Real world additives test

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: Donald
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.

The reason I am doing this, other than my interest in the possible outcome, is to find a way to save some money on gas (hence my focus on fuel efficiency changes, not "butt dyno" results). Paying someone to clean the injectors between each test period would definitely negate any possible fuel savings for quite some time.

 

[widman]

Quote:
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


99% of those purchases are at pump shut-off, and at the same gas station, where I have an account. They only have two pumps.

I once had a Tracker (Suzuki copy) that I could tell the effect of the Techron and their recommendation to add every 3000 miles. The mileage went up sharply from 6 or 7 km/l to 10.5 or so when I added the techron. then it slowly, over 3000 to 4000 miles or so dropped to 6 or 7.

 

[gfh77665]

Do you drive mostly highway? If so, whent the time comes, go up a size or two with your tires. This will effectivly give you a "higher gear" to run in, although your speedo and odometer will be off a bit. Don't do this if its mostly stop-n-go city driving though. The 5.3 has plenty of torque to handle larger tires.

 

[friendly_jacek]

The problem with study like this is controlling for temp differences in different months.
I ran into that issue when I did my E0 vs E10 study.
I got a lot of flack on BITOG for that study being "unscientific".

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Do you drive mostly highway? If so, whent the time comes, go up a size or two with your tires. This will effectivly give you a "higher gear" to run in, although your speedo and odometer will be off a bit. Don't do this if its mostly stop-n-go city driving though. The 5.3 has plenty of torque to handle larger tires.

The PO upsized the tires, so I am already running 1" taller than stock.

 

[greenjp]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
...Once again, this is "less-than-scientifically-sound". Just a real world evaluation of effectiveness.
...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...

The first part renders the second unlikely. You can't just poo-poo the scientific method, appropriate experiment design, data analysis techniques, etc by saying it's a "real world evaluation". As if science exists somewhere aside from the real world.

If you want to introduce a little bit of science into it, you should develop a list of potential factors and treatments, prepare a data collection sheet, put some thought into the required sample sizes to start with, etc.

jeff

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02

Light pedal, check (on my part anyway; my wife is the one with the lead foot).


Will wife drive during the test?

 

[kschachn]

Well yes of course the additives that the manufacturer has tested and proven to be of some benefit. But this is only after a statistically proven testing regimen that can be shown to work. I was referring to the whole "just add a pint of acetone and world peace will ensue" crowd.

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02

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.

 

[steve20]

I admire your intentions

If you had access to or purchased a Scangauge II for determining MPG, it would take a lot of the variability out of the exercise

Two comments:
I think the Burb is closer to 6000 lbs than 4500
If you are upsized by 1 inch without correcting the speedometer, you are registering less total miles and your variations in MPG between the additives may be harder to see

 

[NMBurb02]

Originally Posted By: steve20
I admire your intentions

If you had access to or purchased a Scangauge II for determining MPG, it would take a lot of the variability out of the exercise

Two comments:
I think the Burb is closer to 6000 lbs than 4500
If you are upsized by 1 inch without correcting the speedometer, you are registering less total miles and your variations in MPG between the additives may be harder to see

I will look into the Scangauge.

Curb weight is 4,578 lbs. GVWR is 7,600.

I think the PO had the speedometer/odometer corrected through a PCM flash at the dealer when he first got the bigger tires. He has a friend that runs a dealership and got 4 free tires they pulled off of a truck that was turned in as a part of the cash for clunkers program, and think the correction was made at that time. He replaced two of the tires weeks before selling it to me and stuck with the larger size, so when I replaced the other two, I went big as well. I have checked the speedometer against my GPS and they match up.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
Originally Posted By: steve20
I admire your intentions

If you had access to or purchased a Scangauge II for determining MPG, it would take a lot of the variability out of the exercise

Two comments:
I think the Burb is closer to 6000 lbs than 4500
If you are upsized by 1 inch without correcting the speedometer, you are registering less total miles and your variations in MPG between the additives may be harder to see

I will look into the Scangauge.

Curb weight is 4,578 lbs. GVWR is 7,600.

I think the PO had the speedometer/odometer corrected through a PCM flash at the dealer when he first got the bigger tires. He has a friend that runs a dealership and got 4 free tires they pulled off of a truck that was turned in as a part of the cash for clunkers program, and think the correction was made at that time. He replaced two of the tires weeks before selling it to me and stuck with the larger size, so when I replaced the other two, I went big as well. I have checked the speedometer against my GPS and they match up.


You ever have it on a scale? Our Expedition, which is about the same size, is over 6K lbs.

 

[NMBurb02]

My bathroom scale only goes up to 250 lbs.

I got the 4,578 number from a spec list online.

 

[MrQuackers]

I drive my car onto trucker scales and it weighs 2700 pounds with me in it. The bailout killed my brand.

 

[morris]

iam not a chemical engineer, but i have been around cars since 1965, reading as much about chemicals as i can. it might be that some engines will like some chemicals over others. just a thought. course thats part of your idea. DA. i think its a great thing to try. i hope it works good for you. course iam a MMO fan.