Fuel efficiency in the groove


I’ve researched how to improve fuel efficiency for some years now. I haven’t had a vehicle of my own until just a few weeks ago, which made me look into this subject one more time and I found a couple of new mods that I had not seen before. They are the discoveries of Somender Singh and Ron Hatton (a.k.a. Gadgetman).

Somender’s groove goes in the cylinder’s head and helps reach the gas in the squish zone, while Ron’s groove goes in the fuel/air delivery system and helps better vaporize and mix the gas in the combustion chamber. The way they work is different from each other, but I find it interesting that they both require just grooves to be created in the metal, which is why I’m posting about them together.

Somender Singh


Somender’s observation was that in the squish zone of the combustion chamber, meant to squish the gasses into the center, there was an incomplete combustion. He also concluded that it added resistance to the piston. His solution was to add one or more grooves that would help channel the gas from this zone towards the sparkplug on compression, and then allow the combustion to reach that zone. The results from making this simple modification are very impressive from photographic documentation.

He isn’t charging for this, he’s open-sourced it and the groove isn’t tricky to make at all, the instructions are simple and watching/reading the stuff below should allow you to understand well enough the technique.




Ron Hatton


Ron, on the other hand, tried to improve the mix of the air with the gas, and added his groove to the fuel/air delivery system. This is the part that lets more or less air into the engine carrying fuel with it, it’s what you control with your gas pedal, which should probably be named air pedal. He explains that these grooves create a toroidal (donut shaped) flow and improves the amplitude of the air pressure. This more compressed air/fuel mixture, when entering the combustion chamber through the intake, expands abruptly improving the volatilization of the fuel. Gas doesn’t burn well as a liquid, even as a small dropplets, compared to it in a gaseous state, which is when it’s mixable with the oxygen gas to combust. Also, fuel vapor is several times less dense than liquid fuel, which means you require less gasoline. All this contributes to the fuel efficiency.

This groove is more tricky, though. The shape has to be right to cause these effects and getting it so takes a bit more knowledge about it. Ron has a certification program to train those who want to learn it, which you can read more about in his website. You can have your car modified by him or someone in his network if you don’t learn it yourself.



In conclusion

Both modifications require the timing of the engine to be adjusted for the improved conditions. Both help keep the temperature down as well, oil lasts longer. Both improve combustion meaning there’ll be less wasted fuel in the exhaust, dirtying the engine and polluting the environment, and wasting your money.

In essense you use less gas, get more power, engine will last longer: pretty efficient if you ask me.

I’m planning to add both to my engine and will report back. I haven’t seen anybody mention using both together yet, so I’ll add them separately to see what difference each makes. I’m hoping to see great results with both.

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  • http://profiles.google.com/gadgetmanglobal Ron Hatton

    Thanks for this, Christian. I can offer only one refinement. The timing does not need to be adjusted for The Gadgetman Groove to work. It will, should you have the ability to tweak it, assist in gaining more efficiency.

    Of course, the more power your have over the computer, the less the computer has to force our consumption at the archaic levels we have become accustomed to.

    I look forward to serving you all.


    • http://cristianlavaque.com Cristián Lávaque

      Thanks a lot, Ron. I’m so looking forward to the Groove. :)