Most PEA Bang For Your Buck

[FrequentlyCynical]

Friction you say?

Friction I say. Yes, the friction of drag. There's a proper, technical term for that, but I'm blanking. It takes energy to move all those parts around with that film of oil.

 

[FrequentlyCynical]

You go for it then.

You raised the issue, I gave you facts. Whether it matters to one or not is a decision. But the fact remains.

 

[kschachn]

Friction I say. Yes, the friction of drag. There's a proper, technical term for that, but I'm blanking. It takes energy to move all those parts around with that film of oil.

Sorry I didn’t know you were blanking.

 

[4WD]

There is a type of friction that causes lockups
Carry on boys …

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

That's excessive for a maintenance dose and I wouldn't do it too often. Maintenance dose is 1/3-1/6 oz/gal.

Who said anything about a maintenance dose. Just pour it in and forget about it for another 25k miles. Top tier fuel will keep everything clean anyways

 

[Hirev]

According to fuelly.com the average MPG for a 2007 Lincoln MKZ 21.6 MPG
2008 20.5 MPG avg.
2009 19.6 MPG avg.

Looks like these cars did not do well on avg MPG from 2007 - 2010. Look to me like it is what it is.

 

[RDMgr]

Friction I say. Yes, the friction of drag. There's a proper, technical term for that, but I'm blanking. It takes energy to move all those parts around with that film of oil.

I think that is referred to as viscous drag or skin friction drag.

 

[jetman]

Our fwd 2012 MKX w/3.7L averages 23+ mpg per yr every yr since we bought it in 2014.

 

[JimPghPA]

If the thermostat is stuck open, the engine may run too cold often and that destroys fuel economy.

A bad engine sensor can also reduce mpg's. Dirty air sensors, or bad O2 sensor.

I wonder what an identical vehicle in similar driving gets?

Also, you might do compression tests.

 

[MolaKule]

Good catch, I forgot about that one. The Regane SDS I pulled up says 10-30%, so that's an average of 20%. At $7.29 for 6 ounces, that's $6.08 per ounce of PEA, the most costly by far.

I'm also not comfortable with such a wide range, that 10-30% thing. I understand that manufacturers do this to both obfuscate the exact amount, but this way they can also change the formula w/o changing the SDS.

MSDSs or SDSs are there for health and toxicology information, not as a formula.

You really don't have a say as to the ranges reported since their formula is IP.

 

[Blagoje]

BG44K has very high PEA too. It has worked great for me in the past.

This has become my go-to product after testing pretty much everything on the market over the past 6 years in several different GDI engines. It can be had pretty cheap on Amazon and the results tend to last for at least 15,000 miles.

 

[doitmyself]

Back to the topic, PEA additives. In hours of reading, so much opinion, so much subjectivity, so much bad science with a smattering of objective experiences. I figured I might as well get the most PEA bang for my buck. (I know that all PEA's are not created equal, but I need to keep this simple.) I looked up the SDS's for Royal Purple Max Clean, Redline Si-1, and two Techrons, High Mileage and Complete. Since SDS's give a range of ingredient percentages, I went with the average of low and high.

Averaging SDS percentages supports the data theory "garbage in = garbage out".

I found this recent discussion of the topic with an easy on-site search: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...eaners-techron-archoil-oilsyn-pro-tec.376712/

 

[iCurious]

I've been using Regane for the longest time. Best value IMO.

 

[Cujet]

There is very much a reason that companies now use very thin oils. It increases fuel mileage. You reduce friction, you reduce your energy needs. Works every time.

o2 sensors "get tired?" Without throwing a code?

Yes, O2 sensors get sluggish. Keep in mind, their job is to maintain emission compliance, not to optimize MPG. Modern ECU's can compensate for slower response without ever letting you know things have changed.

Having worked in engine development, I can tell you first hand that ultra low viscosity oils may not improve MPG in no longer new cases. You are correct, during cold start, there is less drag and overall drag is reduced in healthy engines. I referenced experienced engines and less than new condition piston ring sealing as one reason MPG may increase with more viscosity. Engineers know that experienced engines often gain 1 to 2% efficiency with a small bump in viscosity. Better ring sealing and lower cam friction are players here. Especially true in warmer climates.

The very same goes for experienced diesel engines. Generally by reducing blowby.

 

[earlyre]

interesting... my old 2009 Sable, which is bigger and Boxier, has the same engine, but a Different 6 speed auto*...I got similar around town mpgs as you, on the open highway, it could tickle 30mpg (like max of 29.6) ...
basics, tire pressures, carrying around a bunch of junk in the trunk, etc.

* Mine was the 6F50 ( Ford/GM co designed), yours is the Asin AW TF-80.

 

[ChrisD46]

Exact same $17 per bottle. No mystery where it can be bought.

I’m only finding Redline SL-1 locally at the local O’Reilly’s .

 

[TiGeo]

I've spent most of my morning reading old BTOG posts about PEA, Techron, Royal Purple, Techron, and others. (How sad!) The reason being is my recently purchased 2007 Lincoln MKZ with 125,000 miles gets horrible gas mileage. Especially when I compare it to my recently departed (sniff) 2000 Buick GS. Larger, heavier, almost double the mileage, same displacement, same HP. Real world, about 18-19 around town, 23 on the highway. The Lincoln is EPA rated at 19 and 27. That's running Mobile 1 0W-20, the Buick ran Mobil 1 20W-40. Using the built in computer, I get 13mpg on, yes, very short in town jaunts, gets up to about 16+ combined with a short freeway hop. This is SO far below what the Buick did and the EPA claim that it really urinates me off. This isn't some margin of error, climate, or mechanical issues. In fact, I'm driving the Lincoln more conservatively that the Buick!


I've been turning wrenches for over sixty years, I've gone through the obvious and accessible. As an example, pull a spark plug. Perfect in gap and condition.


I've no complaints about power or drivability.


So, I'm getting desperate and thought I'd look into a PEA fuel additive. Other than a few dollars, what's to lose? (The only other thing I can think of is that the internal water pump was replaced maybe 5K miles ago by a previous owner, and maybe the mechanic didn't get the cams aligned right, off a tooth? I don't want to even think about that fix.


Back to the topic, PEA additives. In hours of reading, so much opinion, so much subjectivity, so much bad science with a smattering of objective experiences. I figured I might as well get the most PEA bang for my buck. (I know that all PEA's are not created equal, but I need to keep this simple.) I looked up the SDS's for Royal Purple Max Clean, Redline Si-1, and two Techrons, High Mileage and Complete. Since SDS's give a range of ingredient percentages, I went with the average of low and high. Those results are:


Royal Purple, 10%
Techron Complete, 15%
Techron High Mileage, 22.5%
Redline, 31%


Since the bottle sizes and prices vary for each product, using a local national chain prices, I came up with the following cost per ounce of PEA:


Royal Purple, $10
Techron Complete in 32oz, $4.69
Techron High Mileage, $4.81
Redline Si-1, $3.44


It's obvious which one I'm going to try. Now, should I go for the total dump, or divide it by two or even three tank fulls? The latter would be the equivalent of three Royal Purple treatments. Man, a guy can go nuts trying to figure this all out.

How are you determining PEA on the SDS? Curious about LM DI Jectron. I use one of the gumout Regain products as well. Each oil change.

 

[himemsys]

Gumout Multi-System Tune-Up also advertises PEA. Although, I looked at the SDS and didn't see polyetheramine listed on there.

 

[Rob_Roy]

The short trips are definitely hurting your mileage, but I agree that it seems low. With the age and mileage on the engine a new thermostat would not hurt. I agree that some injector cleaner is a good idea as well.

 

[Astro14]

You raised the issue, I gave you facts. Whether it matters to one or not is a decision. But the fact remains.

The fact applies across millions of vehicles, where variables are accounted for, and the tiny increase in economy can be measured. In one person’s driving? Well…the fact is so small as to be immeasurable. But hey, no one’s stopping you from trying it, just making sure your expectations are realistic.