Ecotek Valve CB-26P

[Hugh]

These are terrible. £50 each, and they don't do a thing!

I bought two, fitted one to my Cavalier GSi and one to a Nova SR 1.4.

The result from the cav was that it 'bunny hopped' on overrun, and didn't idle as well.

The Nova gained an instant miss-fire on piston 4.

I checked that these were setup correctly and several engineers said to me that according to the instructions supplied, they were.

Coincidentally, just before I fitted them I spoke to a friends Dad who worked for Ford as a development engineer for 25 years. For 5 years they worked solidly on improving combustion and all the methods principles etc. I showed him the valves and the brochure. He examined the valve and read the brochure and then shook his head at me and wished me luck, but said that he suspected that I had wasted my money.

How all the magazines can review this device and call it excellent is beyond me.

You have been warned!!

[Clint]

What is it then I have never heard of it ?

[Hugh]

Trevs.. Ahem Revs went on about them a couple of years ago, hopefull the link below will reveal all!

www.ecotekplc.com

[Mr_Hoarder]

Cars and Car conversions tested them in this months issue, the outcome was that to get the car to run correctly you had to shut the valve off completely, therefore making it redundant.

Good product Eh ? Just like the in-line spark amplifiers you used to be able to get !

[Ferg]

I don't think the mags can write the reviews, unlike Car and Car Conversions it seems....good mag that!

[Willid1]

Saw the spark amplifiers being sold a two shows last year, old dogs never die??

[budd]

funny i fitted one on the missus's mk2 golf 16v and it made the car more responsive low down. Definiatly noticed a differance.

[DazC]

all these pieces of shat do it introduce a controled air (unfiltered)leak into the induction system making the car runn slightly weaker and generally confusing any air flow sensors amongst other shit...........

[Hugh]

Now that some new smilies have been added I can update my thoughts on this item.

[Threedoorboy]

Why did you buy one in the first place???
You must have known this is right poooooo!!!!

[Tone]

i bought one(doh) but it did make car feel more responsive
honest it works by breaking the vacum in tne plenum when you de accelerate causig any fuel stuck to the walls to fall down and burn this gives you a stronger spark more economy blah blah blah but it did seem to idle and pick up better must be in my head

[Hugh]

Why did you buy one in the first place???
You must have known this is right poooooo!!!!

I read and believed all the reviews in the magazine, and checked out their website. It all seemed too good to be true, and indeed it was.

If the thing is as good as the claim then why isn't every car fitted with one as standard

[Weasle]

not everything that improves a car is fitted as standard.
that`s down to cost control and spec issues.

[Hugh]

Indeed you are correct, but if you ever have a chance to look at one of these ecotec valves you will know that there is no way it would cost more then a fiver to produce - not even that if done in a big enough quantity.

If this valve does all that they claim it does, then it would be fitted to every car produced - better emissions + fuel economy + better performance?! That's the holy grail to car manufacturers!!

Alas, I've not seen it fitted as standard to any mainstream car, therefore it must be total and after my testing of it on two cars I can confirm this.

[rsgary]

i work in a car parts factory we make pas pumps for ford and jag etc etc,we also do water temp sensors,if you buy one of these sensors they cost about £20 to £25,they cost pennies to make so these ecotek things mass made would cost about £1 if ya lucky,you pays your money
cheeRS gary
AKA shrek

[Hugh]

Having seen the ecotek valve I know you are absolutely right Gary - I'm a manufacturing engineer at heart and if the quantity was big enough then I doubt they'd even cost a £1 to make. I did however know this when I bought them, I happily thought I was paying a premium due to the investment they made by doing all the research into them.

I think more testing goes into Toppysport(TM) products, and they are a damn site more useful as well

[Hugh]

BTTT to stop any other unwary car owner.

[Threedoorboy]

BTTT to stop any other unwary car owner

Or nova owner spending his whole modding money for the year in one go.

[atford]

just tested one of these on engine dyno on v6 st220 motor with standard cast inlet manifold, this particular engine no longer uses air flow meters but an absolute pressure sensor so the additional airflow introduced by the ecotek into the manifold which would usually go unmetered was not a problem in this instance, however there was no change in horsepower throughout the whole range, i would say that the claim made that a disturbance of air in the inlet manifold was a bad idea !

[Hugh]

What about emissions? Have you any results for them as thats where they claim the real benefit is, resulting from a better burn.

Still think they are personally.

[atford]

to see an improved burn you would see a change in power output, the ecu used on this test is mapped initially and after that wide band closed loop makes any changes necesary, you can watch the activity of the closed loop activity and there was no change. For example , if i were to make a camshaft change and saw that no changes were necesary in the map i would be dissapointed, if i saw a requirement for additional fuel i would be pleased as i would know that this would result in extra power. I guess that on an inlet manifold that was not capable of providing enough air in relation to the demand made by the engine then tiny improvements may be possible by the additional air introduced by the ecotek, however you would in this case see far better results by changing the whole inlet manifold for something that could flow enough for the demand of the engine.

[Hugh]

Cool, thanks for that.

RE: The additional air leaked in via the Ecotek if required by the engine.

True as this is, the fitting of a K&N air filter would superceed that benefit by a large margin. Regardless of that though, this is not at all they claim it does to benefit the engine!

My understanding is that it is supposed to cause air turbulence through the manifold (is that a good thing??) and thus cause the air & fuel to mix better, which in turn would result in a better burn. I wouldn't necessarily expect a power increase (maybe a bhp or two) but would expect better response and economy.

Sadly from my experiences, and via your tests this blatently isn't so. So, I happily stand by my review of them. As I said earlier, they promise what is to a vehicle manufacturer the holy grail: improved emissions/economy etc. If it did, then it would be on every vehicle being built today.

Reminds me of those stupid HT leads you see at shows where they demostrate a more powerful, but less harsh spark. The seller claimed that they were fitted as standard to Alfa Romeos, one of the blokes in the crowd piped up and said "That's bollocks, no they are not" at which point the salesman got very defensive. A bit of a discussion ensued at which point the man in the crowd revealed that he worked in Powertrain at Alfa Romeo. The salesman went VERY quiet at this point.