I like to experiment. I am about to jump on the TCW3 bandwagon, however since NOBODY (that I can find anywhere on the interwebs) has showed photographic or scientific proof of the claims about TCW3 (positive or negative claims) I guess it's up to me to check it out on my own.
Many of the positive claims about TCW3 sound plausible, but I haven't found any PROOF of those claims. Sure there are pics of clean two-stroke pistons, but I can't find before and after pics of a 4-stroke piston that has been used with TCW3.
Most of the negative claims about TCW3 sound pretty dumb to me ("Running 640:1 will be instant death for O2 and Cat and foul plugs... Yeah manufacturers generally spec 1qt oil consumed per 1,000 miles as acceptable limit but I haven't done the math to see that is a 284:1 mix in a 14 MPG truck or a 132:1 mix in a 30MPG car...") Well my car is currently consuming PP5W30 at a rate of 1 qt per 5,000 miles so it's already running a 668:1 gasmotor)-oil mix and nothing bad has happened.
Here are some of the before/after tests I have come up with, if you have ideas for additional simple cheap/free tests I can do with my existing tools I'm open to suggestions.
I will be ignoring MPG unless it is dramatic. I generally get anywhere between 27 and 32 MPG on a tank, that's too big of a range unless I start getting 33 MPG or better consistently (I have only gone above 34 MPG for maybe 8 tanks in 11 years that I have owned the car).
I may try to look at the Cat with my borescope, depends on how motivated I am to buy some high-temp anti-seize and if I can snake the bore-scope through the O2 bung. That would shut-up the naysayers...or give them the proof they've been looking for that TCW3 users are dumb.
Many of the positive claims about TCW3 sound plausible, but I haven't found any PROOF of those claims. Sure there are pics of clean two-stroke pistons, but I can't find before and after pics of a 4-stroke piston that has been used with TCW3.
Most of the negative claims about TCW3 sound pretty dumb to me ("Running 640:1 will be instant death for O2 and Cat and foul plugs... Yeah manufacturers generally spec 1qt oil consumed per 1,000 miles as acceptable limit but I haven't done the math to see that is a 284:1 mix in a 14 MPG truck or a 132:1 mix in a 30MPG car...") Well my car is currently consuming PP5W30 at a rate of 1 qt per 5,000 miles so it's already running a 668:1 gasmotor)-oil mix and nothing bad has happened.
Here are some of the before/after tests I have come up with, if you have ideas for additional simple cheap/free tests I can do with my existing tools I'm open to suggestions.
- Compression Test all cyls (AB test for sure, maybe ABA or ABAB)
- Piston deposits (look at pistons with USB bore-scope)
- Spark plug inspection for cleanliness
- Check for Intake valve deposits (snake bore-scope through throttle-body and intake manifold)
- Used oil analysis (I already have two consecutive UOAs as a baseline) I will see if anything changes when using TCW3. (Wear metals, insolubles, etc.)
- Engine smoothness using the water slosh test (this test may be largely invalidated as I need to replace motor mounts somewhat soon).
- Oil consumption - I will see if oil consumption changes with TCW3 in the gas.
I will be ignoring MPG unless it is dramatic. I generally get anywhere between 27 and 32 MPG on a tank, that's too big of a range unless I start getting 33 MPG or better consistently (I have only gone above 34 MPG for maybe 8 tanks in 11 years that I have owned the car).
I may try to look at the Cat with my borescope, depends on how motivated I am to buy some high-temp anti-seize and if I can snake the bore-scope through the O2 bung. That would shut-up the naysayers...or give them the proof they've been looking for that TCW3 users are dumb.