

[SnakeLogic]

here's  a link:

http://www.celcat.gr/products.htm

The dealer assures me that there are no adverse effects ( I was asking about possible increased temperatures and/or damage to valves and gaskets.)  

If you check the other pages in the link, you'll see that the English site (Greek company) is not terribly comprehensive.  I was hoping to see some actual numbers to back up those claims about increased performance.

[L90OOK]

Is he offering a warranty if your engine goes BANG  :-s  :smack:

Why not run on a mixture of veg oil & diesel...will lower your emissions & clean your system...also no outlay & immediate saving.  \:D/

[SnakeLogic]

I was looking into running veg oil in my Tdi, but was dissuaded by two facts (those ARE pesky) 1:  It is illegal in Japan.  2:  Any type of veg oil (mixed, corn, etc) is MORE expensive than diesel, even if buying the big 15 liter tins from the restaurant supply shops.  Currently diesel is the equivalent of 0.475 British Pounds per liter.

Here's a link with a little more info on Celcat:
http://www.toboc.com/1/543231/Exporter.aspx

[thermidorthelobster]

Cerium Oxide is the active ingredient.  Hmmm...

Wikipedia states that "In association with other catalysts, ceria can effectively reduce NOx emissions as well as convert harmful carbon monoxide to the less harmful carbon dioxide." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerium(IV)_oxide)

It doesn't say how it could do anything with actual carbon dioxide.  So all it seems to do is lower your CO emissions and raise your CO2 emissions.  Which is nice in a way, but the opposite of what they claim it does.  If it catalyses NOx then that's no bad thing, but it's not what they're saying it does.

If you read their "Scientific Facts" section, it does bear out that CO is LOWERED and CO2 is RAISED.  Greenpeace won't be beating a path to your door.

It can absorb a small amount of CO2, but unless you replace the whole device every few minutes, that's not going to lower your emissions for very long.

However, all of this is looking at exhaust gases, and from the manufacturer's website, it sits in the intake path.  It's not remotely clear what, if anything, it would do to air coming into the intake.

The fact remains that you can't just "get rid of" CO2 - you have to do something with the carbon and the oxygen.  You could convert them into useful hydrocarbons to run your car - but of course that would need you to put as much energy in as you're getting out by burning them.  You can't just magic them away.

No matter how much the manufacturers promise, you can't make up science where none exists.  I'm open to offers on how this might actually work and be beneficial, but on the face of it, it seems like fairy dust.

[SnakeLogic]

Thermidor,

Please pardon my confusion, but I can't find on site where they claim that the Celcat product will reduce CO2 output.

[thermidorthelobster]

Sorry, I misread your OP.  You're right.

It MAY reduce CO, but I'd have thought in order to do that it should be on the exhaust, not the air intake;  there's very little CO in the air intake and potentially quite a lot of it in the exhaust, although if the engine's burning well anyway, there shouldn't be so much.

[Bulli]

either way I wouldnt be fitting it to my motor. As Therm said earlier Snake oil pure and simple. Save your money and plant a few trees, they make the world nicer to look at and do more to balance your emissions.