The final update to my ARX test is here.
*note* The car was painted a different color after the last update. It is the same car.
Here is a copy and paste of the final update from my site:
2/19/05:-129,136: This update had to be delayed a week due to bad weather. It was too cloudy to take pics last weekend.
As I mentioned during the last update (2/7/05) the oil was very dark after this rinse period. This is important to note because I have noticed that many people seem to be frustrated when they add ARX to their engine and 1500 miles later the oil still looks clean. My personal results indicate that the first cleaning phase and rinse phase won't produce oil that appears to be dirty. It wasn't until the second cleaning phase that the oil could be considered "dark" and after this rinse phase it was downright black.
The compression readings have made me very happy. I will point out here that you should in no way expect ARX or any other product to produce similar results unless you suspect the low compression is caused by a stuck ring pack or maybe even sticking valves. The former was exactly what I thought at the beginning of this test and it was the reason I wanted to try ARX.
After over 7000 miles of cleaning I can say with certainty that this engine idles smoother and quieter and that it does indeed have more power than before. By "quieter" I mean that most of the ticking and clicking noises that this engine used to make are now gone. To put it simply, I'm happy.
The only negative thing I can say is that ARX seems to have cleaned some sludge from around the valve seals and they have yet to reseal themselves. The result is a very slight amount of oil burning when you first start the car in the morning or after being parked for several hours. In my opinion the benefits very much outweigh this issue but I felt it was important enough to note.
I never really measured how much oil my engine was consuming but I would estimate that it currently uses about 1 quart in 1400-1700 miles. This is well within normal limits for this engine. Even more so when you consider the mileage.
Fuel consumption was also not measured before the test but I would guess that there has neither been an increase or decrease.
There will be plenty of you that think that this was just an advertisement for ARX and that the test just might be fake. The fact is that Frank (the ARX inventor) hasn't spoken to me since the test started and we were on such poor terms that he wouldn't even sell ARX to me. I had to purchase it from a private individual on the BITOG forums. We are not friends and we are not business partners. What you see with this test is as honest as it gets.
Here are the latest engine specs:
READINGS AT 129,136 MILES (~7000 miles w/Auto-Rx)
Compression:
Cylinder 1-170psi +53psi
Cylinder 2-168psi +48psi
Cylinder 3-158psi +41psi
Cylinder 4-173psi +54psi
Idle Oil Pressure:
18psi@700rpm@180degrees fahrenheit (coolant temp)
Ambient Temp:
~70 degrees
Hot Idle RPM (A/C off):
730rpm
Here is one of the better comparison pics:
And last of all. Links to the test site and image gallary.
[ February 19, 2005, 09:26 PM: Message edited by: Aaron ]
*note* The car was painted a different color after the last update. It is the same car.
Here is a copy and paste of the final update from my site:
2/19/05:-129,136: This update had to be delayed a week due to bad weather. It was too cloudy to take pics last weekend.
As I mentioned during the last update (2/7/05) the oil was very dark after this rinse period. This is important to note because I have noticed that many people seem to be frustrated when they add ARX to their engine and 1500 miles later the oil still looks clean. My personal results indicate that the first cleaning phase and rinse phase won't produce oil that appears to be dirty. It wasn't until the second cleaning phase that the oil could be considered "dark" and after this rinse phase it was downright black.
The compression readings have made me very happy. I will point out here that you should in no way expect ARX or any other product to produce similar results unless you suspect the low compression is caused by a stuck ring pack or maybe even sticking valves. The former was exactly what I thought at the beginning of this test and it was the reason I wanted to try ARX.
After over 7000 miles of cleaning I can say with certainty that this engine idles smoother and quieter and that it does indeed have more power than before. By "quieter" I mean that most of the ticking and clicking noises that this engine used to make are now gone. To put it simply, I'm happy.
The only negative thing I can say is that ARX seems to have cleaned some sludge from around the valve seals and they have yet to reseal themselves. The result is a very slight amount of oil burning when you first start the car in the morning or after being parked for several hours. In my opinion the benefits very much outweigh this issue but I felt it was important enough to note.
I never really measured how much oil my engine was consuming but I would estimate that it currently uses about 1 quart in 1400-1700 miles. This is well within normal limits for this engine. Even more so when you consider the mileage.
Fuel consumption was also not measured before the test but I would guess that there has neither been an increase or decrease.
There will be plenty of you that think that this was just an advertisement for ARX and that the test just might be fake. The fact is that Frank (the ARX inventor) hasn't spoken to me since the test started and we were on such poor terms that he wouldn't even sell ARX to me. I had to purchase it from a private individual on the BITOG forums. We are not friends and we are not business partners. What you see with this test is as honest as it gets.
Here are the latest engine specs:
READINGS AT 129,136 MILES (~7000 miles w/Auto-Rx)
Compression:
Cylinder 1-170psi +53psi
Cylinder 2-168psi +48psi
Cylinder 3-158psi +41psi
Cylinder 4-173psi +54psi
Idle Oil Pressure:
18psi@700rpm@180degrees fahrenheit (coolant temp)
Ambient Temp:
~70 degrees
Hot Idle RPM (A/C off):
730rpm
Here is one of the better comparison pics:
And last of all. Links to the test site and image gallary.
[ February 19, 2005, 09:26 PM: Message edited by: Aaron ]
