fuel injection cleaners

B

BigAl3

New member
so as i was in k-mart today (what's up with all these out of control kids these days?:rolleyes: ) and was browsing the auto section and stumbled across the fuel injection cleaners (chevron, stp, etc...) and almost purchased some. my question is... does anyone use it and what brand? i have not used it once (close to 20,000 miles) and am wondering if it's even worth it (we care some much about the outer and inner appearance of our vehicles, but we have yet to forget the most important part... the engine!). your opinion(s) please! :xyxthumbs
 
I do use a periodic treatment of Chevron Techron -- I've found most others don't do much.



I also (flame suit on) use the Z-Max system once in awhile. I find that it actually DOES improve gas mileage, strangely enough.
 
BG 44K :xyxthumbs



A friend of mine is a tech. for Infiniti, and they use BG products exclusively.



I use 44k every 3,000 miles and get a full induction service (using BG products) every 10,000 miles.
 
For someone that used to bash www.bobistheoilguy.com on a regular basis, I find myself recommending the site quite often lately :D I have been reading the forums there quite a bit since I first learned of the new API GF-4 specs for oils. They also have a forum there dedicated to additives (oil and gas). There are quite a few threads there on Techron and several other popular additives. Definitely worth a read.



http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=5;DaysPrune=1000



Another fuel system cleaner you might consider is FP60 from Lube Control. I haven't been running it long enough to make a sound judgement but, it comes highly recommend.



http://www.lubecontrol.com/fuel.htm
 
imacarnut: I have used STP and Penzoil in the past and found they work well. I also buy the house brand of Canadian Tire's injector cleaner and put it in every time the oil is changed (3000 miles) and find it does work. Cars pass emissions tests everytime and run great. It could just be all the other maintenance but hey for a few dollars it's a good investment.



JDookie - I'm wondering why a audio manufacturer would need injector treatment? ie: Infinity Did you mean Infiniti? That would make more sense. Sorry couldn't resist.
 
Ben Kenobi said:
JDookie - I'm wondering why a audio manufacturer would need injector treatment? ie: Infinity Did you mean Infiniti? That would make more sense. Sorry couldn't resist.
Click to expand...



LOL, oops, you got me! Unless Infinity Kappas have undergone an extremely weird and awesome upgrade, I meant to say Infiniti. Sorry about that. :xyxthumbs
 
I think gas/fuel injector treatments are really oversold. I used to use them but stopped and really find them unnecessary. It's not like the old carburetor days when varnish would get all over everything and stick stuff up. Maybe if you use off-brand gas (although I doubt this makes much difference, either). Chevron Techron was patented at one point, IIRC, and GM used to sell it with their name on it; Techron was what I used back when I used something.
 
I am amazed at what Techron can do. I had been using it because I was told by a company mechanic that it will help clean my injectors. I was a dummy and used Shell gas for a couple years, and back then they had a formulation problem that caused excess carbon buildup. Anyhow, techron cured it and I have used it ever since and it really makes a difference. Don't buy the Pro Guard which is what you see at Kmart and Walmart and stuff, it's a diluted Techron substitute. I think the only place to get Techron full strenth is at a Chevron gas station.
 
Where I live, there is one supplier of gasoline and all of the local gas companies buy from this one fuel company, and then add their additives to it later. We have fueling stations that are owned by this *supplier* and it's cheaper per gallon than going to one of the big name stations, but the gas itself doesn't contain any added cleaners. After about 3k-5k miles, there is a noticeable difference in performance and fuel mileage from using this cheaper non-additive containing gas, and a fuel system cleaning is required.



You can see evidence of the increased contaminents by removing the upper intake manifold of an engine and actually looking at how dirty the intake runners are in the heads. There is a brownish buildup all along the runners that isn't as bad when a higher grade fuel is used. Don't get me wrong, there is always going to be a kind of *stain* in the heads, but there's just more of it when comparing the two.



Being around mechanics all my life, and managing a speed shop a few years ago brought this to my attention, and I never bought that particular brand gas again.



Using these types of off-brand fuels isn't that bad if you use a good additive every other tank of fuel, and change your fuel filter regularly, but when you are using all high grade fuels it isn't nearly as necessary, just preventetive.



Something else that's really cool is looking inside an engine before and after an induction service. Absolutely amazing. It goes from looking all brown, dirty, and ugly to like brand new and shiny. At least before and after the BG process, that is, since this is what I am referring to.
 
I've *heard* that BP (British Petro.) is *supposed* to have the best and cleanest fuel, but I haven't seen any hard data to prove this.
 
JDookie said:
I've *heard* that BP (British Petro.) is *supposed* to have the best and cleanest fuel, but I haven't seen any hard data to prove this.
Click to expand...



Well, they are Amoco, which was always supposed to have the best/cleanest/most detergent gas.
 
I didn't know that, and I've heard that too about Amoco. Especially from the *old timers* ;) that raced cars in the 60's. They always say Amoco had the only "white" gas, which was supposed to be better than everything else.
 
I use 3oz of FP60 every full tank. You get 42 full tanks treated (15gal, mine is 13 so it is a bit stronger than recommended) for $26. I bought this after reading about it at the aforementioned bobistheoilguy.com.
 
I use Techron, which was recommended by the manufacturer of a car I used to own.



As far as gasoline is concerned. Around here, and I suspect it is the same in most of the country, gasoline comes through a pipeline. They ship regular unleaded, premium unleaded, diesel, aviation fuel, and Amoco Ultimate. The bulk distributors take a shipment at alotted times. They don't know or care which refinery it comes from. They add their company specific additivies to the generic gas when it's dispensed to the trucks. They also sell unbranded gas with generic additives.



So the difference is the additives. The only exception is Amoco Ultimate which is shipped as separately.
 
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