The science of HHO has long been established as rather credible from a physics and chemistry viewpoint. However, installing practically anybody’s HHO system on newer vehicles has proven problematic, as the factory ECU seems to have its own agenda.

In the past, EFIE’s and MAP Adjust electronic controllers have served duty as the best solutions available. Unfortunately, these controllers were developed decades ago for cars that responded well at the time, but don’t seem to do too well on today’s cars. The factory engineers have been paying attention and have written code into the modern ECU that seems to be able to overcome and obfuscate possible settings they used to allow. Those settings may no longer work.

To successfully tune any fuel economy device, it is necessary to understand what the factory programming is targeting, and how that software can be tweaked to deliver hard core results. The antiquated EFIE unit adds millivolts (or milliamps) to the oxygen sensor. Under deceleration mode, the ECU expects to see 0.0 volts on the NB O2 signal (or equivalent on WB and AFR sensors).

When it sees 150 mv (or whatever the EFIE is set to) that QUICKLY becomes the new 0.0, thus negating any potential gains from the hardware.

The MAP adjust has a few shortcomings that factory engineers have been able to write code around.

There really is a simple way to get gains on HHO systems without ever touching the oxygen sensor circuits. This simple fix works with NB, AFR, and WB O2 sensors, as it doesn’t even touch them.

Of course, there's more than one way to accomplish anything.

Even using the O2 signal as a tuning avenue, there is a right way and a wrong way to approach it. Furthermore, what many tuners miss is the adjustment of ignition timing. Since HHO speeds up the burn, it will probably become necessary to retard ignition timing to get maximum results - a simple fact often overlooked.

Whether you are a manufacturer, retailer, or end-user of HHO technology, understand there is a new breed of electronic controllers emerging on the market that is far more effective than the old-school devices we once relied upon. If you are looking to purchase the best controls for your vehicle, and incorporate the best technology into your product, learn these secrets and you’ll be worlds ahead of the pack.

Attend the HHO Games at the Sarasota Classic Car Museum in Sarasota, Fla., November 11-13, 2011, and stop in for Mike Holler's "Tuning Seminar" to learn all of these valuable secrets - and more!