Real world additives test

[NMBurb02]

I am thinking of running a less-than-scientifically-sound "real world" experiment to judge the relative effectiveness of various fuel additives at improving fuel efficiency in my Burb. The plan is to run each additive for one month (~800-1,000 miles per month), with an additive-free month between each. I like to use the same pump at the same Shell gas station for every fill, which will help me get more consistent fills and thereby allow for better tracking of fuel efficiency and reducing the potential for different brands' fuel additive packages to skew the results (the 10-20¢ per gallon discount with my grocery store points doesn't hurt either). The relatively mild weather here in SoCal will help reduce differences created by varying air temps (warmer air resulting in better FE due to better fuel atomization, IIRC).

I am planning on testing the following additives:
*MMO @ 4 oz/10 gallons
*Pennzoil Marine Premium Plus TC-W3 2-stroke oil @ 1 oz/5 gallons
*Techron Fuel System Cleaner at 1 oz/1 gallon
*Gumout All-In-One at 1 oz/3.5 gallons

December will be my baseline additive-free month and I was thinking of running either the Techron or Gumout in January and the other as the last experiment additive, putting 3,500-5,000 miles between those PEA-containing cleaners.

Depending on the results, I may try out other additives after the 8+ months it will take me to complete what I outlined above.

What do you think of my methodology and does anyone have any thoughts on which may turn out the best result?

 

[Clevy]

Include acetone in your test. As well as Lucas fuel treatment. It contains pib which,when dosed properly,will improve mileage.
I've got a home brew that I mix up that includes tc-w3,Lucas,acetone,xylene,toluene and this stuff called Eco-fuel saver. I get 22mpg highway in an 05 dodge hemi 4x4 that was rated for 16mpg highway. I ran a test tank of fuel when I first got it and it got 15mpg highway on shell premium. So it's gotta be doing something.

 

[getnpsi]

I think doing back to back additives will continue to clean/help your system even with a month of no use. Shell is top tier and has detergents in it as well. I'm thinking your last contestant could do "better" because it's last rather than if it was the first one, if that makes sense.

With a iron v8 the faster it gets warmed up the better its mileage will be. I don't think that is simple atomization as much as friction of all components front to back.

By the way i grew up in Corona, im out there at least 3 times a week still. Great town to live in, when you are young it's kinda boring, but 'boring' means good property value when you hit age 30 and care about that stuff, have children of your own, etc

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Include acetone in your test. As well as Lucas fuel treatment. It contains pib which,when dosed properly,will improve mileage.
I've got a home brew that I mix up that includes tc-w3,Lucas,acetone,xylene,toluene and this stuff called Eco-fuel saver. I get 22mpg highway in an 05 dodge hemi 4x4 that was rated for 16mpg highway. I ran a test tank of fuel when I first got it and it got 15mpg highway on shell premium. So it's gotta be doing something.


I gave a single bottle of the Lucas UCL a quick try a month or so ago, with no discernible results, but will look at adding it in for a full month in order to give it a fair shot.

Not too sure about the acetone. The limited reading I did in the last few minutes elsewhere online warns about using acetone in fuel that contains ethanol, stating that it actually decreases fuel efficiency. I also don't really want to get into the business of storing and mixing harsh solvents like acetone, xylene, and toluene (I have three kids under the age of five, with a fourth on the way, so nowhere in the house is truly safe), so I may leave your witch's brew for a last-ditch effort when I have the time, space, and lockable UL listed flammable liquids storage cabinet to make it all work out safely.

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: getnpsi
I think doing back to back additives will continue to clean/help your system even with a month of no use. Shell is top tier and has detergents in it as well. I'm thinking your last contestant could do "better" because it's last rather than if it was the first one, if that makes sense.


That's where the "less-than-scientifically-sound" part comes in.

I have been using Top Tier for the past 5,000+ miles (since first buying it), so figured I should stick with it to keep as many things as possible as consistent as possible (in order to best control the "real world" variability, as much as possible). I will be tracking my fuel efficiency during the non-additive periods as well, so I will hopefully be able to observe any lingering/carry over benefits, as compared to the baseline figure experienced this month.

 

[Clevy]

Ya. What I'm doing isnt scientific however I'm not adding a whole lot. Acetone is supposed to reduce the surface tension of gasoline,xylene and toluene are commonly found in fuel injector cleaners,the other stuff is more for it's upper cylinder lubrication. Seems to work when I'm on the highway. Can't really tell in the city due to extremely long periods at idle.
Half a quart per tank seems to be the max. Any more than kthat seems to make consumption worse. The tank holds around 140 liters of fuel so it's well diluted.
Truck is much more responsive now then when I first got it. And I'm beating the advertised mileage when it was new,and it's got 245000km

 

[gfh77665]

I admire the intention, but driving a 4x4 Burb with a 5.3 V8, no additive will produce any discernable improvemant in MPG's.

Driving habits (a light pedal), fully air up tires, and reduction of unecessary weight (junk in trunk) in that order is far and away the main factors in MPG improvment.

Not at all condeming good PEA cleaners like Redline, Techron, Regane. They are great for maintnence, but simply are not going to make any real world MPG improvment.

 

[LeakySeals]

I think the PEA additives will produce the most/best results, followed by the mostly lube/oil naphtha additives. I also think whoever goes first may appear to have the most/best results, because any changes will be more obvious. More to clean.

 

[gfh77665]

Correct. And if the vehicles system is reasonably clean in the first place, any improvment will be minimal if at all, in the "real world" sense as the title indicates.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
I am thinking of running a less-than-scientifically-sound "real world" experiment to judge the relative effectiveness of various fuel additives at improving fuel efficiency in my Burb. The plan is to run each additive for one month (~800-1,000 miles per month), with an additive-free month between each. I like to use the same pump at the same Shell gas station for every fill, which will help me get more consistent fills and thereby allow for better tracking of fuel efficiency and reducing the potential for different brands' fuel additive packages to skew the results (the 10-20¢ per gallon discount with my grocery store points doesn't hurt either). The relatively mild weather here in SoCal will help reduce differences created by varying air temps (warmer air resulting in better FE due to better fuel atomization, IIRC).

I am planning on testing the following additives:
*MMO @ 4 oz/10 gallons
*Pennzoil Marine Premium Plus TC-W3 2-stroke oil @ 1 oz/5 gallons
*Techron Fuel System Cleaner at 1 oz/1 gallon
*Gumout All-In-One at 1 oz/3.5 gallons

December will be my baseline additive-free month and I was thinking of running either the Techron or Gumout in January and the other as the last experiment additive, putting 3,500-5,000 miles between those PEA-containing cleaners.

Depending on the results, I may try out other additives after the 8+ months it will take me to complete what I outlined above.

What do you think of my methodology and does anyone have any thoughts on which may turn out the best result?


The only thing that will help the mileage in a Suburban is going downhill.

I do not think any additive will help with mileage if your engine is in good shape with all the injectors working as they should.

Here is my more scientific method for you to use.
Have all the injectors cleaned by someone (HURST). Run a month on an additive checking mileage. Have the injectors cleaned again by someone and repeat the test.

 

[kschachn]

I just don't get the whole additives thing, especially acetone. I mean, wouldn't Shell or Exxon/Mobil or Conoco or anyone jump on this in a second if it helped with either fuel economy or engine cleanliness? For the record I do NOT buy into the conspiracy theory that it would sell less gas and therefore they shelve the idea. I think if some oil company came out with an additive that saved fuel they would market it in a heartbeat.

 

[widman]

How are you going to control the climate (temperature, wind)? What about trips and traffic? Speed?

And return the system to its previous state before using the next additive.

The last one in the test is probably going to show the best if other variables were controlled. It is impossible to control the important variables in day to day driving.

Here are the km/liter for the first 9000 km of my Grand Cherokee without any different products or tests

Note that all gas is produced by the government. One standard.
5.82
9.94
5.52
8.24
8.69
8.45
8.24
8.44
7.69
7.97
8.82
7.01
6.50
6.42
6.42
6.64
6.71
6.82
5.68

And the first 24,000 for my wife's Outlander
8.41
6.56
9.86
8.51
7.98
8.09
8.55
7.92
8.44
8.44
8.12
9.84
9.35
9.95
9.25
7.47
8.51
8.52
7.91
8.32
8.98
8.24
8.46
8.83
9.45
8.18
7.94
8.48
7.70
7.50
7.88
9.26
8.20
8.05
7.21
8.39
8.53
8.70
8.79
11.56
11.97
11.67
10.65
6.01
8.60
8.89
9.31
7.18
8.77
8.43
7.86
7.29
7.52
7.74
9.15
8.52
7.43
7.63
9.76
9.20
9.16
9.18
9.18
6.81
8.66
8.60
And the first 85,000 of my Suzuki
10.15
10.12
10.17
9.49
10.17
9.87
9.73
9.74
9.39
8.60
8.93
8.21
9.46
8.79
9.35
8.87
8.62
9.00
8.26
8.81
9.52
8.60
8.50
9.31
8.46
9.41
9.00
9.90
8.39
8.98
8.91
8.78
9.63
8.76
8.91
8.44
9.71
8.73
6.76
8.52
8.85
9.48
8.83
8.44
9.03
10.10
8.54
9.47
8.83
7.91
8.61
8.93
8.24
8.22
8.23
7.87
8.39
8.88
8.48
8.03
8.72
8.66
8.36
8.10
8.32
8.11
8.23
8.46
11.13
12.90
3.66
8.49
8.27
10.07
8.23
9.13
8.28
8.61
8.23
8.49
8.98
7.91
8.46
9.25
9.94
8.44
9.12
8.98
8.69
8.79
8.14
9.52
8.44
8.95
8.03
9.73
8.59
8.70
8.99
8.69
8.95
8.80
8.97
9.13
8.79
9.20
8.64
9.51
9.08
8.78
8.09
8.58
7.93
8.21
8.79
8.71
8.66
8.66
8.95
8.83
8.26
8.37
8.10
8.34
8.28
8.76
7.95
8.26
8.46
8.40
8.24
8.31
8.65
8.21
8.61
8.31
8.70
8.27
8.17
11.13
5.34
5.91
8.57
6.64
10.08
8.05
8.17
11.69
9.20
5.67
8.95
8.43
13.58
6.10
8.79
8.38
8.60
8.42
8.60
9.13
8.37
9.03
8.92
8.72
9.55
8.73
8.62
8.53
8.98
8.81
11.43
8.45
9.34
9.13
8.68
9.52
11.92
6.32
9.11
8.31
8.98
8.25
9.14
8.70
8.38
8.85
9.66
8.17
9.05
8.93
8.76
8.96
8.59
9.23
8.52
8.72
8.90
8.60
8.60
8.39
11.86
7.04
7.48
8.27
8.18
8.71
8.63
8.74
9.57
8.34
9.43
8.75
8.55
8.97
7.96
8.04
9.79
9.07
9.03
9.89
8.41
8.10
8.31
8.98
9.04
8.48
8.49
8.01
7.98
9.04
8.95
8.61
8.31
8.54
9.27
7.49
8.16
8.77
8.05
7.63
6.51
9.83
8.95
9.01
9.03
9.45
12.87
6.78
9.87
9.85
9.82
10.22
9.88
9.31
6.30
8.70
9.92
8.61
9.27
8.54
9.36
10.61
8.67

 

[pbm]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
I just don't get the whole additives thing, especially acetone. I mean, wouldn't Shell or Exxon/Mobil or Conoco or anyone jump on this in a second if it helped with either fuel economy or engine cleanliness? For the record I do NOT buy into the conspiracy theory that it would sell less gas and therefore they shelve the idea. I think if some oil company came out with an additive that saved fuel they would market it in a heartbeat.


I totally agree.

I believe in running a PEA additive just prior to an oil change to make up for the fact that I often use no-name gas.
My additive of choice is Gumout with Regane because it's $4.37 (recently lowered from $4.97) at Walmart and hence is the best bargain.

 

[JHZR2]

If you lived in a place with minimal variability in climate it would be questionable as it stands. But over 8 months, hey, let's look for trends, but you'll need to do multiple tanks at multiple average temperatures to get a real result, and that will take even longer.

 

[volk06]

I see what your trying to do but I dont see a point. There are to many variables that you can't control that will flaw this type of testing. How are you going to correct for wind, weather, seasons (even in CA), tire wear... ect? With that big of a vehicle, its not going to make to much of a difference.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
I admire the intention, but driving a 4x4 Burb with a 5.3 V8, no additive will produce any discernable improvemant in MPG's.

Driving habits (a light pedal), fully air up tires, and reduction of unecessary weight (junk in trunk) in that order is far and away the main factors in MPG improvment.

Not at all condeming good PEA cleaners like Redline, Techron, Regane. They are great for maintnence, but simply are not going to make any real world MPG improvment.
+ 1

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
I just don't get the whole additives thing, especially acetone. I mean, wouldn't Shell or Exxon/Mobil or Conoco or anyone jump on this in a second if it helped with either fuel economy or engine cleanliness? For the record I do NOT buy into the conspiracy theory that it would sell less gas and therefore they shelve the idea. I think if some oil company came out with an additive that saved fuel they would market it in a heartbeat.

All the big ones do claim fuel efficiency and engine cleanliness benefits from their gas (Tech ron, Nitrogen, Top Tier, etc.), so they have obviously "jumped on this". Such additives do add cost to the gas, which they feel and have experienced can be justified through advertising and perceived performance. Plus, some of these companies sell their additives as an aftermarket product (hence this forum category), so it seems to me that they believe plenty in what they are selling.

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
I admire the intention, but driving a 4x4 Burb with a 5.3 V8, no additive will produce any discernable improvemant in MPG's.

Driving habits (a light pedal), fully air up tires, and reduction of unecessary weight (junk in trunk) in that order is far and away the main factors in MPG improvment.

Not at all condeming good PEA cleaners like Redline, Techron, Regane. They are great for maintnence, but simply are not going to make any real world MPG improvment.

Light pedal, check (on my part anyway; my wife is the one with the lead foot).
Tires, check.
Junk in trunk, not really an issue with a 4,500 lbs vehicle. Even 100 lbs of extra weight only represents a 2.2% weight increase. If weight made that big of a difference, the recommendation would be to run at all times with the 32 gallon gas tank less than 1/2 full.

I recognize the benefits of PEA cleaners, which is why I plan to such during the first and last months of the initial experiment.

 

[gfh77665]

I mentioned the third point, weight reduction, just in case. I have seen people with 200-300 lbs. of tools, etc. and other junk in the back of SUV's. My SIL uses her Honda Pilot as a four wheeled storage building. That definitly affects MPG's.

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: widman
How are you going to control the climate (temperature, wind)? What about trips and traffic? Speed?

Temperature will not vary greatly during the experiment period due to my location here in SoCal. Things will begin to warm up a bit near the end, but running additive-free tanks between additives will help take some of those changes into account by comparing the months before and after each additive run. Wind isn't really an issue here. We are pretty boring and pretty much go to the same places at the same times on the same days in the same traffic conditions.

Originally Posted By: widman
And return the system to its previous state before using the next additive.

Once again, this is "less-than-scientifically-sound". Just a real world evaluation of effectiveness.

Originally Posted By: widman
The last one in the test is probably going to show the best if other variables were controlled. It is impossible to control the important variables in day to day driving.

See above. Also, if I find increased benefits from one additive, I can try it for a longer period to see if they are sustainable or were more of cumulative benefits from other additives.

Originally Posted By: widman
Here are the km/liter for the first 9000 km of my Grand Cherokee without any different products or tests

Note that all gas is produced by the government. One standard.

The brand/standard of the fuel isn't the only thing associated with the fuel that can cause differences in such measurements. Each fuel pump will fill your tank to a different level (I don't "top off", so I am not forcing fuel into the filler neck until it is almost spilling out), which is why I will be using the same pump at the same station for the duration of the experiment. I also generally fill up at the same time of day, so there is not a whole lot of variation in the energy content of each gallon of fuel (which can be affected by outside temperature, sun exposure of the concrete/asphalt over the tanks, etc.).