Gasoline additives

[kairo]

My engine's getting up there in miles (just rolled 120k) and it's running great. Want to keep it that way. I do the maintenence religoiusly every 2,000 miles, and I was wondering if there's any fuel additives that actually do what they say. or is it just feel good measures?

[Connect]

Lol, I'd say stick with the basic maintenance and if your wanted, sure do the fuel injector cleaner solution.

Do your cap, rotors, plugs, wires... service the AC and throw in a new thermostat. my suggestions.

[Mongo720]

Techron is really good, but here's the downside. Take a cup of techron and put something metal in there, wait a few days, No more metal. That stuff works wonders for that reason, it eats metal. My autoshop teacher showed me that in HS.

[Connect]

don't get me wrong, most modern fuel systems are rubber/plastic, but wouldn't a metal eating fuel cause problems with like your fuel injectors or something?

I think it's 90% BS most of the fuel additives. I read a test once in consumer reports about that tornado fuel mileage 20% improver, and it actually hurts your mileage.

In my mind you could sell america a bottle of water if you said on a tv commercial that it would improve SOMETHING, anything. It doesn't matter what. And they'd drink it, and buy more, and you'd get rich. Look at all the energy drinks, and "healthy" water, and cholesterol lowering foods, diet pills, omfg the works.

[kairo]

i only fill with shell. Never bought into the techron hype, but Shell gas does work better for me. I can feel the power, and i get better mileage, than with cheap gas

[Connect]

I use only mid-grade because I can feel the difference and how it's running better. I think it's less of a difference of brand and more of an octane difference.

[MR.ROCKAPE]

OK SOME REAL TECH FOR YA TWO:
ALL GAS GETS REFINED IN THE SAME PLACE!!!THE DIFFERENCE IS ADDITIVES EACH GETS PUT INTO IT FOR THE DIFFERENT DISTRIBUTERS.SO REALLY YOUR FUEL MILEAGE IS DEPENDANT ON HOW MUCH EACH ONE THESE IS ACTUAL FUEL WITH MORE OR LESS ADDITIVES.(I HAVE EXPERIENCED BETTER FUEL MILEAGE FROM ONE BRAND OF GAS TO ANOTHER:yes: )
NOW AS FAR AS OCTANE GOES:
IF YOU ENGINE IS DESIGNED TO USE 87 OCTANE,THEN YOU ARE THROWING YOU MONEY AWAY USING ANYTHING WITH A HIGHER RATING!!!!
WHAT??I PAYED MORE THAT MEANS IT MUST BE BETTER???RIGHT??

HERES THE DEAL:
OCTANE RATING OF A HIGHER NUMBER BURNS SLOWER!!!
NOW WHY IS THAT??
A ENGINE WITH A 8.5 TO 1 COMPRESSION RATIO DOESNT HAVE THE SAME FUEL OCTANE RATINGS AS A 10.0 TO 1 ENGINE!!!
THE 10 TO 1 ENGINE WILL REQUIRE A FUEL THAT BURNS SLOWER TO HELP PREVENT PRE-IGNITION OR PINGING UNDER A LOAD.THE HIGHER PRESSURE CREATED IN THE CYLINDER OF THE HIGHER COMPRESSION ENGINE CAN CAUSE THE FUEL TO IGNITE BEFORE THE PISTON REACHES TDC,WHEN THIS HAPPENS PRE-IGNITION OCCURS!!!!BAD FOR YOUR ENGINE!!!!(BURNS HOLES IN PISTONS,BROKEN CONNECTING RODS!!!)SO A HIGHER OCTANE FUEL IS REALLY TO COMBAT THIS!!!
ALSO USING A HIGHER OCTANE RATING IN A ENGINE THAT DOESNT REQUIRE IT ACTUALLY HURTS POWER!!!SLOWER BURNING FUEL DECREASES EFFICIENCY IN AN ENGINE THAT WASNT DESIGNED FOR IT!!!(PROBABLY NOT NOTICEABLE IN YOUR SEAT OF THE PANTS THOUGH!!!)
OH AND ADDITIVES ARENT WORTH THE MONEY!!!(UNLESS DIESEL FUEL ADDITIVES!!!)
NOW LOOK WHAT YA DID,I GOT A PJ BOOK POST GOING ON NOW!!!!:thefinger

[waggycrawl]

yea i agree the only thing that works is injector cleaner anything else is just junk in a bottle :hammerhea

[Rafterman]

I run techron in every thing and will continue to do so. Maybe all myth but it seems to keep things running smother.These are my vehicles:
2000 chevy W/T 148,000 miles
2000 GMC 2500 76,000 miles
2000 grand am 120,000 miles
1994 yj 118,000 miles
I have way to much test time in:hammerhea :scratch:

[satan inside]

if you want to research oil or gas additives this is a great site

http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

[Sauce]

my mantra is ALWAYS listen to the ape...he knows what heh is talking about...that is all

[Denis]

how about Seafoam?
http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUp.htm

[willyj]

I think it's 90% BS most of the fuel additives. I read a test once in consumer reports about that tornado fuel mileage 20% improver, and it actually hurts your mileage.



It does. worst piece of crap i ever bought. thank god for the money back garuntee so many days yada yada.

for one it limits airflow. with all its vanes it can not really swirl the air with a modern air cleaner. its restrictive anyway so all it does is restrict it more. if i had a more open air cleaner such as an aftermarket where it was an open filter in a 360 it might have benefited somewhat.

however now looking back the TBI and carbs use a venturi to feed the AFM (air fuel mixture) with a swirling action there is bound to be a turbulent effect as it transitions between a larger opening and a the choke point in the venturi. much like an hourglass compared to a smooth bore. in a modern throttle body with a dry intake where the TB is an equal bore without a venturi and an open style air filter you might make the claim to force a little more air down there with a swirl effect. might.

the vehicle i used it on was a 89 Dodge ram with a 318 TBI engine. there was no extra power felt. my test that i did was i filled up and drove to fernley, logged my mileage, put on the tornado filled up and drove back. i dont remember the exact numbers but there was a definate drop in the MPG.

as for seafoam i use it once in a while just to try to help the sludge in the tank or clean up the fuel system a little bit. as far as in the oil pan i dont know.

one thing i do know DOES work is ATF or kerosene instead of oil in crankcase WILL clean out the bottom end. make sure you clean the upper end too. i pulled the valve covers and got all the sludge off the push rods and around the rocker area and rocker arms and rod. after all that and replacing the valve seals it didnt smoke and it "felt" better. the oil was coming out cleaner after the 3rd change and i after i got all the kerosene and ATF out (replace filter each time) i ran standard engine oil in it and it was cleaner after its run.

dont drive with theATF or kerosene in the the pan though. you just want to get it up to operating temp and run it a bit just too get it flowing through your rods and galleys. the ATF is too thin too properly lubricate at a high RPM or load on engine.

another trick with cleaning out the intake and cylinders is diesel or bardahl. you run it through your PVC to carb or brake booster hose to carb and feed it slowly in (funnel in the hose end) and keep the RPMs up. dont let it stall. man the smoke and crud that comes out it cleans carbon off your pistons and valves. it will smoke a little bit as all the remnents of the diesel or bardahl clears its way through the sytem but after that it will run pretty smooth.

all this should NOT be done through an EFI engine. i dont know what it will do to your 02 sensor.

these tricks are mainly for high mileage old engines that you want to get a little further on but dont want to rebuild quite yet.

[NevadaXJ]

how about Seafoam?
http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUp.htm
I just dumped some seafoam down my throttlebody a few minutes ago. Let it sit for five minutes, and restarted it. The smoke display was quite impressive! :D

There is a huge thread on it over at Jeepforum. It's a good read.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99405

[J.J.]

I just dumped some seafoam down my throttlebody a few minutes ago. Let it sit for five minutes, and restarted it. The smoke display was quite impressive! :D

how much is it? i think i might need some.

[NevadaXJ]

how much is it? i think i might need some.
I just paid like $6 for it at the Carquest in Dayton.

[J.J.]

i picked up a bottle of the SeaFoam today after work. i was skeptical at first but what the hell, i tried it anyway. this stuff is awesome. i felt a huge difference right away. it normally takes a few seconds for the engine to turn over, but after the seafoam........it takes only a split second. my truck idles alot smoother and the seafoam also rid me of the horrible valvetrain sounds. i highly recommend the SeaFoam. :thumbsup: