FUEL ADDITIVES: MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

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jrcowboys

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GUYS:

You constantly see advise that fuel additives such as Techron are not needed as long as you use a premium gasoline. My experience is just the opposite. I have three cars and all three have responded very well to the use of Thehron. I use premium gasoline, but in each case I experienced almost dramatic improvement in performance (more responsive, more power, etc) after the use of Techron. The cars are: 2012 Infiniti G37, 2008 BMW 650i, and 1999 Lexus SC300. The BMW and Lexus, both older showed the most improvement.

One downside, gas mileage went down on on the older car, but performance improved the most.

Thoughts? Any insight would be appreciated. Any downside, other than cost (pretty cheap at Costco)?

JR
 
I've used Techron in a couple of neglected vehicles and experienced a very noticeable improvement in performance. I poured a double dose into a 1996 Mitsu 3000 GT, filled it up with Chevron 93 and it cleared up the stumble I was feeling when accelerating from a stop. I'm guessing the injectors were spraying like an old syringe with the way it was behaving.

It also cleared up a moody fuel guage on my truck.

It's the only fuel additive I've used that actually produced tangible results. The much ballyhooed Seafoam...not so much.
 
I've used a few over the years just as maybe a preventive type of thing. I think that the Lucas actually improved the fuel mileage a little bit, not enough to pay for itself but a little bit.
I've used Power Service often in my diesels over the years and could pretty much document a fuel mileage improvement of 2-3% which is a plus since I mainly use it for the maintenance aspects and anti-gel in winter.
 
Originally Posted By: jrcowboys
GUYS:

You constantly see advise that fuel additives such as Techron are not needed as long as you use a premium gasoline. My experience is just the opposite. I have three cars and all three have responded very well to the use of Thehron. I use premium gasoline, but in each case I experienced almost dramatic improvement in performance (more responsive, more power, etc) after the use of Techron. The cars are: 2012 Infiniti G37, 2008 BMW 650i, and 1999 Lexus SC300. The BMW and Lexus, both older showed the most improvement.

One downside, gas mileage went down on on the older car, but performance improved the most.

Thoughts? Any insight would be appreciated. Any downside, other than cost (pretty cheap at Costco)?

JR


Did you account for changes in driving behavior and seasonal changes in gas formulation?
 
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Originally Posted By: jrcowboys
GUYS:

You constantly see advise that fuel additives such as Techron are not needed as long as you use a premium gasoline. My experience is just the opposite. I have three cars and all three have responded very well to the use of Thehron. I use premium gasoline, but in each case I experienced almost dramatic improvement in performance (more responsive, more power, etc) after the use of Techron. The cars are: 2012 Infiniti G37, 2008 BMW 650i, and 1999 Lexus SC300. The BMW and Lexus, both older showed the most improvement.

One downside, gas mileage went down on on the older car, but performance improved the most.

Thoughts? Any insight would be appreciated. Any downside, other than cost (pretty cheap at Costco)?

JR


I think there is some confusion on the rule-of-thumb to which you are referring. Fuel additives like Techron are generally unnecessary if you use Top-Tier branded gasoline, not premium grade.

Burning a non-Top Tier gasoline in your vehicle, even the premium grade of it, will benefit from fuel additives like Techron or Regane Gumout (anything with PEA). However, if a Top-Tier fuel is being burned in the engine, then the PEA fuel additives are no longer as beneficial and even unnecessary in most cases.
 
I stick with 6 month oil changes and have been using techron religiously since i am 16 doing my own oil changes. its cheap assurance and definitely doesn't hurt any.
 
With a top tier fuel you should not have to add anything. Doesn't have to be high test either.
 
After using only Shell 87 top tier gas for five years in my Avalon hybrid, my MPG around town, over a few months, dropped from around 37 to 28. I switched to Chevron 87 ( with Techron) top tier and after one tank the MPG were back up to the 37 range. The different detergents cleaned out something?
 
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you need to evaluate if your gains are only in the treated tank of fuel; or in the next tank or tank+2.

The feeling of gains you may get maybe due to UCL or other lubrication effectsn rather than any actual cleaning.

If it is due to ucl, you may also find you get same results with a far lower dose.
 
Originally Posted By: Oildudeny
Why do people on here care so much if someone wants to use a fuel addititive.



The there is the Pennzoil label switch.......
 
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All fuel is going to have cleaners and detergents in it. Top tier gasoline will have a higher dose. How much more? who knows, but if you use top tier gasoline , there would probably be no advantage to adding more techron or fuel cleaner to a top teir gasoline. Might not hurt, but adding more of something is not always better. I tend to run a tank of top teir every 6 months or so , most of the time I use HyVee gas just because it is closer to us and I like their big filling area which is easy to get in and out of. It is not top tier, but I have had no issues with it. When I do run a tank of top gas I use Shell. if top teir were closer I might use it more , it is usually only a a few cents difference and sometimes cheaper.
 
I have used Techron in my Corvette since 05 with zero problems. I dump a bottle in it every month or so. Fuel gauges on Corvettes are very touchy and this is a real good preventive maintenance item to prevent fuel gauge problems. I am sure it also helps the injectors etc. as well.
 
All gains in performance occurred quickly, so there was no seasonal change in fuel composition. I convinced the performance improvement was a direct result of the additive.
 
I agree that fuel additives do help if they are used on a regular basis. The idea that most people don't seem to understand is that fuel additives are for the PREVENTION of problems, not necessarily a solution or repair for problems once they are noticeably affecting the engine's performance.

I bought an AC Delco pro grade scope camera a few years ago during a black Friday sale. I have looked into cylinders of engines (small and large) before and after various fuel treatments. Most of the better ones do seem to remove soot and carbon deposits. The pistons, valves and the combustion chambers do look cleaner after the treatment. Does the fact that everything visually looks cleaner really make a difference in performance or longevity of the engine?

I don't know but I really think that it can't hurt at the very least.

Dblshock- I too am a believer in TCW-3 as a fuel additive and the pictures of your ATV engine are awesome. My only note with the picture is that your cylinders are only going to look that clean if you are very consistent with adding the TCW-3 and all other factors with the engine or the fuel are close to ideal.
 
If the car has seen poor quality fuel all its life, switching to a tank top tier likely will not solve anything. Stronger intervention likely would be needed. You have to use top tier fuel most of the time for it to "maintain" the fuel fuel system over time.
 
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