Ok I saw a commercial the other day for a fuel injector cleaner saying that using it would give you better gas mileage. I don't doubt that having injectors that aren't clogged up will work better, but do you guys really think that those products work? Same thing for the degunkers or whatever they are called that are supposed to clean build up off of your valves. I was always under the impression that gasoline, especially premium, has enough detergents to keep everything nice and clean inside the engine. So is all this stuff just a way for these companies to make money or do they really work? Just something to talk about.

 

I used to do the fuel cleaning thing back in the day. Its not something that will make a huge difference(unless you have a real problem with injector build up) but its something to do for the long life of your motor.

 

not all gas is equal. what a lot of companies do is take shitty gas, and just add things like xylene to it to increase the octane. xylene has an octane rating of 114. you add enough of it, and you can get any crap gas mixture to 92 octane. the catch is, xylene puts off a lot of soot when it is burned due to its higher specific gravity. (more carbon) The the idea is, those cleaners will help break up that soot build up. Do they work... yes and no...
The only injector cleaner I've ever seen do anything is that lucas fuel injector cleaner, but with much more in the tank than recommended. I think they say use something like 3-4 ounces for every ten gallons or something... It isn't enough to make a difference, unless you do it over a dozen tanks of gas. I bought the bigger bottle and put half of it in... maybe 16 or so ounces... it made a difference...
as far as the stuff that is supposed to clean the valves, the only thing I've ever had work is Seafoam. pull of a vacuum line, and get as much in there as possible. let it sit for a bit, then start it up, let it smoke like a mother fucker, then drive it once it is done smoking. The seafoam itself will smoke... well, steam off, but if you're motor is really dirty, you'll notice the smoke is more black and dirty looking, thats the carbon buring off... My buddies old saturn actually spit chunks out it was so nasty... then it ran better than it ever did...
I also suggest putting a bottle of mystery oil in the oil too. I don't suggest driving on it all the time, or very hard, but if I'm planning an oil change, that morning, I'll put the mystery oil in and drive on it all day (conservatively) then change the oil that night... Seems to clean decently well...

sorry for the novel, I just have a lot of experience with the chemical additives and crap... hope it helps...

 

^ if those work as well as you say they do then I might have to give them a shot. Thanks

 

i think norachelhere is right. i have worked in alot of part stores and have always told people to try those kind of things becuase the company would tell us to sell them but most people would come back and say they work rather well. i started using them and noticed a difference. the seafoam treatment works well too. i like to suck it up into a vacuum line that is not vital to running your car i try to find one closest to the throttle body