gochan

comes in a bottle that you throw into your empty petro tank. does anyone use it? what's everyone's 2 cents on this product?

leeherman

I don't know specifically about the Chevron product, but MOST DYI fuel injector cleaners are designed to be put into a FULL tank of gas.

Personally, I wouldn't bother using it on such a new car. Stick with a quality brand of gas, don't let the tank go too low (I prefer no less than 1/4 - 1/3 tank), and try not to stop at a station while they're getting a delivery because sediment in THEIR tanks get stirred up and can end up in YOUR tank.

Hope this helps!

eaRL

This stuff works great. I used it in my old 94 Civic CX and it would improve my gas mileage by 10%. An extra 30-50 miles per tank in a ten gallon tank. The gains reduced as it got older. It's probably a waste to add any fuel additives in a brand new car, though. Also, the directions on the bottle recommend putting it in the tank when it is almost empty like you stated.

BTW, if you get 93 octane gas at a Chevron station it already has Techron in it. So, if you fill up with 93 octane Chevron you get pretty much the same effect.

I've been using the new Shell 93 octane gasoline for about 3 months now and it has improved my gas mileage by 10%. I keep a log of the number of miles driven to number of gallons pumped when I fill up the tank.

need4spd

I know many mechanics that say it is the best stuff on the market, I would not use it on the 04 TL just yet unless you had over 20k miles or so, just a guess.

BigBluu

doesn't all grades of chevron have techron in it?

bnandreu

I've been using the new Shell 93 as well and seems to be pretty good. I haven't noticed a considerable mpg improvement but I'll keep checking on it.

Road Rage

All is revealed when you search for The RR Journals
http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...ht=RR+Journals

Most fuels do not contain the necessary detergents, and have been lowering the amounts for years. Chevron Supreme has retained decent levels, and now Shell is making a big deal of complying with what they should provide anyway. Read what I posted and see for yourself which brands are BS and which are good.

fla-tls

Road Rage, what do you think of STP complete fuel system cleaner (the one in the silver bottle). I have been using that for years ever since I saw a motor trend article in the mid 90's review fuel cleaners. They concluded that Techron was the best, but also indicated that the patented active ingredient in Techron (Polyether Amines) was also in STP complete. It was also cheaper...

Any thoughts?

cullal

Roadrage,

I know this thread is about fuel system cleaners, but while we are on the subject of "additives", what are your thoughts on the STP range of products - specifically the "Oil Treatment". Would using this help the TL in any way?

synoil

Don't put ANYTHING in your oil unless you think your smarter than the Tribologist's
who originally blended the oil are. These are REAL smart folks who blend lubricants
for given price and performance points. The oil you buy has everything in it already
that you need. Adding more to it dilutes the oil more and often unsets the balance
of additives and how they are supposed to perform. Should you actually ever have
a lubrication related failure (rare) you would be out of luck trying to get the oil company
to pay for damages.

Just use quality oil. Remember that the current spec of SL on gasoline engine oils is a
minimum standard and the many products out there exceed these specs.
Amsoil, Mobil 1 and others make excellent products. I would use at least a synblend
like the Ford oil mentioned above or really rather go to pure synthetic.

I will use at my first change the Amsoil 0W-30 with an Amsoil filter.

I saw a comment on a 10W-30 being better than a 5W-30. Not necessarily true.
The 5W-30 will pump better when the oil is cold to critical engine parts than a 10W-30.
They both offer 30wt protection when hot.

Craig

Chuck

Slick 50 !! It's the best stuff. Just kidding. It takes 1,700 degrees or something like that to bond teflon to metal. How does that happen when it's just floating around in the oil? And if the product has just a spec of teflon in it, they can advertise it as teflon. We have teflon everything now, even teflon toilet boil cleaner. Anyway, I'm ranting.
Anyone use VP Fuels Fuel Injector Cleaner? I've heard that it's really good.

Road Rage

OMIGOD NO!!! STP used to be just a huge honkin hunk of the polymeric thickeners used to improve the viscosity range of light oils like 5w to be acceptable at higher temps - the result is, for example, a 5w30 Never put oil addtives like this in your car.

Who knows what it is today, but unless you were able to fuind me an analysis of its components, i would not recommend any additive. Schaeffer's makes some good ones, esp for racing.

The only additive I recommend is for a limited reason: if you like to change your factory fill before the MiD says so (like 1000 miles), you w ll need to replace the additives that Honda puts in its cars at the factory - high in moly, and ZDP.

I have already posted the analyses links here, but in short, the closest aftermarket additive I found to Honda's original fill is Valvoline MaxLife Engine Protector, which can safely be added to any engine. It is really overkill if you are using a quality oil, but if you plan to race your car, it is like an enema for a dead man - may not help, but it couldn't hurt!

Road Rage

Well first, if the amine were patented, then STP could only use it under license, which makes no sense. I doubt it is patented - it would be like trying to patent phosphorous. Techron and Red Line and Regabe are expensive because they use quality ingredients.

I will see what i can find on STP Complete, however, in the interest of due diligence. *** I could not find anything on STP Complete, but unless it is priced near the others, I doubt it has the same quality or quantity as the best. The other thing is quantity - MT might have been correct in saying that STP Com-p has amines, but it could be a trace amount - they could just be repeating what some marketing guy told them.

Found the post useful, didya?

fla-tls

You have always been "The Man" Roadrage - ever since I first started reading your posts years ago.

It's good to have you back!

Road Rage

Not The Man, just a man, with perhaps a bit more facts organized in a more useful manner than a few others.

But that is a very nice sentiment and I thank you - it feels good to be back in "The Family" again, although my pals over at s2ki.com are getting jealous, and there are "where are you RR when we need you!?" posts showing up. And that little roadster in the garage needs a good romp, so I shall drop the top and do a few power slides tomorrow. Whoopee!

Where the TL's life ends (6800), the S2000's is just getting interesting (VTEC-land).

fla-tls

You're welcome for the compliment. It was earned.

While we're discussing fuel systems cleaners, I have one more question. I have discussed this topic with the guys at work and come back with an interesting suggestion.

It's been suggested that I buy two Techron fuel treatments and use them in sequential tanks. The logic is this...

The Techron can treat up to (last time I looked) 12 gallons, so doing this on a full fill would not give the recommended concentration (17 gal. tank). Using this more diluted solution twice in a row would potentially not hurt any parts (nylon, rubber, etc.) - but the more extended period of use might clean more - at a slower rate. Then again - it might not clean anything at that level of dilution.

What do you think of this proposed solution?

Road Rage

I think it makes no sense - just figure when you are close to 12 gals, and do the job once, this will not only save money, but put you at the titration level recommended by the mfr - they know best, as opposed to us wrench-heads guessing. 2nd guessing the developers with theories of slow rates etc just does not represent a wise investment, when Chevron has already provided the answer. Make sense?

Another option is to use Red Line SI-2, and use it in every tank. That puts effective cleaning agents at a level that will ensure no garbage ever accumulates on your intake valves and piston crowns, since the SI-2 formulation provides cleaning at the level recommended by the car mfr's (BMW's for one) and the levels that the fuel companies are supposed to provide in the 1st place. I have done both (continuous, or occasional with a stonger cleaner like SI-1), and find the latter is easier, as you do not have to have the little bottles rattling around the trunk or even worse, the glovebox or console. If that stuff leaks, it could permanently stain the carpet, and the smell might never go away.

I do the SI-2 in the S2000, as that is a toy, and only driven occasionally - the SI-2 also emusifies water condensate in the fuel tank, which can be issue with cars that sit idle, and it reduces the varnishing of the fuel from oxidation.

So it SI-1 for the pre-oil change cleanup, and SI-1 for the occasional toy or show car.

BTW, I recommend doing this just prior to an oil change, as there may be stuff blasted into the oil that you would not want in fresh oil.

pettydw

I had a KE-Tronic injected Audi that made a habit of clogging fuel injectors every 10K miles or so, to the point that I fabricated my own injector cleaner rig. You could pull individual Audi injectors and watch them spray while the remaining cylinders ran. Techtron cleaned out more than 50% of the clogging, used as directed. I used my cleaning rig to go beyond that. Later, I bought a Lubrimoly system that plugged into the injection system and the car ran on the cleaner bottle for a minute or two. The Lubrimoly system worked as good as my homemade cleaner rig and was much less hassle.

Honda's injectors and/or modern fuel do not require much, if any cleaning. In fact, the fast flux O2 sensors on the 2004 TL adjust fuel delivery individually for each cylinder, so even partially clogged injectors are compensated for.

eaRL

Another fuel system product I almost forgot about is Lucas Oil Fuel Treatment. It was recommended to me by a gear head with two greasy thumbs up. Their spec. sheet doesn't contain the numbers that Redline boasts but my experience with it was equivalent to Chevron. I have never used Redline but I will grab a few bottles and try it out.

Jinen

Quick question...how often do we need to add the chevron techron fuel injector into our tanks? every 10k miles? after every oil change?

Repecat

I have been using the Techron concentrate for about 10 years in my cars. Generally I add one ounce per gallon of fuel every 10,000 miles or so, and try to time the addition to just before an oil change. Remember to use the Techron, not the "ProGard" which is a diluted Techron. Techron comes in 12 and 20 ounce sizes.

Jinen

Thanks!!!

I have about 13600 miles on my TL and I am going to go purchase the Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner from Autozone...i plan on purchasing the 20 oz bottle and using it all when i go to the gas station to fill up the full tank of gas...

* it would be okay if i use the entire 20oz bottle in one shot, right??

Sherlock

leeherman: i'm curious, what's the reasoning for not letting your tank get below 1/4 or 1/3 ?? It's all the same mix of gas in the tank by then isn't it ??

DarkWraith33

So that any contaminents that MAY be in your tank do not get taken in by the engine... (Less likely too anyways...)

For the techron, I plan on using it every 10,000 miles or so...

Repecat

I don't think the "one ounce per gallon" rate is critical...It's just a guide. The 20 oz. in a tankful should be okay.

dgracer

I saw a pretty compelling demo from Chevron regarding just their fuels at the LA auto show last year. They had intake valves from engines running different fuels. These were 10k miles testing. They had they sorted by no-name fuel, leading name fuel and Chevron. The other valves were covered in deposits AFTER ONLY 10K MILES! The Chevron of course were clean. I talked to a chemist who said if you added Chevron every oil change, your valves would stay clean.

I have been doing this for years anyway so it was validated when I pulled my 280Z apart and found very little deposits present (Bought from the original owner who had a similar regiment).

Sherlock

DarkWraith and Leeherman: you do realize the fuel pickups are on the bottom of the tank, so how is not letting them get low going to help anything ?

DarkWraith33

Driving around... With a fuller tank... Will cause those particulates in the gas to be mixed around with alot more fuel... (Noone here thinks that the bad stuff simply settles to the bottom. Shoot, your tank is like a blender!) Ergo... Less Bad Stuff/Unit of Gasoline ratio in a more full tank. While that badness will get into your engine, why help it along with concentrating it! Make sense???

Gfaze

ALL Chevron gasolines have Techron in it. By the way, I've used the Lucas Fuel Treatment and it works very well. Plus it's cheaper than the Chevron Fuel system treatment.

orgnlprankster7

damn old thread, use seafoam!

avs007

The techron in a bottle has more techron that the stuff you fillup with. With that being said, I toss in a bottle of techron into the gas tank whenever I change the oil.

FWIW, I don't know about Acura, but with General Motors, there is a disclaimer in the owners manual that says the only approved fuel treatment, is Chevron with Techron. It says use of other non-approved fuel additives may void your engine warranty.