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- HOTNESS UNHOT
Advance Auto Parts has the 20-ounce Chevron Techron Concentrate Fuel System Cleaner (65740) for $6.50 with free in-store pickup or $9 shipping to home. Designed for carbureted or fuel-injected spark ignition engines, use every 3,000 miles to keep the fuel system clean. Lots of great Amazon reviews on this stuff.
$6.50
Retail: $13
I bought a case of this stuff and used it religiously. The result? My wallet was thinner.
Such a lucrative scam. If car manufactures could boost mileage and performance with a simple additive, they'd sell it themselves.
It isn't for boosting mileage as much as cleaning. If gas sits around varnish forms in it and that leaves deposits which can cause problems in areas like your fuel injectors. If the deposits aren't too bad, your ECM can just increase the injector duty cycle to keep the right amount of fuel/air ratio, until the deposits are bad enough it decreases max fuel delivery possible and/or they don't work freely anymore at which point you'll have to either have the injectors themselves cleaned or replaced.
It's not the type of product that needs to be used often, but the lower the rate you burn through a tank of gas, the more varnish builds up and the more it'll help.
I dated a girl who's dad builds engines for one of the largest Nascar teams out there, and he SWEARS by this stuff... if there's ANYONE who I'd trust about putting an additive into my gas and engine - it'd be him - so there's something to it. He wouldn't touch any other gas (or oil) additives.
This fuel system cleaner is recommended by KIA in a factory service bulletin to they're dealers.
I'm an old guy who buys used cars and keeps them (almost) forever. I have always used the cheapest gasoline of the manufacturer-recommended octane that I can find because, obviously, it usually all comes from the nearest refinery.I change my oil and filter every 5000-6000 miles because abundant engineering data indicate that, except in very rare circumstances, that's all that is necessary. I do it myself, of course. I never use synthetic oil because it is almost always a waste of money. I never use additional fuel additives because all gasoline contains the additives mandated by Federal law and these are adequate. None of the fuel filters I've replaced have been really dirty. I have never had an engine rebuilt. I have never had an engine wear out. People will do what they want to do but I demand hard engineering data from reputable sources not just "I think".
DEguy, there is hard engineering data from reliable sources that synthetic oil outlasts conventional and leaves fewer deposits. A few years back the cost difference was enough that it might not have been worth it but today, except for the deals with rebates, dino oil at regular price has little if any higher lifespan:cost ratio than synthetic oil.
Also, all gasoline is not the same. Yes it might be made at the same refinery, but then a different additive package may be added, and/or it may be made into E10 by adding alcohol. For example, only Chevron stations add this "Techron" to their gas. While it is true that other brands like Shell may add something equivalent, patents usually keep the additives a little different.
Federal law does not mandate fuel or engine deposit control additives beyond a basic detergent additive, rather emissions related additives. Otherwise it's up to the seller, there are lots of registered gasoline additives they can choose from:
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/registrationfuels/web-gas.htm
Here's some info about Techron from a reputable source, Lew Gibbs, chairman of the SAE Fuels & Lubes Technical Committee and the ASTM Gas and Oxygenated Gas Spec Section:
http://www.max-boost.co.uk/max-boost/internet_articles/Chevron%20Lubricants%20-%20Automotive%20-%20Fuel%20Additives.htm
According to Chevron, if you use a gas with good deposit control ("DC"), this treatment may never be needed, but if you don't it should be used once every 3K miles.
When people take their fuel injectors out and clean them, which obviously works when they see them working well again, what they're usually cleaning them with is essentially a diluted solution of polyether amines like in this concentrated product.
Lastly, here's a list of Top Tier gasoline retailers that meet standards set forth by BMW, General Motors, Honda, and Toyota. There is no good reason why any retailers wouldn't want to be on this list,…
Yes, I assure you that I am aware of the facts and the claims you list. E10 is mandated in my area. Yes, I know that Chevron adds "Techron". Usually it is actually added to the tanker truck. If that tanker is hauling only for delivery to Chevron stations, for instance, the Techron is added to all 11000 gal. Of course, Chevron doesn't tell us HOW MUCH Techron is actually added. Want to take bets on that?
I don't know about what you do with your car, but I don't need my motor oil to "last" more than 5-6000 miles. Perhaps I should worry about those "deposits" that seem to bother you, but, my original comment still applies.
I can also recall my Father's practice of changing the oil (far inferior oils in those days) once a year, if he thought about it. When his cars finally died, their engines were still running well and didn't burn oil excessively. Anyhow, as I said, people will do what they want to do, RELEVANT data aside.
^ According to Chevron they add the amount of Techron to their gas that you'd need, to never need this product if you always use their gas. Shell probably claims something similar too, maybe even Exxon, etc but not all of them do.
While you may not "need" your oil to last more than 6K miles, if it were to last 12K then you've cut in half the # of oil changes when it comes to your time and cleaning up, and filter cost. Just be sure your PCV valve is working well so enough fumes get sucked out to keep the oil from acidifying at an accelerated rate. Even if you don't want to wait twice as long, it may be worth a couple bucks to cut the rate down to 4/5ths as often. I know there are other things I'd rather be doing than changing oil... I just don't trust the kids that garages have doing it these days.
Further, if you like to drive like a bat out of hell, or have a smallish high-reving engine, or live in an area where it's hot in the summer, synthetic oil holds up a lot better.
Today's vehicles are highly tweaked for emission reduction, and run a more precise lean ratio for economy. Deposits matter more now than they did years ago. Now, you may not even pass an emissions test if you have too much injector or intake valve buildup even though the vehicle may (or may not) run as well as the old ones did with it.
For example it can trigger an ECM trouble code which fails the test, and that can also cause the engine to run in open loop mode longer so you get worse fuel economy.
Also, now some of those fancy additives do leave behind residues so it's apples and oranges trying to compare the gas of yesteryear with today's gas... in some ways it's better and in some, worse.
The last time I let the barely pubescent jiffy lubers change my oil, they busted the oil gauge. On the model car i owned then, the gauge was placed so that when busted your oil leaked out onto the road. But because the gauge was broken, I didn't know my oil was leaking until the car got real hot and started making some awful noises. I had to fight with them, but I finally got them to pay for the repairs. Never again for me.
All the gas here is the same. It all comes thru the pipelines from whatever refinery happens to be working. There is nothing U can put into your tank that is powerful 'nuf to do any good without harming something else in the fuel system. Some people will believe anything. If U want to put something in and waste your money, go ahead. Just don't feed me BS re; how great it is. Oh, and I've built/worked on many engines in aircraft, marine installs, and racing cars, including class record holders, too.
Gas is the same, the additives do vary. Also to consider is how often is the gas sitting in the underground tanks, meaning don't go to a gas station often that isn't busy. Per gallon of gasoline how much of that is additives, yes I know its probably impossible to get an answer on this. Also gas pumps have filters. One sign of a pump with a dirty filter is slow fuel flow rate. Finally underground tanks can build up condensation. Once again avoid going to gas stations that don't have a high turnover rate to avoid pumping water into your fuel tank. The fuel system cleaners, I use them about twice a year but eventually it's a good idea to get a professional fuel system cleaning or run SeaFoam. Be sure to do this when it's about time to change your oil. These cleanings will thin out your oil.
Ethanol will build up a varnish, yes it takes longer to build up deposits due to Ethanol being more corrosive but once the vanish sets in then the deposits start to show up. Is Ethanol a good idea, no. Lower energy output per gallon, costs more energy to produce than you get out of it, drives up corn prices, blah, blah.
does this stuff go bad with age? i have several bottles that are 5 years old.