Do gas additives actually work?

[Eli]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: Acanthus
I can attest to Marvels Mystery Oil being really good stuff, i use it once every 6 months or so.

One of the better oil additives out there. For a fuel system cleaner Lucas Fuel Cleaner cannot be beat. I put it in the tank with every oil change and it makes a BIG difference. Better mileage, smoother engine, etc....

Their Oil Stabilizer is probably the best oil additive around.

I was introduced to their products by a buddy of mine who builds racing engines. He has used their stuff for years and swear by them.

All oil additives are garbage. Period.

All it does is upset the balance that the oil manufacturer has tried so hard to achieve.

You just have no idea how the chemicals in the additive are going to mix with the chemicals in the oil, and effect the overall product.

The oil manufacturer knows best. If it really made oil better, they would already be putting it in it.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
most of the stuff is crap and does nothing. But Marvels Mistery Oil, and Sea Foam Motor Treatment are amazing things. They can fix a huge array of problems.

_Nothing_ that you pour into a tank or into your oil will "fix" any problem. At most they can clean out a lightly contaminated injector.

ZV

 

[heat23]

I just filled up gas from chevron so does that mean I dont need to put any additive? In a tank of gas how much techron is in there?

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
I can attest to Marvels Mystery Oil being really good stuff, i use it once every 6 months or so.

and it does what for you?

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: heat23
I just filled up gas from chevron so does that mean I dont need to put any additive? In a tank of gas how much techron is in there?

all gas has additives in it.

 

[RU482]

A cup of sugar works wonders in your gas tank

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: virtueixi
Sea foam ROCKS!

Yes, and if you want to piss off your neighbors, it is definatly one way to do it. Man that was a big cloud of smoke that came out of my car when i used it.

 

[shiner]

Originally posted by: TechnoKid

Originally posted by: shinerburke


Their Oil Stabilizer is probably the best oil additive around.

This is one product I would not use. BITOG
I wouldn't want foamy gear oil protecting my differential gears.

I've seen that.....interesting....I still have to go with what my buddy that builds racing engines says....he builds them for oher people but also races himself and tears his engines down after every 3 races. He has been using Lucas for years and says that before he started using it his engines would be a mess(my words not his) inside and that since adding the Lucas to his oil that has not been the case.

 

[shiner]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: Acanthus
I can attest to Marvels Mystery Oil being really good stuff, i use it once every 6 months or so.

One of the better oil additives out there. For a fuel system cleaner Lucas Fuel Cleaner cannot be beat. I put it in the tank with every oil change and it makes a BIG difference. Better mileage, smoother engine, etc....

Their Oil Stabilizer is probably the best oil additive around.

I was introduced to their products by a buddy of mine who builds racing engines. He has used their stuff for years and swear by them.

All oil additives are garbage. Period.

All it does is upset the balance that the oil manufacturer has tried so hard to achieve.

You just have no idea how the chemicals in the additive are going to mix with the chemicals in the oil, and effect the overall product.

The oil manufacturer knows best. If it really made oil better, they would already be putting it in it.

Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the brand. The major players like Pennzoil, Castrol, etc....that is probably the case. Although I have read about MAJOR variances in the brands depending on where they were made...that is one of the reasons people are nuts for the German Castrol right now....anyway....I.....damn.....forgot my point...hate it when the dog interrupts me when I'm typing......errr...maybe I'll get my train of thought back here in a minute.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech

Another good system cleaner is BG44k, a lot stronger than techron, but harder to come by than redline.

The BG products 44K is some great stuff. I've been using this product for several years now - and it does an excellent job of cleaning the fuel system and injectors. However, the last bottle I bought to treat one tank of gas was $25.00.

I can personally attest that BG products are very good. The dealership I worked for went through several different types of cleaners, and ended up with BG. They even did a better job then the Ford injector cleaner.
I've heard that Wynns makes some good stuff....some of the dealerships I call on now use their stuff and the techs say they're comparable to BG.

As far as putting something in your tank harming anything electrical (injector wiring), I don't see how that's possible.
I would definitely stay away from the el cheapo crap that places like Auto Zone or Pep Boys sells.

A word about dirty injectors on newer cars:
As a general rule, injectors really don't get clogged up too much anymore. A couple of reasons why, the main ones being better pintle designs (that self-clean) and detergents in all grades of gas now.
In the past, when places like Amoco used to advertise that using a tank of premium once a month could help your car run better, that was true....because premium used to be the only gas that had any detergent additives in it. The government stepped in and made the oil companies put the same detergents in all 3 grades, so now everyone uses gas that helps keep their fuel systems clean.
What additives really help nowadays is clean carbon deposits on the backs of the intake valve and combustion chambers.
I'm not going into a long discertation about what driveability problems carbon on the valves, etc. can cause, but you can rest assured that they most certainly exist, but nowhere near as bad as even 5-6 years ago.