Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
I use it when I'm taking long trips say 300 miles one way. Gets it out of the system so as to lessen the affect on the oil and the engine being up a operating temp for a period of time I believe it makes it more effective.
A counter opinion would be that the PEA might work better, at a slower rate. Instead of using it for a 300 mile trip (approx 5 hours long), letting the cleaner soak-in, over a matter of one week to accumulate 300 miles, might be a better cleaning solution.
I'm not sure which method would be more beneficial.
Manufacturers say to use the PEA when you are driving around town/various speeds. They say it is much less effective when the vehicle is run continuously at highway speeds. And this makes a lot of physical sense given pressurization and the known mechanism of action of PEA.
Funny this exact question comes up. I have a few hm vehicles I drive/maintain and have learned their "PEA" dosing requirements. IT's 3 to 5k and it is based on their thermal burn, not aboslute mileage. Meaning - My SUV which averages 15mpg needs it about every 3k (burning 200 gallons of gas). Her Lexus, which gets around 26 mpg on average, doesn't need it but every 5k or more. Or every - wait for it - ~200 gallons of gas burned. See a pattern?
I have played with this over years and it is VASTLY cheaper to buy Costco or other cheap gas, run it for 1,000s of miles, then add a bottle of Gumout Regain or Techron (each seem to work just as well).
Now interesting, I am now maintaing for an elderly neighbor a 2016 Subaru Outback. He has only 16k on it. I have dose it with PEA and found no difference in performance or fuel consumption like I do with our high mileage cars. So a data point is that a new car with lower miles, which is really the OP's question - it does not seem to matter yet. That said, I'd likely set a pattern of running a new car to 10k, then adding a bottle of Gumout or Techron every 5k after that and monitor performance and MPGs.
Another set of data:
This summer we bought a used 2003 1.7l Civic for a new driver (16 year old). I have only now started fault-testing it and driving it daily to get it ready for him. 1st tank - (w/Techron) - 30mpg. 2nd tank (techron again) - 32 mpg. 3rd tank (no additive) - 36 mpg. Car has 183k miles on it, was very well maintained by a prior mechanic, but clearly the additive had a lot to say about fuel system efficiency and cylinder efficiency.