Found this over at JU. Enjoy!
There has been several posts regarding fuel injector cleaners that you pour into the fuel tank. I am fairly knowledgeable with these, but I have noticed several people using Chevron's Pro-Gard with Techron. Then there is Chevron's Techron concentrate. Both of these products come in similar looking bottles and the word "Techron" is on both of them. The Pro-Gard I have seen at Costco and it's a lot cheaper than the Techron concentrate I see at my local auto parts store. I knew there had to be a difference between these products as the old saying goes "you get what you pay for". So today I sent an email directly to Chevron and asked them what exactly is the difference between these two products that seem so similar in packaging. Here is there reply.....
"Thank you for your inquiry. It has been forwarded to us here at Chevron
Fuels Technical Service.
The ProGard and Techron products contain the same chemical additive.
There is but one grade of the Techron product, while there are four
grades of Pro-Gard. The Pro-Gard products are "Clean-up", "Fuel Injector
Cleaner", "Fuel Injector Plus Intake Valve Cleaner", and "Gas
Treatment".
The ProGard products give lower, less effective concentrations. These
lower-concentration packages often sell for less. They have less "keep
clean" and "cleanup" properties. They are also not concentrated enough
to clean combustion chamber deposits. There are only subtle differences
amongst the Pro-Gard products, mostly having to do with concentration.
Techron Concentrate Fuel System Cleaner is the most concentrated and
will clean combustion chamber deposits. There is approximately 100% more
active ingredient in the Techron Concentrate than the Pro-Gard Fuel
Injector Cleaner. The active ingredient is Poly Ether Amine with a
solvent carrier.
A bottle of Techron Concentrate Fuel System Cleaner, when added to
gasoline according to the label instructions, results in an additive
concentration roughly 10 times stronger than the dose in Chevron
gasolines.
If you always used Chevron gasolines, you should be getting enough of a
dose of Techron such that you should not have to purchase the
Concentrate."
Now I do believe that they are giving you a little bit of a sales pitch at the end saying that if I always use their gasoline I should never need the Techron concentrate. Well in a perfect world that may be true. But the problem is that engines are not perfect and they do wear out. When they start using a little oil, sometimes carbon deposits accumulate. Some engines just have a design flaw that may also promote carbon or sludge buildup. I have seen cars with only 10k miles on them that were already having injector problems and they were using quality fuel. Climate and driving habits can also play a big factor. Personally I believe any name brand fuel is fine, especially if it has not been oxygenated or has alcohol. Good old straight quality gasoline is best. So I use any quality fuel and run a bottle of real Techron concentrate every 10k or so right before an oil change.
There has been several posts regarding fuel injector cleaners that you pour into the fuel tank. I am fairly knowledgeable with these, but I have noticed several people using Chevron's Pro-Gard with Techron. Then there is Chevron's Techron concentrate. Both of these products come in similar looking bottles and the word "Techron" is on both of them. The Pro-Gard I have seen at Costco and it's a lot cheaper than the Techron concentrate I see at my local auto parts store. I knew there had to be a difference between these products as the old saying goes "you get what you pay for". So today I sent an email directly to Chevron and asked them what exactly is the difference between these two products that seem so similar in packaging. Here is there reply.....
"Thank you for your inquiry. It has been forwarded to us here at Chevron
Fuels Technical Service.
The ProGard and Techron products contain the same chemical additive.
There is but one grade of the Techron product, while there are four
grades of Pro-Gard. The Pro-Gard products are "Clean-up", "Fuel Injector
Cleaner", "Fuel Injector Plus Intake Valve Cleaner", and "Gas
Treatment".
The ProGard products give lower, less effective concentrations. These
lower-concentration packages often sell for less. They have less "keep
clean" and "cleanup" properties. They are also not concentrated enough
to clean combustion chamber deposits. There are only subtle differences
amongst the Pro-Gard products, mostly having to do with concentration.
Techron Concentrate Fuel System Cleaner is the most concentrated and
will clean combustion chamber deposits. There is approximately 100% more
active ingredient in the Techron Concentrate than the Pro-Gard Fuel
Injector Cleaner. The active ingredient is Poly Ether Amine with a
solvent carrier.
A bottle of Techron Concentrate Fuel System Cleaner, when added to
gasoline according to the label instructions, results in an additive
concentration roughly 10 times stronger than the dose in Chevron
gasolines.
If you always used Chevron gasolines, you should be getting enough of a
dose of Techron such that you should not have to purchase the
Concentrate."
Now I do believe that they are giving you a little bit of a sales pitch at the end saying that if I always use their gasoline I should never need the Techron concentrate. Well in a perfect world that may be true. But the problem is that engines are not perfect and they do wear out. When they start using a little oil, sometimes carbon deposits accumulate. Some engines just have a design flaw that may also promote carbon or sludge buildup. I have seen cars with only 10k miles on them that were already having injector problems and they were using quality fuel. Climate and driving habits can also play a big factor. Personally I believe any name brand fuel is fine, especially if it has not been oxygenated or has alcohol. Good old straight quality gasoline is best. So I use any quality fuel and run a bottle of real Techron concentrate every 10k or so right before an oil change.
