REVscene Automotive Forum - fuel injector cleaners

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I just run Chevron gas when I can, then a bottle of Techron every few oil changes.

If your seeing areal %25 improvment in mileage your cars musta ran like shit before hand

Quote:

Originally Posted by dared3vil0 (Post 8191687)

Gab, How much do you use? (2 stroke oil)

One quart per tank. Usually fill up at half tank'ish so i generally just eyeball about half each time I fill up.

Hey Dangonay, just a quick question, do u think Toyota dealership would have actually used a motorvac machine when they charge $120+ for a fuel system cleaning? Or it's basically a $10 bottle in the tank with $110 labor ?
I didn't really pay attention to that cause it was my company car! But since u brought that up....

Quote:

Originally Posted by dangonay (Post 8191752)

Waste of money. The only fuel injection cleaning that can give results is something like a Motorvac. For those who don't know what that is, it's a fuel injection flush machine. You dis-connect your engine from your fuel tank and connect it to the flush machine. Your engine runs on the fuel/cleaner mixture in the machine instead of gas in your tank. The machine has its own fuel pump/filter and it "replaces" your vehicles gas tank/fuel pump.

So instead of diluting your bottle of cleaner in a tank of gas, you're running a concentrated mixture from the flush machine. The cleaner used in a Motorvac is very strong and I've seen it eat/melt components if left for too long. It's not something that you should put in your gas tank for this reason. This is why it actually cleans injectors - because it's strong. When your flush is finished you connect your engine back to your gas tank and the "fresh" gas gets rid of the last traces of the cleaner so you don't have to worry about it contaminating your tank and damaging something later on.

That said, even this type of machine would never give anyone a 25% increase in mileage. I have seen noticeable and measurable improvements, but they are still minor.

The main reason I don't buy these 10% or 25% claims is because of how your fuelinjection system works (specifically the ECU). If your injectors are so badly plugged that your mileage goes down by that much then you're going to get a Check Engine Light with faults for things like fuel trim or misfires. If your engine runs ok, and there's no CEL on, then your injectors are ok. Maybe not perfect, but within spec. And since your ECU automatically adjusts itself over time to compensate for injectors, fuel pressure or other things that change, then "cleaning" them isn't going to make much if a difference.
Posted via RS Mobile

^ I'd say they probably hooked up a machine. $120 is actually a good price as most places I know charge $150 and up. However, your car may have been "easy" to hook up so that's why they charged a little less.

Been getting some rough idle lately and that's after I replaced my air filters and cleaned the MAFs. Added a 155ml bottle of Lucas injector cleaner yesterday at a fill up. Will report back if things get better.

Agreed, Motorvac is the best way to go but for DIY, I'd use the 3M system.

Pricewise, I know my shop was charging over $100, 10 years ago, so I'd double check with the service advisor to see what their fuel service includes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by broken_arrow (Post 8192569)

Your car is relatively new'ish. I won't rule out your fuel injectors being dirty or clogged but even then...can't see it being a possibility.

Quote:

Originally Posted by broken_arrow (Post 8192569)

You didn't get gas in the US, did you? We've been seeing a lot of new BMW's with rough running issues and traced the problems to US gas. A lot of stations are cheating by putting too much ethanol in their gas and not telling people. We had one guy come back and after testing his fuel he had over 50% alcohol. Also seen drivers with new M5's that had 15-20%. That's way too much and can cause all sorts of issues. I don't care how cheap gas is - I'm not going to risk ending up with a half tank of alcohol rotting my fuel lines or corroding my pump. There's a reason most new cars say max 10% - it's not good for many fuel system components. Vehicles that are flex-fuel (or E85) use materials that can handle the higher content.
Posted via RS Mobile

Hey question, Not related to BMW's but if one has a "flex fuel" capable vehicle, will it be "bad" for it long term to run US gas which is quite high in ethanol?

I'm in for any additive or gas saving teqniques. I get roughly 130km per 40 Liter fill.

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Originally Posted by girlcrazy_420 (Post 8194899)

I'm in for any additive or gas saving teqniques. I get roughly 130km per 40 Liter fill.

wtf? Do you drive a Veyron? My evo gets crap mileage but even then its not 3.25km/L at your rate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by girlcrazy_420 (Post 8194899)

I'm in for any additive or gas saving teqniques. I get roughly 130km per 40 Liter fill.

What the eff?

You mean miles?
Still 130 miles is only 210km... :suspicious:

My car is not that new (2008) and it has 80,000 kms on it.

I did notice that my car runs worse on US fuel. The only time I fill up in the US is when I go to Seattle though.. I like Chevron 94 the most, but Shell 91 does just fine (plus I get air miles). I knew that the Americans are screwing around with their gas!:troll: