Redline SI-1: Use on Highway or Commuting?

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Does it make any sense to run Redline SI-1 fuel system cleaner on a highway run where the car would burn through an entire tank of gas in a day, or is it preferable to use this product in normal commuting such that it has some time to soak in?
 
I've always been led to believe a good fuel additive "needs time", so I only add P.E.A. additives when I'll be doing lots of short trips = 1 tank lasts longest
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
I've always been led to believe a good fuel additive "needs time", so I only add P.E.A. additives when I'll be doing lots of short trips = 1 tank lasts longest

That was my theory as well. Any other opinions?
 
Here is a sort of non-answer from a Gumout Q&A thread in this forum...

"Q: I was wondering if Gumout (and other PEA additives) are equally effective regardless of the type of driving done? I have always assumed that a lot of short trips with many shut offs and starts would allow the additive to sit in the fuel injectors and on the valves longer....thus being more effective than a tankful of treated fuel used on one long highway run?

A: There are many factors that influence the build-up and removal of deposits. These include temperature, humidity, driving habits, engine design and even the particular location within an engine. Short trips with many stop and start cycles create many opportunities for deposits to build. Each time the engine is shut off, any fuel remaining on injectors and valves will cook forming gum, varnish and carbon deposits. It is true that treated fuel will then have increased contact time with previous deposits, but this may be offset by the tendency of deposits to build under stop-start conditions. Some of the test programs behind Gumout treat recommendations are based on running conditions that cycle between steady speed to heat the engine to operating temperature and hot soak to allow deposits to build, with clean-up evaluated under the same conditions. However, we do not have data to make a direct comparison to say whether a steady run is better than short trips for clean-up. Our advice is to treat a tank of fuel and drive normally as needed."
 
It depends on the additive - if it was the old school Toyota EFI Cleaner, B-12 Chemtool or something with aggressive solvents like acetone, toluene, butyl cellosolve or methanol the sooner you can use up that tank the better. Toyota advised with their old silver can EFI cleaner to drive the car as much you can in a day to run the tank empty.

Regane, Techron, SI-1 and most others use kerosene or stoddard solvent as the carrier solvent and maybe a little xylene and light oil. It's really a judgement call, but it depends on the car and fuel system materials. You'll have an easier time running down a Hellcat or Tahoe than a Prius - but most of the mainstream additive manufacturers(and by extension Lubrizol and Afton) do consider polymers and non-ferrous metals in a modern fuel system.
 
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Here is a sort of non-answer from a Gumout Q&A thread in this forum...

You're right, that was a non-answer, but it does suggest a new slogan:

Gumout - Just Use It!
 
I used to drive from NYC to Boston twice a month for a couple of years and when I thought it was needed I added the fuel cleaner when filling up before the drive. I figured the benefit may be greater with the freshest gas. A week or two and the gasoline starts to degrade. A little OCD but I felt better.
 
I try to avoid rapid fuel consumption with cleaners to increase contact time. With alcohol based water absorbing stuff I want it out asap.
 
Originally Posted By: Dyusik
I try to avoid rapid fuel consumption with cleaners to increase contact time. With alcohol based water absorbing stuff I want it out asap.

It depends on what you're trying to clean. There might be a certain benefit to soaking for a while to clean injectors, but to clean intake valves it requires that the fuel mist be sprayed on the valves.
 
When the fuel system cleaner ignites with the gasoline does it provide a cleaning process? When gasoline sits in an injector, at some point isn't the tiny amount of cleaner in there done cleaning? If it has in fact cleaned in there, isn't it better to remove said particulates ASAP?
Not being argumentative, just exposing my layman's knowledge.
 
Originally Posted By: 555
When the fuel system cleaner ignites with the gasoline does it provide a cleaning process? When gasoline sits in an injector, at some point isn't the tiny amount of cleaner in there done cleaning? If it has in fact cleaned in there, isn't it better to remove said particulates ASAP?
Not being argumentative, just exposing my layman's knowledge.

Once it ignites, the detergent is supposed to just burn up. Exhaust valves get extremely hot, and that's what keeps them from developing heavy carbon deposits. I seem to recall one of the biggest problems with pre-PEA detergents were that they would burn and then turn into stuff that left deposits behind.

Chevron's lower concentration bottled additives are marketed only as cleaning fuel injectors, although I'm pretty sure they help with valves. I think what they're saying is one bottle and we can almost guarantee your injectors will be clean if they're gunked up. Look for photos of clogged injectors, and the holes are partially blocked and maybe a layer of varnish is there. This isn't happening because it's crudding up while the engine is running. It's happening when the injector is sitting there with fuel that stays there and doesn't have a high enough detergent level to prevent it. I'd think that an adequate detergent level should work on dissolving the varnish while it's actively spraying fuel.
 
Thanks for the info. So what is more effective? Before a trip and going through a tank of gas or stretching out the tank with fuel cleaner as long as possible.
 
Well, look at it this way. They say that two back to back doses are better than doubling a dose in one tank. So, do one tank of long trips, and one tank of short tripping, and get both done.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Well, look at it this way. They say that two back to back doses are better than doubling a dose in one tank. So, do one tank of long trips, and one tank of short tripping, and get both done.
wink.gif


Injectors are pretty easy to clean though. Even if there's varnish on the tip of the injector that might only be cleaned with a soak, shouldn't the jets themselves be cleaned out pretty well by fuel passing through? And if there's a regular use of high detergent fuel, it shouldn't really be much of an issue.

There are of course services that will remove injectors and manually clean them. They make all sorts of claims that detergents may cause problems like dislodging stuff in the tank and fuel lines, but I can't imaging that's really so much of an issue when there's a fuel filter. I saw one service claim that it can't clean what the fuel doesn't touch, but I thought that once it's shut down it does. I mean - the deposits form from the fuel, so if where the fuel contacts is where the deposits form, then shouldn't a detergent in the fuel also dissolve those deposits?
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Well, look at it this way. They say that two back to back doses are better than doubling a dose in one tank. So, do one tank of long trips, and one tank of short tripping, and get both done.
wink.gif



I've done that a few times myself. Filled the tank before leaving for a Lake George, VA, etc. vacation. Make the trip, all highway miles. Run that tank down, add another bottle and fill up for the normal vacation activities when I get there. We typically leave at about 0300-0400 when only drunks and people who hate driving in traffic are on the road, then it's usually all highway driving w/o traffic. LOL
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Injectors are pretty easy to clean though. Even if there's varnish on the tip of the injector that might only be cleaned with a soak, shouldn't the jets themselves be cleaned out pretty well by fuel passing through? And if there's a regular use of high detergent fuel, it shouldn't really be much of an issue.

I should think so. Trav would be the guy to ask about that. Of course, I'm one of the guys, too, to wonder which is the most effective way to use these cleaners. If I'm going on a long trip, sometimes I'll toss a bottle in, and do it again when I'm home and back to normal. I can't say how much it does, other than satisfy the OCD. After all, I've been using Top Tier by it being simply the path of least resistance here for years. To add to that, the G37 requires premium on top of that. I'm not sure how much cleaning I need after running Shell V-Power NiTRO+ almost exclusively, but I do throw a cleaner in two or three times a year, be it SI-1 or Regane.

Generally speaking, I can usually make myself happy enough by just running one at a fill, and driving normally and running the tank low.
 
Originally Posted By: Big Smoke
Is the Sl-1 still the best thing going with a high PEA level?


Several major OTC fuel additives have PEA in the same range, as listed on MSDS. Gumout and STP come to mind.
 
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