fuel additives.......any use or waste of money?

[poppa smurf]

should I look at injector cleaners in an additive or simply not bother.

vehicle is running fine, just looking at preventative maintenance.

[blueoval]

Just run 98 in your car every 4th or 5th tank. I find that kept things nice just fine in my old au.

[xa_jg66]

In the dealership world we used to call them "wallet flushers" haha

That said, if you did have moisture in your tank they can assist with burning it off.

[Maka]

Like what Shav says Poppa, but if you want to try something go with any full fuel system cleaner product (not just injectors) with p.e.a in it, ie redline, techron or maybe nulon (grey bottle).

cheers, Maka

[poppa smurf]

not really wanting to "try something" just wondering if they are any good as a preventative,......so far what has been said backs up my thoughts.

[Rodge]

Waste of time mate unless as mentioned you suspect there's some residual water in the tank. I sometimes use a diesel fuel treatment in my boat after its been sitting on the marina all winter gathering condensation in the diesel tank, never bother in our cars.

[GQ_Smooth]

They work to a certain point, they get rid of minor deposits on injectors / fuel systems, however if you are experiencing issues, a proper removal of the injectors and carbon clean is the only option.

We are a Valvoline distributor so it doesn't cost me much to purchase them for myself. I put a bottle through every 6 months in both cars. Since I've been doing it (last 5 years) haven't had any fuel system / injector issues. This may have more to do with the fact they are better made now than they were in the 90's not sure, as I previously had injectors issues in my previous cars.

You shouldn't need to pay more the $15 retail per injector bottle. There are worse things you can throw your money away on if it doesn't work.

[Pepscobra]

When I do a track day, I add a bottle of the Nulon Octane Booster to the tank of fuel, just for the hell of it.

[kempy311]

Waste of time and money.

[janddbone]

Save the dollars and rebuild/replace the injectors when required.

[Maka]

[QUOTE=GQ_Smooth;4894365]They work to a certain point, they get rid of minor deposits on injectors / fuel systems, however if you are experiencing issues, a proper removal of the injectors and carbon clean is the only option.

Thats my opinion too. It cleaned the fuel sender contacts (sulphur deposits) in my petrol tank, (slow fuel gauge)

cheers, Maka

[black13]

[QUOTE=Pepscobra;4894367]When I do a track day, I add a bottle of the

Nulon Octane Booster to the tank of fuel, just for the hell of it.[/QUOTE

just dont try this

sorry if its a repost, its now 161 pages long

http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226570

[blueprinted_xr]

injector cleaner solved an idle issue I had on my EL XR6, ill use it twice a year, sooner if the idle issue returns, and the GT is always on shell v power 98 and never sees any extra injector cleaner.

Never herd of engines getting worse with injector cleaner, but there are a few positive stories around. Again in saying that, I bought this rock of my son for $20 to keep bears away, so far since ive had this rock, I haven't seen a bear! (simpsons reference for those who don't understand)

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by blueprinted_xr

injector cleaner solved an idle issue I had on my EL XR6, ill use it twice a year, sooner if the idle issue returns, and the GT is always on shell v power 98 and never sees any extra injector cleaner.

Never herd of engines getting worse with injector cleaner, but there are a few positive stories around. Again in saying that, I bought this rock of my son for $20 to keep bears away, so far since ive had this rock, I haven't seen a bear! (simpsons reference for those who don't understand)

Blueprint, i want to BUY your bear repellent rock for $100, one cannot be too careful with all the bears around nowadays

[blueprinted_xr]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

Blueprint, i want to BUY your bear repellent rock for $100, one cannot be too careful with all the bears around nowadays

Only if I can trade you this delicious door stop for your crummy old Danish...


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[Yellow_Festiva]

I put a bottle of cleaner in every 10k with premium in the Festiva as well as a flush prior to oil changes. Car ran like new after 10years and over 200k km of driving. Looking into engine it was clean as the day I bought it.

Could be coincidence! For the small cost I will keep using cleaners / flushes.

[the_scotsman]

I run nothing but 98 so hopefully my fuel system is staying clean...

[kempy311]

Originally Posted by blueprinted_xr

injector cleaner solved an idle issue I had on my EL XR6, ill use it twice a year, sooner if the idle issue returns, and the GT is always on shell v power 98 and never sees any extra injector cleaner.

Never herd of engines getting worse with injector cleaner, but there are a few positive stories around. Again in saying that, I bought this rock of my son for $20 to keep bears away, so far since ive had this rock, I haven't seen a bear! (simpsons reference for those who don't understand)

Its funny you say that my brother put some in his tank on a xg then drove 200kms to get home all he could do was 40 as it blocked all the filters.

[blueprinted_xr]

Originally Posted by kempy311

Its funny you say that my brother put some in his tank on a xg then drove 200kms to get home all he could do was 40 as it blocked all the filters.

Perhaps it worked too well then and released too much crap in the system? Can't see how the additive itself blocked the filters. A cheap quick fix like fuel additive will never fix poor maintaince.


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[my_gxl]

Originally Posted by Pepscobra

When I do a track day, I add a bottle of the Nulon Octane Booster to the tank of fuel, just for the hell of it.

I did that once, and it turned my iridium plugs purple, which reduced their performance. If its tuned for 98, then just use that and nothing else.

If you are worried about moisture in the petrol tank, 250ml of methylated spirits in a full tank. It will absorb the moisture, as its ethanol, and then help it burn/pass out of the tank without affecting the engine at all.

[poppa smurf]

I have heard of the blocked filter scenario.

I'm not worried about moisture or anything else in the tank nor injectors, it is running spiffy, I'm just doing a pretrip and looking at what "may" be needed.

while we are yakking, what is the life of a serpentine belt, cant find anywhere on my service records where it has been changed but I assume, seeing as to how the vehicle has done 135,000 and serviced regularly by dealers, that it would have been changed by now?

[steve.zissou]

not really a fuel adititve but if you want to clean your intake pathways, lookup seafoam - that stuff works - but i cant find it in AUS.

Snuck a bottle home once from the US and used it on an old LS400 lexus, cleaned the valves and throttle body very well indeed.

[GRANT ED]

I'm pretty sure in the manual for my territory it says not to use any fuel or engine additives. If Ford says no then ill listen to them.

[the_scotsman]

Originally Posted by GRANT ED

I'm pretty sure in the manual for my territory it says not to use any fuel or engine additives. If Ford says no then ill listen to them.

Ford also say the ZF doesn't need serviced....

[mik]

Originally Posted by blueprinted_xr

injector cleaner solved an idle issue I had on my EL XR6, ill use it twice a year, sooner if the idle issue returns, and the GT is always on shell v power 98 and never sees any extra injector cleaner.

Never heard of engines getting worse with injector cleaner, but there are a few positive stories around. Again in saying that, I bought this rock of my son for $20 to keep bears away, so far since ive had this rock, I haven't seen a bear! (simpsons reference for those who don't understand)

I had a similar thing that occurred overnight and fuel system cleaner fixed the problem surprisingly quickly, i think it was leaky injector, i could see my fuel pressure was down from the norm as i have a gauge on the fuel rail(best thing i ever did !), so for me i think an annual dose of the stuff will be on the menu from now on,........ so no i don't think it is a waste of money at all.

[deesun]

Serpentine belts dont need to be changed like a timing belt so the dealer would check it and if it looks worn then they would change it. The usual teltale signs of squealing etc would warn of impending disaster though.

[CAMS290]

Injector cleaners/Fuel additives will shorten the life of your O2 sensors, been there done that.

[XBROO]

I have used them in the past, but I can't really say if they have worked or not. I heard fuel doctor is good stuff, but haven't tried it.

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by deesun

Serpentine belts dont need to be changed like a timing belt so the dealer would check it and if it looks worn then they would change it. The usual teltale signs of squealing etc would warn of impending disaster though.

Agreed however, I had my Ford serviced BA's serpentine belt simply break while reversing out the driveway at around 130,000k's, no squealing or anything. Picked it up off the road and it didn't have any tell tale's on it neither.

Around those k's, if I was going on a country trip, I'd grab one as a spare just in case.

I see fuel additives as snake oil, my VW trained mechanic (mate) gets it for free and doesn't even use it, offering it to me for free as well.

[poppa smurf]

Originally Posted by Kieron

Agreed however, I had my Ford serviced BA's serpentine belt simply break while reversing out the driveway at around 130,000k's, no squealing or anything. Picked it up off the road and it didn't have any tell tale's on it neither.

Around those k's, if I was going on a country trip, I'd grab one as a spare just in case.

yep! I think I will grab a spare.