JHZR2
Staff member
I would like to post my experiences with FP and gumout regane over the last few tanks - I believe they are quite interesting.
The vehicle is a 98 S-10 ZR2 with HO 4.3L V6. owned since new, currently has 48800 miles.
The truck has never had a mechanical problem, never had a CEL, etc. It runs great, and MPG has always been relatively consistent. It has, however exhibited a slight idle shake, with period of ~3-5 seconds. I thought it was because while in college, the truck would sit for almost 6mo at a time sometimes, and the resultant gas that was burned, though never a problem, misfire, etc., might have done something to it. Even still, it gets used only on weekends.
I have been using FP for the past few thousand miles, probably ~5k. I started with the shock dose, then started lowering it. The idle shake never went away. I always thought I heard a very slight knock, only at low speed hard acceleration, like when going onto an inclined onramp, or going up a hill on a small road at say 40 mph. The sound reminded me exactly of when I put 89 octane into my chipped for 91 octane BMW. It would run fine, idle fine, but when I did that transient loading, Id get a barely audible knock.
After reading some good things about gumout regane, I decided to buy a bottle to try this weekend. I put it into 1/2 tank (I guess about 10 gallons), and drove about 125 miles. by the time I stopped (to get gas), the idle shake was gone. This was running the rest of the fuel in the tank (including FP at the standard 1:5 ratio). I filled up with gulf gas, and no additive at all. The truck still ran smooth. As I used it over the weekend, it seemed to change a little bit, to be not as smooth, but still MUCH better than before. Also, the slight knock had dissapeared.
I changed the oil this weekend, going from castrol start-up 5w-30 to GC 0w-30. I have to add that I really liked the start-up oil, though there seemed to be a few more metal shavings than usual on the oil drain plug.
Before I drove home, I re-filled my tank, adding the normal dose of FP to the tank. I noticed that after driving about 50 miles (highway), when I got off the road to do a few stops, and drive a few miles, that the slight knock had returned. It was not as significant, but it was back again, and only since I had put the dose of FP in the engine.
The shake, as I said earlier, has returned a little bit. However, it is only at full (oil) hot idle, and is much less noticable as before using the regane. I know these 4.3 V6 engines arent inherently balanced, and I think that what I feel now is just the normal vibration, not the periodic shake that I had noticed before.
So, all in all, gumout regane seems to work really well (the tech rep strongly suggested to use it only every 3-5000 miles or longer). FP seemed to give this truck and my BMW a bit more pep (but no noticable difference in the toyota previa, acura integra, plymouth breeze, saab 9-3, mitsubishi 3000 GT VR-4, etc), maybe because of the way that the fuel is injected or the engines are designed. However, in the truck, and only in the truck, it seems to cause a slight knock, as described previously. It does go away when a cleaner is used, or when a straight tank of fuel is run. This is curious to me, and if anyone has any ideas why this occurs, Id like to hear them.
I tend to try to avoid solvent type cleaners, and I really like the FP because of its enhanced lubricity. However, I have to question FP's cleaning ability for some engine byproducts. Obvously test results cant be denied, it does work, but for whatever was plaguing my engine, it didnt clean it up. Further, I have to wonder if there is some light components in FP that tend to flash and burn early. My engine is all stock, and my FP is well mixed, but that would be my explanation, since it goes away using straight 87 octane. Funny though is the fact that it doesnt do anything (knock noises, that is) in my other cars, including my bmw which has a chip that advances timing so that 91 or better is necessary.
But thats that, just figured Id share my experiences.
ANy comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
JMH
[ February 28, 2005, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: JHZR2 ]
The vehicle is a 98 S-10 ZR2 with HO 4.3L V6. owned since new, currently has 48800 miles.
The truck has never had a mechanical problem, never had a CEL, etc. It runs great, and MPG has always been relatively consistent. It has, however exhibited a slight idle shake, with period of ~3-5 seconds. I thought it was because while in college, the truck would sit for almost 6mo at a time sometimes, and the resultant gas that was burned, though never a problem, misfire, etc., might have done something to it. Even still, it gets used only on weekends.
I have been using FP for the past few thousand miles, probably ~5k. I started with the shock dose, then started lowering it. The idle shake never went away. I always thought I heard a very slight knock, only at low speed hard acceleration, like when going onto an inclined onramp, or going up a hill on a small road at say 40 mph. The sound reminded me exactly of when I put 89 octane into my chipped for 91 octane BMW. It would run fine, idle fine, but when I did that transient loading, Id get a barely audible knock.
After reading some good things about gumout regane, I decided to buy a bottle to try this weekend. I put it into 1/2 tank (I guess about 10 gallons), and drove about 125 miles. by the time I stopped (to get gas), the idle shake was gone. This was running the rest of the fuel in the tank (including FP at the standard 1:5 ratio). I filled up with gulf gas, and no additive at all. The truck still ran smooth. As I used it over the weekend, it seemed to change a little bit, to be not as smooth, but still MUCH better than before. Also, the slight knock had dissapeared.
I changed the oil this weekend, going from castrol start-up 5w-30 to GC 0w-30. I have to add that I really liked the start-up oil, though there seemed to be a few more metal shavings than usual on the oil drain plug.
Before I drove home, I re-filled my tank, adding the normal dose of FP to the tank. I noticed that after driving about 50 miles (highway), when I got off the road to do a few stops, and drive a few miles, that the slight knock had returned. It was not as significant, but it was back again, and only since I had put the dose of FP in the engine.
The shake, as I said earlier, has returned a little bit. However, it is only at full (oil) hot idle, and is much less noticable as before using the regane. I know these 4.3 V6 engines arent inherently balanced, and I think that what I feel now is just the normal vibration, not the periodic shake that I had noticed before.
So, all in all, gumout regane seems to work really well (the tech rep strongly suggested to use it only every 3-5000 miles or longer). FP seemed to give this truck and my BMW a bit more pep (but no noticable difference in the toyota previa, acura integra, plymouth breeze, saab 9-3, mitsubishi 3000 GT VR-4, etc), maybe because of the way that the fuel is injected or the engines are designed. However, in the truck, and only in the truck, it seems to cause a slight knock, as described previously. It does go away when a cleaner is used, or when a straight tank of fuel is run. This is curious to me, and if anyone has any ideas why this occurs, Id like to hear them.
I tend to try to avoid solvent type cleaners, and I really like the FP because of its enhanced lubricity. However, I have to question FP's cleaning ability for some engine byproducts. Obvously test results cant be denied, it does work, but for whatever was plaguing my engine, it didnt clean it up. Further, I have to wonder if there is some light components in FP that tend to flash and burn early. My engine is all stock, and my FP is well mixed, but that would be my explanation, since it goes away using straight 87 octane. Funny though is the fact that it doesnt do anything (knock noises, that is) in my other cars, including my bmw which has a chip that advances timing so that 91 or better is necessary.
But thats that, just figured Id share my experiences.
ANy comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
JMH
[ February 28, 2005, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: JHZR2 ]
