Fuel system treatments

Check your intermediate shaft #2. It's the u joint coming from the steering wheel going to the rack.

 

What he said about PEA. A high concentration is what helps clean the injectors and system. Redline's S1 Fuel System Cleaner is highly concentrated with PEA. Proven and even part of Ferrari regular service internals due to poor gas quality here, versus in Europe/Japan.

As Clearwater Bill said, "restore" is the best word. As it helps bring the functionality of the components back to their original efficiency.

There is poor man's way of cleaning injectors with brake-clean and a battery. Pretty cool. It can be found on YouTube.

Next would be an untrasonic bath. Break up any build ups from deposites. Had this done at Kozmic for my ID1300 injectors. The worst was flowing 5% less than the best. Not good for performance.

 

Your responses so far may as well have been memes, you haven't said anything remotely constructive to support what you're saying.

Not that I expect to you actually read this, but...

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a4848/sponsored-content-fuell-additives-reality-vs-fiction/

...all you have to do is search. I couldn't find ONE article saying that fuel additives are a waste of money or "snake oil".

Both are Top Tier stations and have meet a certain level of requirements to earn the ability to advertise that, as for which is the better of the two, I don't know.

http://www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/

Personally I try to fill up at 76 whenever I can, if I have to tighten my spending belt then I'll fill up at Arco since they more recently started advertising Top Tier fuel and are considerably cheaper than other stations. I have to use 91 so I'm a little more aware of gas prices than most, lol.

There was a member on here not too long ago that said she worked for a testing facility and that some stations will "just barely" do what they have to do to meet the requirements, while others go above and beyond. I'm sure that's reflected in the overall cost of what it takes to fill up at each station.

 

@tacoma16 was telling me something about Seafoam being corrosive/somehow bad for the engine.... I believe... I've done 0 hours of research

 

If you're using it through a vacuum line or throttle body and you do it incorrectly, then yeah it could be real bad lol. They make a spray version of it now I think that's safer to use that way.

 

I've been using the V-Power in my truck since I've bought it. I've always prefered Shell over other gas brands. One of my previous cars had a modified ECU, and would throw an engine light if I went to a no-name gas station.

 

Yeah... Liquids don't exactly compress nicely.... From the impression that I got from him it was more of a actually corrosive element to it being in the engine. He mentioned for me to do a search or 2....never really got around to it.

 

Yeah, I won't fill up at a no-name station unless I absolutely have no choice. It's funny to me that some people are so adamant that "gas is gas" despite any hard evidence or proof otherwise. But at the end of the day, their car their choice.
As a kid I filled up at whatever station was near me and had the cheapest gas, I only recall one time where I filled up at a no-name gas station and had an immediate issue (CEL) with my car, and that station closed not too long after that if I remember right. I think enough people were affected by it that they finally got shut down. In all honesty most people probably won't keep their vehicle long enough to see the long term effects of using mediocre fuel, so it probably doesn't matter either way. I intend to keep my truck until the wheels fall off so I try to be more aware of what I fill up my tank with 1-2 times a week

 

Neither. Waste of money.

 

I bet people who believe fuel treatments are good, also fell for the whole slick50 oil scam

 

Some guy on YouTube SeaFoamed his Honda, then bore scoped the cylinders. I think he did it twice. I wasn't sold either time.

If your injectors are so gummed up that they are affecting performance, you would probably be better off replacing them.

 

It's not just injectors though. Seafoam goes in your oil also. Could be placebo but it seems to come out dirtier when I pour half a can into my oil and run it for a couple hundred km. I also have used it into the vacuum line.

 

Sorry, but gas is gas. Its the big "secret" of the petrol industry, but pretty much that what you get at anyone station is the same as you would get down the road. Don't believe me? (that is your right), well think of the fact that the large tankers which deliver gas to the stations from the terminals are unmarked. In a regional areas, all tankers fill up at the same, or a limited number of tank farms. The secret cleaning agent is then supposed to be added to that load to make it a proprietary formula. That means that the truck with the "special" Shell gas is also delivering right down the road to the cheapo station. Yes, it may be possible that the shell station gets first delivery and allegedly the highest percentage of the "secret formula additive", but in reality when that tanker makes another pickup there is some of that shell secret additive still in the tank mixing with the chevron secret additive, mixing with the exxon additve, etc. as the tanker picks up new loads. The cheapo gas station gets essentially the same mix as you pay at the name brand station.
Now, anecdotal stories are worthless, but people tend to believe them, so I can tell you that in a half century of driving I have had exactly one issue in one car related to gas. In about 1979 I had a German built Opel which had a clogged idle jet which required me to clean and rebuild the carburetor. Since I have always bought the cheap gas, that is my story about the uselessness of name brand gas.
If you really feel you need to use a fuel cleaner, buy a can every 10k or so at the auto parts store and dump it in. Its much cheaper, and may actually work.
Remember, State agencies check for Octane rating, not secret additives. You can believe the petrol companies if you want, its your money

 

I'm assuming most people here are using this as preventative maintenence, to avoid the problem in the first place.

 

This topic is like arguing religion, lol. Your truck your money, do what tickles your fancy.

 

For the most part, gasoline is gasoline. Not sure what kind of evidence you want, but there are only few places where local stations can purchase directly from a refinery terminal. The vast majority of gasoline is put into a pipeline to a distribution terminal which is connected to multiple refineries, and from which many retail stations can purchase. The product from many refineries is commingled when it reaches the tanks at the local terminal.

Gasoline is considered "fungible." Refineries blend it to the local region specification and put it in a pipeline. They take the same volume out of pipeline system, but not the same physical gasoline. So the gasoline you put in your tank at a Chevron station, for example, could have been made by any refinery and, in fact, is probably a blend of gasoline made at more than one refinery.

What differentiates "brand name" gasoline from non-brand is the additives added at the local terminal. When a truck loads for a Chevron station, a Chevron additive such as Techron is added while the delivery truck is being loaded at the terminal. The additive is the only thing that differentiates gasoline as Chevron, vs BP vs Costco, Exxon, etc.

Stations, however, are not stations. Some stations maintain their tanks and equipment better than others, replace filters, drain water, etc. I am not brand sensitive, but do look for stations that at least appear to maintain the station. We cannot know how well they maintain the storage tanks, or how often they change filters, but if the station is dirty and run down looking, it might be an indicator.

 

This makes sense. Beat me to it.
From reddit:
JotnarSurt
•
3y
I think a lot of people are missing the bigger picture here. The quality of gasoline depends more on the station you're buying it from than the brand. Straight out of the tanker you're really not going to see a difference from one to the other.

The quality of the station, its tanks, and pumps, dictate the quality of fuel that makes its way to your tank.

Station: Is it privately owned or a chain? Is it branded or unbranded gasoline? Unbranded privately owned stations are going to lack a lot of the resources and support to correctly maintain their pumps and tanks. Even a branded station is only going to have to worry about the physical appearance of their pumps/building, nothing mechanical. The foot traffic in a station is also something to keep an eye on. How often do you see cars filling up? When is the last time you saw a tanker drop fuel? The gasoline in those tanks could be the same load that was dropped off months ago.

Tanks: Are they metal or plastic? If they're metal then the station is older. Completely metal tanks are prone to rusting, which is why they aren't used much in the industry any more. Rust accumulates in the bottom of the tanks, along with water and other nasties. This stuff get disturbed and swirled around whenever fuel is dropped and (depending on tank size) can take a long time to settle back down. Larger chains have an acceptable limit for water and sediments in their tanks, if it surpasses that level then its removed. Mom&Pop shops, not so much.

Pumps: When was the last time the filters were changed? Are they running the correct type of filters or even any filters at all? These filters are what traps the sediments mentioned earlier, without them your car is going to get all that tasty crap swirly around in those tanks.

People like to believe that gas stations are highly regulated but they're really not (in OH anyway). No outside company, excluding Weights and Measures, comes out to physically inspect anything. A good rule of thumb, if the station looks like a piece of crap then their tanks and pumps are probably pieces of crap as well.

Get your gas from a newer, large chain station with high foot traffic. They're going to have the best quality gasoline regardless of brand.

 

I had an 85 Mustang GT that was carbureted. Was a garage queen and didn't drive it much. I would take it out and on the "tip in"of the accelerator it would slightly hesitate. Put some Seafoam in the tank and it cleared it right up.Had a 91 GSX that was pinging on hard acceleration. Did the treatment through a vacumn line and went a step further. Pulled the plugs and put Seafoam directly into the cylinders,let that sit there for a day then cranked it over to remove Seafoam. Tops of pistons were very clean,not perfect but very clean. Hell I had a female coworker who couldn't get her snowblower started. I told her to Seafoam it. She laughed and thought I was joking,never heard of it. After a treatment she got it started. I like the stuff,and at under $7 a can it sure as hell ain't gonna break my wallet.

 

I read something on here a really long time ago where it mentioned how certain "cleaners" were abrasive or something like that. Some cleaners are better than others, and brands like seafoam were not as good as others. Again, just reading, and didn't really look into it myself.