Are Fuel Additives Necessary.?

[GROGAN]

Are fuel additives necessary and if so when to use it..?

If my car is running well, would a treatment like Techron or Redline SI-1 be a good preventive maintenance product.
My F-150 has only 11K miles, but is a 2008 and sometimes sits for 4-5 days at a time.. Could my fuel filter and/or injectors be a little dirty from lack of higher miles...?

 

[actionstan]

Probably not, I still use them on occasion in my saturn. My kia acctually calls for techron every 7500 if top teir fuel is not always used. So you may also take into consideration where you get fuel from.

You'll get answers ranging from they should never be needed to people who use a mantience dose every fill up.

I highly doubt a good cleaner like techron or gumout regane could hurt, at the end of the day I suppose it's about the "feel good" feeling I get from doing something nice for my car.

 

[gregk24]

It really is a good idea, preventative maintenance is the best kind. I try to do a dose of Techron before ever oil change.

 

[Clevy]

Chevron puts techron in the gas before you buy it,if that tells you anything.
As far as being required,probably not however I'm of the pay a bit now instead of a lot later,so I use a tc-w3/acetone mix in my fuel at every fill up.
I've never pulled a plug with any deposits on them,my engines have no visible build up in the combustion chambers(as seen with my Milwaukee cavity inspector,with light and LCD screen),I cannot recall ever having a fuel system or delivery issue and I feel that a layer of oil on the valves improve sealing ability,which is also aided with using my inverse oiler.
And we can't forget the upper cylinder lubrication angle.

 

[650NutKase]

If you use top tier gas, you probably will be fine without it. To me, I'd rather spend 7 bucks every 3000 miles for that peace of mind

 

[KB2008X]

I think it's impossible to ever prove, or disprove, that fuel additives are of any benefit. I do know that I haven't seen a problem with a fuel system that I thought an additive would have helped with in a very long time.

I buy a few bottles of Techron every two years or so, when it's at a great price, and run that thru the '03 S10 because I don't want to pull the manifold on that 4.3 V6 to deal with any injector issues. Who knows if it actually does any good, but it makes me feel better.

 

[Kuato]

In general, IMO no.

However in the event you get condensation or fuel from a sketchy station that has water in it, they can be very useful.

 

[bvance554]

Originally Posted By: KB2008X
I think it's impossible to ever prove, or disprove, that fuel additives are of any benefit. I do know that I haven't seen a problem with a fuel system that I thought an additive would have helped with in a very long time.

I buy a few bottles of Techron every two years or so, when it's at a great price, and run that thru the '03 S10 because I don't want to pull the manifold on that 4.3 V6 to deal with any injector issues. Who knows if it actually does any good, but it makes me feel better.


That is exactly the way i approach it. I've never felt i've needed it, nor can i ever tell a difference after i use it. I put a lot of miles on my vehicles, with non top tier gas and i have no issues. I may add some techron once or twice every 100k just to make me feel like i'm doing something good, but i doubt that it matters.

 

[285south]

Yes, a well known master mechanic at General Motors, sorry I didn't save the source, said yes even using a top fuel and synthetic oil there still carbon buildup.

 

[salv]

Fuel additives are not necessary, but are advised in many modern applications. High pressure injectors with smaller nozzles are more prone to restriction. In GDI applications, more soot is produced due to incomplete combustion. Modern engines run hotter in the interest of better fuel atomization, so when the engine is shut down and the temperature climbs before dropping, residual fuel can cook to a semi-solid state causing restriction of the injectors. While the vehicle is running fresh fuel typically will cool the injectors.

 

[TTK]

Even top tier gasoline leave their own additive deposits. That is why it is important to change top tier brands every 5k miles or so. The new top tier will remove the deposits from the previous top tier gasoline while leaving some of its own. If you do that, additional fuel additives are not needed.

 

[pbm]

I usually add a bottle of Regane or Techron a few hundred miles before an oil change. I am not particular about using top-tier gas. I usually use Valero, Mobil or Pilot (truck stop) brands.
I add the PEA additive as a PM but I've often wondered how much can I expect from adding 8 ounces to 15 gallons of gas?

 

[jake88]

Top tier gasoline (even Chevron) uses detergents based on polyisobutene and should keep injectors (and intake valves in PFIs) clean. Still, combustion is rough and PEA (polyetheramine) detergents like Techron will clean injectors for the most efficient atomization of fuel and the benefit of fuel-spray cooling of the combustion chamber in modern GDI engines.

Something like 10-15k miles on cheap gas is enough to decrease your injection efficiency based on engine testing. It may not "feel" like you are getting bad combustion if fuel is still being delivered, but it does not mean you are getting the proper atomization.

I would imagine that in addition to improving combustion by cooling the chamber, a better spray pattern would reduce the amount of fuel that winds up in the crankcase and the amount of un-burnt or partially burnt hydrocarbon making it to your converter.

 

[SteveSRT8]

It would seem interesting that in our fleet we cannot even recall a fuel related issue going back decades.

I haven't touched an injector since the 80's, we just don't experience those problems. We normally do not use additives in our fuel. But we have used Kreen in very high mileage fleet trucks (nearly 500k!) for carbon knocking...

 

[Capa]

A lot of people here run a PEA fuel cleaner like Techron, Redline, etc. every 3,000 miles. I do believe that fuel additives are necessary.

 

[46Harry]

I use a bottle of either Techron or Redline SI 1 every 3 or 4,000 miles in my cars. I don't know for sure that it helps, but I haven't had any fuel system problems either and I always use top tier fuel.

 

[Finz]

I'm thinking that with so few miles on the '08, the fuel sits in the system for quite a while.

I recently read a post similar to this where someone equated it to a can of gas for a lawnmower which might stay in the shed all season. We use Stabil for just that reason - to keep the fuel from... Gelling...? The gelling (I think that's the term) could cause a flow restriction and someone else mentioned varnishing of the injectors

Anyway, following that train of thought, I would consider using a Techron, Gumout, TC-W3,... product.

 

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: Capa
A lot of people here run a PEA fuel cleaner like Techron, Redline, etc. every 3,000 miles. I do believe that fuel additives are necessary.


Hmm...I do use them but not that often - I probably use Techron roughly 2-3 times a year in the Bimmer, but the car is pretty low mileage. (42 k miles).
As for wife's 2014 Mazda I don't use any. It shouldn't need any additives at least until 50k or so. Even then I don't know if these cars really NEED them...

On the 03 Elantra beater which has 210k miles now, I have started using Techron a bit more often, but still probably every 10k or so...should I step it up?

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Gas? Probably not if you use top tier gas.

Diesel? Hard to tell. Quality seems inconsistent.

 

[Tosh]

Originally Posted By: TTK
Even top tier gasoline leave their own additive deposits. That is why it is important to change top tier brands every 5k miles or so. The new top tier will remove the deposits from the previous top tier gasoline while leaving some of its own. If you do that, additional fuel additives are not needed.

GTFOH?!