A chemists view on gasoline additives

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Originally Posted By: Turk
This is an interesting statement....

"What about fuel injector additives?
Give the money to charity where it'll do some good; your fuel injectors will never know the difference. Other than a narrow window in 86-87 where some fuel injectors fouled, the modern (meaning post 87) injectors are of a design that won't foul unless you put some really old rotten gas through them. We had one guy in our group whose job it was to test our gas and competitors brands for injector fouling. He couldn't do it with '88 and newer injectors (with any brand of gas!). I mean he couldn't even get these injectors to foul a little.
"


So, why, or how, do we see videos of fouled injectors and after adding cleaners, we see them spraying better??



I'm pretty sure it's easy to get fouled injectors by simply using a non-detergent base fuel. That'll foul it up pretty well given enough time.

As for switching brands, I'm thinking that's probably not needed these days with a properly formulated additive package. I'm pretty sure that additives are better balanced to clean up what they might otherwise leave behind. The real key these days is that they run them through tests with performance standards and quantifiable results showing clean injectors and clean valves. So if detergent A cleans up the injectors really nicely but tends to foul up the valves, then it would have to be balanced with something that cleans up the valves.

I think there was a problem with 80s to early 90s era fuel injector detergents cleaning injectors but fouling valves. That was before Chevron developed PEA detergents. Their brand name at the time was Techroline.
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Turk said:
This is an interesting statement....

"What about fuel injector additives?
Give the money to charity where it'll do some good; your fuel injectors will never know the difference. Other than a narrow window in 86-87 where some fuel injectors fouled, the modern (meaning post 87) injectors are of a design that won't foul unless you put some really old rotten gas through them. We had one guy in our group whose job it was to test our gas and competitors brands for injector fouling. He couldn't do it with '88 and newer injectors (with any brand of gas!). I mean he couldn't even get these injectors to foul a little.
"


So, why, or how, do we see videos of fouled injectors and after adding cleaners, we see them spraying better??



I'm pretty sure it's easy to get fouled injectors by simply using a non-detergent base fuel. That'll foul it up pretty well given enough time.

/quote]

Okay...now where could one buy such fuel?
 
Originally Posted By: TTK
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: Turk
This is an interesting statement....

"What about fuel injector additives?
Give the money to charity where it'll do some good; your fuel injectors will never know the difference. Other than a narrow window in 86-87 where some fuel injectors fouled, the modern (meaning post 87) injectors are of a design that won't foul unless you put some really old rotten gas through them. We had one guy in our group whose job it was to test our gas and competitors brands for injector fouling. He couldn't do it with '88 and newer injectors (with any brand of gas!). I mean he couldn't even get these injectors to foul a little.
"


So, why, or how, do we see videos of fouled injectors and after adding cleaners, we see them spraying better??



I'm pretty sure it's easy to get fouled injectors by simply using a non-detergent base fuel. That'll foul it up pretty well given enough time.



Okay...now where could one buy such fuel?

I think Costco gets "unadditized" fuel for their stations. They have that system where they have their additive dispensed onsite from their underground additive tanks at the time it's delivered by tanker. So if you can get a wholesale account with a fuel depot, you could probably buy the stuff.

It's pretty obvious that a testing lab can get the stuff. All the detergent manufacturers probably get unadditized gas - to both blend in the additive and to use to determine a baseline performance.
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
I think Costco gets "unadditized" fuel for their stations. They have that system where they have their additive dispensed onsite from their underground additive tanks at the time it's delivered by tanker. So if you can get a wholesale account with a fuel depot, you could probably buy the stuff.

It's pretty obvious that a testing lab can get the stuff. All the detergent manufacturers probably get unadditized gas - to both blend in the additive and to use to determine a baseline performance.

Costco is a Top Tier fuel retailer. You may be right about how the additive package gets into their gas - not sure it really matters to the end user.
 
Originally Posted By: dave5358
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
I think Costco gets "unadditized" fuel for their stations. They have that system where they have their additive dispensed onsite from their underground additive tanks at the time it's delivered by tanker. So if you can get a wholesale account with a fuel depot, you could probably buy the stuff.

It's pretty obvious that a testing lab can get the stuff. All the detergent manufacturers probably get unadditized gas - to both blend in the additive and to use to determine a baseline performance.

Costco is a Top Tier fuel retailer. You may be right about how the additive package gets into their gas - not sure it really matters to the end user.

I was just answering the question as to how to get "unadditized fuel". You might have to scroll down the quote box to see the question.

So in short - there are ways to get unadditized fuel if you can demonstrate a need for it.
 
what I found interesting and I've done search, is not very much info about actual bench-type testing with the additives by enthusiasts.

What I mean, is people are always testing in their car based on butt dyno, and maybe via mpg readouts but not testing the additives otherwise in a more controlled environment and actually seeing if they do anything.

There is only the one post from 2002
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=261713

that gets floated around where the guy (Sciguyjim) tested a bunch of products against tar goo that he had in his gas tank.

Sure it is not scientific, but it's a step up from butt dyno.
Why have the enthusiasts not done more unscientific home-comparo tests like this?

Otherwise, what happens is people just keep circling back to the very few primary source pieces of information, and repeat what they hear until it becomes the mantra or the flavor of the month.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2014/05/how-a-raccoon-became-an-aardvark.html
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
I was just answering the question as to how to get "unadditized fuel". You might have to scroll down the quote box to see the question. So in short - there are ways to get unadditized fuel if you can demonstrate a need for it.

It may be a bit more tricky than just getting an 'account'. When the Clean Air Act finally got implemented, it required that motor fuels have a minimum additive package. This new standard was rather low - actually less additive than was being used by some retailers. The 'top tier' program was partially in response to this - several European car makers started complaining.

To purchase motor fuel with zero additives would seem to be in violation of the Clean Air Act, much like buying avgas for use in a motor vehicle. Yes, you can probably buy avgas. We used to have a weird gas vendor in the area selling 125 octane leaded gas as motor fuel - it was probably avgas, but who knows?. This sort of thing is frowned upon. It's hard enough to imagine a tank farm selling to an end-user at all. But, to sell the end user something they know is against the rules.

Our local weird gas vendor finally went out of business - not sure why. But he was a very small operator and it may have been a case of just 'slipping through the cracks'.
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: TTK
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: Turk
This is an interesting statement....

"What about fuel injector additives?
Give the money to charity where it'll do some good; your fuel injectors will never know the difference. Other than a narrow window in 86-87 where some fuel injectors fouled, the modern (meaning post 87) injectors are of a design that won't foul unless you put some really old rotten gas through them. We had one guy in our group whose job it was to test our gas and competitors brands for injector fouling. He couldn't do it with '88 and newer injectors (with any brand of gas!). I mean he couldn't even get these injectors to foul a little.
"


So, why, or how, do we see videos of fouled injectors and after adding cleaners, we see them spraying better??



I'm pretty sure it's easy to get fouled injectors by simply using a non-detergent base fuel. That'll foul it up pretty well given enough time.



Okay...now where could one buy such fuel?

I think Costco gets "unadditized" fuel for their stations. They have that system where they have their additive dispensed onsite from their underground additive tanks at the time it's delivered by tanker. So if you can get a wholesale account with a fuel depot, you could probably buy the stuff.

It's pretty obvious that a testing lab can get the stuff. All the detergent manufacturers probably get unadditized gas - to both blend in the additive and to use to determine a baseline performance.


I am sure you think that, but there are Federal requirements for fuel additives for motor cars. By Federal law it must have a certain level of additives. What you can buy additionally at COSTCO is over and above the Federal additive requirements, and you pay extra for it.
 
Originally Posted By: TTK
Originally Posted By: y_p_w


It's pretty obvious that a testing lab can get the stuff. All the detergent manufacturers probably get unadditized gas - to both blend in the additive and to use to determine a baseline performance.


I am sure you think that, but there are Federal requirements for fuel additives for motor cars. By Federal law it must have a certain level of additives. What you can buy additionally at COSTCO is over and above the Federal additive requirements, and you pay extra for it.

I never stated that anyone off the street can just stop by a fuel depot with a five gallon container and get base fuel without additives. I said an entity obtaining such fuel would need to demonstrate a need for it or would need to indicate that they intend on adding the detergent before it reaches the final consumer. Where would a testing lab get such fuel? Obviously an unadditized fuel is listed as being required for most testing procedures for the baseline as well as for the testing of the additive performance.

The requirement by the EPA and state agencies is that the retail product must contain at least a certain level of detergent additives. However, there's no requirement that it be added at the fuel terminal for wholesale delivery. I'm pretty sure Costco gets an unadditized base fuel at the depot. Their whole model for "Kirkland Signature Gas" is premised on the cost savings they get from buying an additive from Lubrizol and using their automated equipment to meter it into their fuel, rather than paying someone to put it in at the fuel depot. I've heard from some familiar with the industry that some operators get unadditized base fuel from the depot and then dump in additives from a jug at the gas station.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Interesting if you like tripe.

Fill us in, Trav. Your perspective here could be enlightening, considering what you work with each day. I'm beginning to think the idea of switching up on occasion might not be a bad idea, given a recent experience and how far I dug into the matter, and how it was eventually resolved. My reasoning is that not every fuel station (or even not every Top Tier station) uses PEA.
 
I see lots of injectors everyday. Its very rare to have any come in with higher mileage (80-100K) that flow close to OEM spec and have a decent spray pattern.
This guys theories don't take a few things into account such as the minute dirt particles that inevitably end up in your tank and ethanol laced fuels that are hygroscopic in nature.

Some of these particles are so small they get past the main fuel filter and end up in the injectors internal filer basket or worse in the nozzle where they accumulate and partially clog the flow or disrupt the spray pattern.

At around 30K some deterioration of flow or disruption in spray pattern is common and gradually worsens over time and miles.
Mistakenly most owners/drivers attribute this to the car just getting old or getting high miles and is normal, often it is so gradual it goes totally unnoticed.
Does anyone really remember how their car drove 6 years ago, it still runs good today.

There are many different types of spray pattern depending on engine design. Boosted engines like a atomized straight shot or in some cases almost a needle spray.
Multi valve heads use two distinct spray streams one to each intake valve, if one of these get clogged the injector my flow okay but only one valve will be receiving the fuel causing an unevenness in the cylinder.
This can cause pinging, hot spots and uneven idle.

Poor flow (to much or too little) on one injector can send the whole bank lean or rich as the O2/AFM reads the bank as a whole and tries to correct by metering the others.
The point is keeping them clean is imperative for proper engine function, long cat life, maintaining oil NOACK and fuel dilution.

I have cleaned a few control sets of injectors over the years. I brought them back to OEM spec with the correct degree of spray angle and installed them.
We then used Redline SI-1 in one and nothing in the other. 30K later we pulled them (same car, engine with similar miles and same injector#).

The Redline treated ones maintained their flow and pattern while the untreated lost 10-20% flow and spray pattern was less than optimal.
We did this with a few sets all with similar results, GM, Ford 5.4 2V and Honda V6 were the mules.

If i am going to recommend this to customers i better not be blowing smoke up anyones backside. The once every 3K worked as well as a couple of ounces every full tank.
My good friend Frank (Demarpaint) had trouble with his van for many years, it got to the point he didn't even want to drive it anymore.
Everyone told him it wasnt the injectors that they were fine and didn't cause this sort of problem, i finally convinced him to put some injectors in it. Frank claims a miracle.

He sent me the old ones to test, the flow was miserable with less than 50% of normal flow and terrible spray pattern. They are not repairable to the point i would want them installed in an engine.

The last point is the swapping fuels business. I tested a M35X run on Shell V Power since day 1.
It did keep the injectors relatively clean with less than 10% reduction over 30K (no other additives) but there are no deposits whatsoever on the back of the intake valves or in the combustion chambers.
The other injectors were run on whatever was around at the time of fill but no cheap no name fuel.

Sorry for the long winded post. Thats my take on it.
 
Originally Posted By: TTK
I am sure you think that, but there are Federal requirements for fuel additives for motor cars. By Federal law it must have a certain level of additives. What you can buy additionally at COSTCO is over and above the Federal additive requirements, and you pay extra for it.

+1. This captures the situation pretty well. Probably all the gasoline that comes down the pipeline meets the Federal minimum additive standards, or else 'minimum additives' are added by the local tank farm immediately upon receipt. The tank farm operator simply cannot sell it otherwise. Everything else - whether from Costco's own tank, or added due to customer request by the tank farm operator - is over and above the Federal minimums. And, you pay extra for it.
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Where would a testing lab get such fuel? Obviously an unadditized fuel is listed as being required for most testing procedures for the baseline as well as for the testing of the additive performance.

Are you sure about that? Wouldn't the test lab want to know how their additive would work when added on top of Federal minimum add packs. That's how it's going to be used.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Sorry for the long winded post. Thats my take on it.

Not at all, Trav, thanks for that! I'm definitely a believer in the Red Line stuff (and other PEA additives). I've got a story I need to run by you later in PM - I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!
 
Originally Posted By: dave5358
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Where would a testing lab get such fuel? Obviously an unadditized fuel is listed as being required for most testing procedures for the baseline as well as for the testing of the additive performance.

Are you sure about that? Wouldn't the test lab want to know how their additive would work when added on top of Federal minimum add packs. That's how it's going to be used.

I was thinking more in the line of a bulk fuel additive that's meant to be added to unadditized base fuel. Like the Top Tier test or the CARB deposit control test. For Top Tier, they have to have the base fuel tested to establish a baseline that includes a minimum level of deposit formation. I would think the minimum EPA level of detergents would probably prevent this from happening.

Quote:
http://www.toptiergas.com/deposit_control.html

1.3.1.2 Base Fuel. The base fuel shall conform to ASTM D 4814 and shall contain commercial fuel grade ethanol conforming to ASTM D 4806. All gasoline blend stocks used to formulate the base fuel shall be representative of normal U.S. refinery operations and shall be derived from conversion units downstream of distillation. Butanes and pentanes are allowed for vapor pressure adjustment. The use of chemical streams is prohibited. The base fuel shall have the following specific properties after the addition of ethanol:

1. Contain enough denatured ethanol such that the actual ethanol content is no less than 8.0 and no more than 10.0 volume percent.
2. Contain no less than 8 volume percent olefins. At least 75% of the olefins shall be derived from FCC gasoline as defined by CARB (advisory letter, April 19, 2001).
3. Contain no less than 28 volume percent aromatics as measured by ASTM D 1319 or D 5580.
4. Contain no less than 24 mg/kg sulfur as measured by ASTM D 2622 or D 5453. At least 60% of the sulfur shall be derived from FCC blend stock.
5. Produce a 90% evaporation distillation temperature no less than 290F. as measured by ASTM D 86.
6. Produce IVD no less than 500 mg averaged over all intake valves.

Also - minimum add packs can be odd. Not all detergents are the same. I know it's assumed that PEA is the dominant detergent on the market (probably is) but it isn't the only kind on the market. You're probably not going to get much better performance if the detergent in an aftermarket additive is chemically dissimilar to the add pack in the test fuel.

I was just saying that it's possible to get unadditized base fuel and frankly required for some testing purposes, such as testing a bulk fuel additive meant to be added at a fuel depot or otherwise to unadditized base fuel.
 
I agree with some of the points in the article, but want to give Trav a big thanks for telling us what he sees "at the pointy" end of the discussion.
 
Nice post Trav. So what is your opinion on his suggestion of switching brands of gasoline to keep the fuel injectors clean of build up? That's what I'm mostly interested in.

Also, GregK24's question is a good one. Would the same issue apply to engine oil additives?
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
I see lots of injectors everyday. Its very rare to have any come in with higher mileage (80-100K) that flow close to OEM spec and have a decent spray pattern.
This guys theories don't take a few things into account such as the minute dirt particles that inevitably end up in your tank and ethanol laced fuels that are hygroscopic in nature.

Some of these particles are so small they get past the main fuel filter and end up in the injectors internal filer basket or worse in the nozzle where they accumulate and partially clog the flow or disrupt the spray pattern.

At around 30K some deterioration of flow or disruption in spray pattern is common and gradually worsens over time and miles.
Mistakenly most owners/drivers attribute this to the car just getting old or getting high miles and is normal, often it is so gradual it goes totally unnoticed.
Does anyone really remember how their car drove 6 years ago, it still runs good today.

There are many different types of spray pattern depending on engine design. Boosted engines like a atomized straight shot or in some cases almost a needle spray.
Multi valve heads use two distinct spray streams one to each intake valve, if one of these get clogged the injector my flow okay but only one valve will be receiving the fuel causing an unevenness in the cylinder.
This can cause pinging, hot spots and uneven idle.

Poor flow (to much or too little) on one injector can send the whole bank lean or rich as the O2/AFM reads the bank as a whole and tries to correct by metering the others.
The point is keeping them clean is imperative for proper engine function, long cat life, maintaining oil NOACK and fuel dilution.

I have cleaned a few control sets of injectors over the years. I brought them back to OEM spec with the correct degree of spray angle and installed them.
We then used Redline SI-1 in one and nothing in the other. 30K later we pulled them (same car, engine with similar miles and same injector#).

The Redline treated ones maintained their flow and pattern while the untreated lost 10-20% flow and spray pattern was less than optimal.
We did this with a few sets all with similar results, GM, Ford 5.4 2V and Honda V6 were the mules.

If i am going to recommend this to customers i better not be blowing smoke up anyones backside. The once every 3K worked as well as a couple of ounces every full tank.
My good friend Frank (Demarpaint) had trouble with his van for many years, it got to the point he didn't even want to drive it anymore.
Everyone told him it wasnt the injectors that they were fine and didn't cause this sort of problem, i finally convinced him to put some injectors in it. Frank claims a miracle.

He sent me the old ones to test, the flow was miserable with less than 50% of normal flow and terrible spray pattern. They are not repairable to the point i would want them installed in an engine.

The last point is the swapping fuels business. I tested a M35X run on Shell V Power since day 1.
It did keep the injectors relatively clean with less than 10% reduction over 30K (no other additives) but there are no deposits whatsoever on the back of the intake valves or in the combustion chambers.
The other injectors were run on whatever was around at the time of fill but no cheap no name fuel.

Sorry for the long winded post. Thats my take on it.



What a fantastic & informative post, Trav!

You should form this into its own Thread, add a few pictures and have the Mods make it a "Sticky"!

thumbsup2.gif
 
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