not feeling anything from FP

[JHZR2]

I have a 98 chevy s-10 with 4.3L V6. 49k miles, driven pretty easily.

This weekend, we took a road trip. I had gotten in LC/FP and was excited. I added some LC to the oil, and added the correct first time dose of FP to the gas (and made sure it all got washed down the filler tube into the tank, so all was well-mixed). I used conoco 'top tier' gasoline.

Drove a variety of speeds, high throttle, easy throttle, cruising. At the end of the day the slightly rough idle (may be due to something else) didnt go away, and my MPG didnt increase, despite going a more optimal speed for most of the trip than I usually drive (spent many miles doing 50-55 instead of my typical 65-70).

So, I can't say that I noticed any sort of difference. Maybe it was a bit peppier with a bit heavier foot, compared to usual, but I couldnt say that with any degree of surity.

I think my rough idle may be due to a slight air leak or an EGR leak. I mainly want to use FP to keep that stuff clean and clear. And I think that will work. More importantly, I want the lubrication of all the systems. However, I cant as of now say that the claims of better MPG or drivability can be substantiated. Ill try in my 91 BMW and see what happens...

I'm not saying that I don't believe in LC/FP. used oil analysis really show the benefit of LC, and there are pleanty of tests and good mentions of FP on here. I will keep using it, as I know from my experience with MB diesels how valuable a fuel additive can be. But I just want to know:

Is it typical that even with the first time dose (2oz/5gal.), that it takes a while before benefits are realized?

Thanks,

JMH

[ October 12, 2004, 10:32 PM: Message edited by: JHZR2 ]

 

[Jelly]

I believe FP to be a very good product, but the best results I've gotten from my 4.3L V6 have been with Gumout Regane.

If you're not competely satisfied with the FP, I'd recommend you try the Regane at least once...

 

[SteveD2]

Well, I don't believe MPG claims are guaranteed, and they can only happen under certain situations. For example, if you put LC or FP into a brand new car, you probably won't notice any benefits at all. If you put it into a 300,000 mile vehicle that has been poorly maintained, you could see a huge increase. I'd be willing to bet that at 49k your engine isn't that dirty. You could easily have gained 1mpg and not even know it. The only way to see a gain like that is to put it on a dyno. Too many other factors can effect your mileage from one day to another.

 

[JHZR2]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ZmOz:
Well, I don't believe MPG claims are guaranteed, and they can only happen under certain situations.

---

Understood. However, it seems like most on here take good care of their vehicles, and yet there are a lot of claims of increased MPG. I have calculated and logged MPG for every tank of fuel I have ever bought since the truck was new, and I cannot say that there is any statistically significant difference.

But time will tell, and as I said, the other benefits are important.

JMH

 

[shortyb]

quote:

---

Originally posted by JHZR2:
Is it typical that even with the first time dose (2oz/5gal.), that it takes a while before benefits are realized?

Thanks,

JMH

---

I believe so. FP works slower but seemingly more effective than very strong "shock" cleaners. I think by the 3rd tank you should notice some improvement whether with the butt dyno or the gas gauge. Hang in there.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

I am on the 3rd tank with FP in a Sentra with 169,000 miles. It is noticeably smoother at idle, and throttle response is better over the entire bandwidth. It does not hesitate like before. Also, my Saturn with 85,000 is running smoother and MPG is up 1 mpg. If these are the only gains I get, I will be happy. In my Sentra this has worked better than any additive to clean injectors I have used. I do a lot of stop-n-go, so I think that has caused things to get very dirty. The cleaner your engine is, the less gains are noticed (at least that would be my guess). I just know in my case, I am very satisfied and impressed with the results. I am also halfway through the cleaning phase with Auto-RX on both vehicles. So, some of the gains in performance may be due to the Auto-RX, like increased fuel economy.

 

[novadude]

quote:

---

Understood. However, it seems like most on here take good care of their vehicles, and yet there are a lot of claims of increased MPG. I have calculated and logged MPG for every tank of fuel I have ever bought since the truck was new, and I cannot say that there is any statistically significant difference.

---

Same here. I log every fill-up, and my mpg will vary by 1 mpg or so whether I use FP or not. I have not found any significant MPG benefit from FP im my Mustang 5.0. However, I keep using it to keep things clean. The backside of my intake valves looked brand new when I swapped intake manifolds at 90k miles. This was after 2-3k miles of FP use.

 

[T-Keith]

I logged every tank for 30,000 miles on my Grand Am, I got a 2-3 mpg improvement with FP. I have now started on my other cars.

-T

 

[crossbow]

I've notice almost zero difference thus far...but my car only has 4k miles on it

. I'm just trying to maintain cleanliness and power, not recover it

.

 

[ekpolk]

I'm in the same situation as Crossbow -- my six-week-old car now has a whopping 5k miles on it. Having used FP from the start, I have no comparison point from which to compare.

On my last car, a V-6 Camry, I did notice a clear difference. On a steady diet of 93 octane fuel (this is one of those "87 is OK, but premium is recommended for better performance" cars), the car gradually developed a ping-on-acceleration issue that was becoming progressively more and more annoying. After one double-dose tank, and then a regular dose of FP, the ping was 95% resolved. I had tried Lucas (some impact), Chevron (maybe a little impact), and was unimpressed. Unless some other mechanism was at work, which I seriously doubt, FP did seem work as advertised, at least for me.

 

[Santo Fontana]

I havent noticed an mpg or power increase, but Im pretty sure I have gained some det resistance.

 

[mechtech]

FP use resulted in smoother engine, and now able to use 89 instead of 91 octane fuel. Mileage hasn't been positively checked, yet.

 

[dropitby]

Now that my SE-R has over 10000 miles about 2000 on the S2K with LC I thought I would test the mileage.The Nissan dealer said use 91 instead of 87.So I filled up with Costco gas (87)and FP. When I got to Orlando just over 200 miles I got 241/2 MPG.I filled up with (91) and got just over 25 on the way home. So Terry you are right AGAIN it pays to use FP over better gas as long as it don't ping I guess.