This is going to be a bit of a mouthful, but would greatly appreciate the input. The previous owner of my Mercury was using 95 RON/91 AKI gas, which for some reason resulted in a lot of carbon deposits in the engine. Both tailpipes were also caked in carbon when I bought the car. In an effort to do some slow cleaning up, I did some research into the different types of fuel available here, and found out 98 RON/94 AKI has the most detergents. So I switched to 98 RON gas, initially with a dose 150 ml dose of TC-W3.
Apparently this grade of gas is imported from state-owned Kuwait Oil Company's refineries in Europe, which I reckon is the reason why it costs 30-35% more than the other two offerings (91 RON/87 AKI and 95 RON/91 AKI). Whilst I cannot comment on fuel quality in Kuwait, the current offerings adhere to Euro II standards. Apparently efforts are being made to switch to Euro V standards by 2015, although Euro IV gas is available as a 95 RON offering, which is again imported from their refineries in Europe. Sulphur limits are 500 ppm across all grades except Euro IV 95 RON. If anybody is in the field, here are some charts on sulphur limits, and a comparison of RVP vs. benzene:
Also thought this might of of interest to some members:
Anyhow, I used TC-W3 in the fuel for 9,870 km (6,169 miles) before I switched to a 150 ml dose of Liqui-Moly Ventil Sauber Valve Cleaner at every fill up (which I am still using). The reason for the switch was because my right hand tailpipe was caked in oil with soft oily carbon:
I later cleaned this up with brake cleaner, and the exhaust has been clean since. In between Valve Cleaner, I have used Liqui-Moly Fuel Injection Cleaner.
At one point, I decided I must have done enough cleaning, so I will switch to the recommended 91 RON/87 AKI whilst still using Liqui-Moly Ventil Sauber Valve Cleaner at every fill up to keep things clean. But the moment I switched, the engine started pinging like crazy - especially under load. So I had to add two 150 ml cans of Liqui-Moly Octane Plus Enhancer to bring up the rating to 98-99 RON.
For the past four fill ups, I have used Gumout High Mileage Fuel Injector Cleaner twice in a row, followed by Gumout Concentrated Fuel System Cleaner twice in a row. I realise these are meant to be used between 3,000 mile intervals but they made a big difference in how the car accelerates and responds. There's also been about an 8% improvement in gas mileage, and the stainless steel is starting to show in the tailpipes.
I also noticed under 3/4 throttle or WOT, there would be a big cloud of white smoke behind me...much to the effect of using Seafoam through the brake booster line. This has lessened considerably now, but the BITOGer in me still thinks there's more to be cleaned up inside the engine.
I'm reluctant to use water as a cleaning agent, and would very much like to continue using fuel additives to finish off what I started. I was wondering if there would be any harm in using Gumout Concentrated Fuel System Cleaner a few more times, because I have noticed a great improvement using it. What about using MMO? If anybody has any other suggestions on fuel additives, I would really like to hear it. Although products like Seafoam and B-12 are unfortunately not available in my neck of the woods. Thanks!
Apparently this grade of gas is imported from state-owned Kuwait Oil Company's refineries in Europe, which I reckon is the reason why it costs 30-35% more than the other two offerings (91 RON/87 AKI and 95 RON/91 AKI). Whilst I cannot comment on fuel quality in Kuwait, the current offerings adhere to Euro II standards. Apparently efforts are being made to switch to Euro V standards by 2015, although Euro IV gas is available as a 95 RON offering, which is again imported from their refineries in Europe. Sulphur limits are 500 ppm across all grades except Euro IV 95 RON. If anybody is in the field, here are some charts on sulphur limits, and a comparison of RVP vs. benzene:
Also thought this might of of interest to some members:
Anyhow, I used TC-W3 in the fuel for 9,870 km (6,169 miles) before I switched to a 150 ml dose of Liqui-Moly Ventil Sauber Valve Cleaner at every fill up (which I am still using). The reason for the switch was because my right hand tailpipe was caked in oil with soft oily carbon:
I later cleaned this up with brake cleaner, and the exhaust has been clean since. In between Valve Cleaner, I have used Liqui-Moly Fuel Injection Cleaner.
At one point, I decided I must have done enough cleaning, so I will switch to the recommended 91 RON/87 AKI whilst still using Liqui-Moly Ventil Sauber Valve Cleaner at every fill up to keep things clean. But the moment I switched, the engine started pinging like crazy - especially under load. So I had to add two 150 ml cans of Liqui-Moly Octane Plus Enhancer to bring up the rating to 98-99 RON.
For the past four fill ups, I have used Gumout High Mileage Fuel Injector Cleaner twice in a row, followed by Gumout Concentrated Fuel System Cleaner twice in a row. I realise these are meant to be used between 3,000 mile intervals but they made a big difference in how the car accelerates and responds. There's also been about an 8% improvement in gas mileage, and the stainless steel is starting to show in the tailpipes.
I also noticed under 3/4 throttle or WOT, there would be a big cloud of white smoke behind me...much to the effect of using Seafoam through the brake booster line. This has lessened considerably now, but the BITOGer in me still thinks there's more to be cleaned up inside the engine.
I'm reluctant to use water as a cleaning agent, and would very much like to continue using fuel additives to finish off what I started. I was wondering if there would be any harm in using Gumout Concentrated Fuel System Cleaner a few more times, because I have noticed a great improvement using it. What about using MMO? If anybody has any other suggestions on fuel additives, I would really like to hear it. Although products like Seafoam and B-12 are unfortunately not available in my neck of the woods. Thanks!