Nope, EPA estimates are accurate...look here:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/1999_Mercury_Cougar.shtml
2.5L V6/5-speed shows 17 and 26 mpg respectively.
Well, I planned to use this "covalizer" once I got some real good HHO production but it worth a try in the meantime. My wife's 99 Caravan should be a good guinea pig for this easy experiment. I'm curious as to what the A/F ratio will be while doing this....the fuel molecules covalent bonds will be broken down to the smallest possible chains so in effect you are going to be getting a vastly improved burn rate in terms of combustion...if the ECM sees this as a rich condition, it should lean the fuel out....what the limit is it what I want to find out. Here is where an O2 optimizer would come in handy or, using a stand alone ECM to taylor the fuel curve to accept really lean limits. It matters not how lean you run, this whole system is a function of pretreating the fuel to get the highest possible burn rate from it, then further lean it out by introducing a concentrated amount of hydrogen gas....that is the end goal. If you actually believe we currently get 100% efficiency from our existing method of combustion, then I guess dis-regard the whole thing. But, if you like most people have by-product sludge crap that gets re-directed into the intake via the PCV then you must realize the system is far from efficient and higher mileage results are possible but you have to look at things from a completely different angle. At any rate, a gallon of acetone is about $20 and Xylene I have to check on....but it is not expensive. It is curious to note that back in the 1930's after the 100 mpg Pogue carburator came out and was verified by the Ford Motor Division, that lead was added to gasoline (or petrol, as it was callled then)...adding lead for what reason? Well, isn't it odd that lead moreso than any other substance blocks any ability to break down the covalent bonds of the fuel molecules through vaporization. Interesting, huh? Why else would the oil companies add lead? "Upper cylinder lubrication"? Helps maintains valve seats? Come on....I've ran unleaded gas on older, late 60's engines that would have required leaded fuel and there was never any problems-I chalk it up to an automotive myth. Pogue used a different process for breaking bonds but his results were groundbreaking. Fast forward to the 70's and the era of unleaded gas due to it being a carcinogen. We are back to the issue of breaking the fuels covalent bonds but now we have fuel injection to really dial it in. Imo we have come full with it and as long as people ignore it for whatever reason, big oil will be happy. I'm off on a tangent again....okay, I'm done-we'll how this covalizer works in the short term.