After installing FIR Fuel Activator and letting it break in for about 50 miles, you may start noticing smoother idle, better acceleration and less fuel consumption. Then, you may be wondering: "WOW, how did it do that?!"

It's truly an "invisible" story that starts as soon as you place NC-104 ceramic module on the fuel hose of your vehicle .......

The NC-104 module, a proprietary FIR-emitting ceramic composite, made of transition metal oxides including CoO and Zr₂O₃, absorbs radiation heat from the environment to emit IR photons in 3 – 14 µm wavelengths. (Yes, don't worry, there is always radiation heat, even in cold winter, as long as the air temperature is above Absolute Zero, or -273 ^oC. However, after the engine warms up, it will radiate more heat and the IR emissions from NC-104 FIR ceramic become much stronger.)

At the meantime, the IR photons emitted from FIR ceramic are absorbed by rubber/plastic fuel hose underneath. The fuel hose continues absorbing IR photons until it saturates and can't take any more. It then passes IR photons through and becomes "transparent" to IR. To be more specific from a Quantum Mechanic view, after being saturated, whenever the material takes in an IR photon, it will simultaneously give away (emit) an IR-photon to maintain thermal equilibrium. This is the reason why it requires break-in time after installing the device in order to fully saturate the fuel hose with IR. Also, after removing the device from fuel hose, it also requires time to completely wash off residual IR from the hose before the vehicle returns to its manufacture-set performance. (see Break-in Requirements.)

Subsequently, the hydrocarbon (HC) molecules in the fuel flowing through the hose are exposed to penetrating IR photons and excited, causing bond-stretching and bending vibrations. (According to Organic Chemistry, HC molecule is IR-active and can absorb multiple IR photons to cause molecular vibrations.)

The bonds of IR-excited HC molecule have higher vibrational energy and thus lowered activation barrier (a Quantum Mechanic term). It means that the chemical bonds of such IR-excited HC molecules become "dynamic" and require less energy to break up. The molecular structure can be rapidly shattered and the molecule fragmented into finer intermediate radicals in the collision process of combustion at elevating temperature.

These fine radicals can mix well with oxygen and burn off more instantaneously and completely in cylinders. This helps the fuel release heat at close to TDC (top dead center), thus contributing more heat to work for higher cycle efficiency. In other words, faster combustion enables getting closer to the ideal of constant-volume combustion and results in higher indicated work and hence more output torque and power.

Thanks to modern ECU (electronic control unit) and OBD II (2nd generation onboard diagnosis) control, the combustion efficiency of IR-excited fuel can be further increased by automatic adjustment of Spark Timing Advance with the help from a knock sensor.

As described above, the use of IR-excited fuel minimizes the cause of engine knock so that the engine may operate right before the pre-programmed (mapping) pre-ignition limit. Experience confirms that such system allows optimal spark timing, which coincides with considerable improvement in both fuel economy and torque. Since IR-excited fuel can burn faster and more evenly, it may mitigate pre-ignition problem and stretch pre-ignition limit, allowing significant Timing Advance that improves engine performance.

Now, you know that's why you have noticed increased power and gas mileage after you installed FIR device. You can feel the results even if FIR is invisible!