Fuel injector cleaner

chetos · **Posted:** Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:21 pm

What's everyone using?

Advanced auto had some sort of 'injector cleaner for dummies' sale. It was buy one get one free. I used one of them and actually saw a decrease in gas milage and it actually felt a little sluggish(engine). I won't go back to that brand. Thanks.

SS-Virus · **Posted:** Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:34 pm

Don't use the injectors cleaners from any brand, as i was using one and it decrease the fuel millage, and the dealer sayed that I have to change the all six injectors :twisted:

streetKJ · **Posted:** Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:40 pm

I dont know much about this topic, but wouldn't you agree that adding a bottle of injector cleaner to a tank of gas will dilute the gas mixture and temporarily lower the octane rating and available density of gasoline molecules to burn, leading to less efficient combustion and therefore lower mileage temporarily? After the tank of gas is used up and a new tank of gas is added and driven, and added and driven, the injectors should now be cleaned and there shouldnt be anymore dilution of the gas mixture, and mileage is restored and then slightly increased. Makes sense, right? I dunno... :roll:

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:02 pm

streetKJ wrote:

I dont know much about this topic, but wouldn't you agree that adding a bottle of injector cleaner to a tank of gas will dilute the gas mixture and temporarily lower the octane rating and available density of gasoline molecules to burn, leading to less efficient combustion and therefore lower mileage temporarily? After the tank of gas is used up and a new tank of gas is added and driven, and added and driven, the injectors should now be cleaned and there shouldnt be anymore dilution of the gas mixture, and mileage is restored and then slightly increased. Makes sense, right? I dunno... :roll:

Yup, I noticed this when I added some valvoline injector cleaner to my tank.. You know alot about chemistry or something?

Albert · **Posted:** Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:56 pm

I used Chevron Fuel System cleaner (with Tecron) and it seemed to work ok.

The dealer might have been giving you a line of excrement or just trying to sell you his product.

Blue KJ in PA · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:02 am

streetKJ wrote:

I dont know much about this topic, but wouldn't you agree that adding a bottle of injector cleaner to a tank of gas will dilute the gas mixture and temporarily lower the octane rating and available density of gasoline molecules to burn, leading to less efficient combustion and therefore lower mileage temporarily? After the tank of gas is used up and a new tank of gas is added and driven, and added and driven, the injectors should now be cleaned and there shouldnt be anymore dilution of the gas mixture, and mileage is restored and then slightly increased. Makes sense, right? I dunno... :roll:

I don't believe it is a case of dilution based on the fact that most fuel injector cleaners are highly combustible solutions of hydrocarbon blends with some detergents added. I was told many years ago that STP original fuel cleaner was jet fuel with some detergent included. So if you are adding more potential octane why is the fuel milage going down? My guess is that the cleaner added is overloading the engine with octane and the computer is holding things back. But this is only the musings of a pharmaceutical chemist who dabbles in auto maintenance.

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:06 am

Naturally, I use Amsoil products. On my 180K + mile XJ I saw improved idling and better mileage w/in a 1/4 tank after using this one time. I will be changing plugs on my KJ again soon and will use another bottle in it too.

Amsoil P.I. Quick Shot
And/Or Amsoil P.I. Performance Improver Gasoline Additive

PM me for info or to order. Or click on the banner in my sig to go to my order page.

desertkj · **Joined:** Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:24 pm **Posts:** 677

Albert wrote:

I used Chevron Fuel System cleaner (with Tecron) and it seemed to work ok.

The dealer might have been giving you a line of excrement or just trying to sell you his product.

Same here. They sell it in four packs at Costco and I usually put it in around every 2000 miles. My mileage usually goes up about .2 every time I use it. Not to mention I figure its good to do whatever possible to prevent buildup in the injectors.

Ron · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 10:15 am

I use SeaFoam everyother oil change in the KJ, my Powerstroke diesel and 94 Ranger. I've never noticed any drop in milage after using it.

saxdogg · **Joined:** Fri Jun 02, 2006 7:26 pm **Posts:** 199

I would doubt that a small bottle of cleaner/concentrate would be enough dilution (in 18 gallons!) to cause any problems with octane, etc....I've always heard good things about the Techron additive...it is $$$ though!

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 10:46 am

The Amsoil products I've used, oil, filters, spray lubes, engine cleaners, etc. have always been a superior product. Haven't had my CRD long enough to commment on the diesel fuel products first hand, but I have talked to some Cummins owners who have doubled their fuel system's life and still going strong over what they were getting with just #2 diesel.

Boi1ermaker · **Joined:** Tue Jan 24, 2006 1:44 pm **Posts:** 249

Quote:

Don't use the injectors cleaners from any brand, as i was using one and it decrease the fuel millage, and the dealer sayed that I have to change the all six injectors

Sounds like your dealer trying to rip you off. I was told by the local bmw dealership to use fuel injector cleaner every oil change because it helped keep the injectors clean. It was part of their scheduled maintenance speech when i originally picked up the car. I believe they also suggested Chevron by name.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:50 pm

Blue KJ in PA wrote:

streetKJ wrote:

I dont know much about this topic, but wouldn't you agree that adding a bottle of injector cleaner to a tank of gas will dilute the gas mixture and temporarily lower the octane rating and available density of gasoline molecules to burn, leading to less efficient combustion and therefore lower mileage temporarily? After the tank of gas is used up and a new tank of gas is added and driven, and added and driven, the injectors should now be cleaned and there shouldnt be anymore dilution of the gas mixture, and mileage is restored and then slightly increased. Makes sense, right? I dunno... :roll:

I don't believe it is a case of dilution based on the fact that most fuel injector cleaners are highly combustible solutions of hydrocarbon blends with some detergents added. I was told many years ago that STP original fuel cleaner was jet fuel with some detergent included. So if you are adding more potential octane why is the fuel milage going down? My guess is that the cleaner added is overloading the engine with octane and the computer is holding things back. But this is only the musings of a pharmaceutical chemist who dabbles in auto maintenance.

Yea, thats the same reason why the mpg goes down when you switch to 93 octane when youve been using 87.. The computer must relearn when you put the 93 in. I didnt know the cleaner had octane in it though?

streetKJ · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:37 pm

Jeepjeepster wrote:

Blue KJ in PA wrote:

streetKJ wrote:

I dont know much about this topic, but wouldn't you agree that adding a bottle of injector cleaner to a tank of gas will dilute the gas mixture and temporarily lower the octane rating and available density of gasoline molecules to burn, leading to less efficient combustion and therefore lower mileage temporarily? After the tank of gas is used up and a new tank of gas is added and driven, and added and driven, the injectors should now be cleaned and there shouldnt be anymore dilution of the gas mixture, and mileage is restored and then slightly increased. Makes sense, right? I dunno... :roll:

I don't believe it is a case of dilution based on the fact that most fuel injector cleaners are highly combustible solutions of hydrocarbon blends with some detergents added. I was told many years ago that STP original fuel cleaner was jet fuel with some detergent included. So if you are adding more potential octane why is the fuel milage going down? My guess is that the cleaner added is overloading the engine with octane and the computer is holding things back. But this is only the musings of a pharmaceutical chemist who dabbles in auto maintenance.

Yea, thats the same reason why the mpg goes down when you switch to 93 octane when youve been using 87.. The computer must relearn when you put the 93 in. I didnt know the cleaner had octane in it though?

Interestingly enough, if you look at the same brand's fuel injector cleaner and octane booster products, they are pretty much the same thing save for the extra detergents for the cleaner.

But also disappointingly, a bottle of octane booster will raise your octane from 87 to 87.9 at best. Not even one freakin percent for 5 bucks is a ripoff! Might as well buy 93 octane at the pump!!!

kickit_in4wheel · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:09 pm

"Octane" is a measure of the solution's material to resist combustion. When gas combusts due to compression, and not because of the spark plug by the ignition, that is bad. That's why high compression engines need higher octane fuel. In an average engine, adding a higher octane fuel doesn't usually increase the performance. You're essentially adding a fuel that will resist combustion longer. It's often difficult to see the results of these kind of products, because the average person's driving (and therefore mileage) varies from one tank to the next. I've used a couple different injector cleaners before, and while there were some I considered a complete waste of money, I do think that using the right product can be helpful. But remember, your injectors may not even be that dirty if you use decent fuel and/or one of these products regularly. It's possible that you might just be maintaing a clean condition, in which case you definitely won't see a sizeable mileage increase.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:12 pm

^

correct.. :wink:

Cacher123 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:50 pm

My Camaro used to occasionally get a bad tank of fuel (water or crap in it) which would screw up the fuel system. A can of injector cleaner or 2 would fix the problem. I try to run a bottle through about every 10 or 15k. Figure it can't hurt and I usually see a little better throttle response w/in a tank full or so for a little while.

PitViper · **Posted:** Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:54 pm

BG 44k

The A Team · **Joined:** Sun Sep 24, 2006 10:38 pm **Posts:** 16

I use fuel injector cleaner and have my tires rotated and balanced at every oil change. I see better gas mileage with the cleaner. I remember when my dad drove a Texas Jimmy to California and had problems, the solution was to add injector cleaner because of all the crap Cali has in their gas to cut down on smog - the Texas car didn't like it.

I've been using the STP stuff, but I may be switching to ZMax unless I see some compelling tests where something is far better than the rest of the market. I guess I’m a sucker for advertising, but Carol Shelby as a spokesman makes me want to use it.

Jeepin Al · **Posted:** Fri Oct 06, 2006 12:36 pm

I use the Chevron stuff about every 10K miles. I had trouble after one cleaning. It seems the plastic injectors don't like being cleaned that often. One started to knock real bad. at first I thought it was a lifter or valve. After listening several times to the motor and injector, I thought the sound was from the injector. Well it was. Banging away like crazy.

I quieted down with some marvel mystery oil in the gas tank, took two fill ups and two small cans of the oil, but it is running quiet right now. I think I will change out that injector however.

Al

Fuel injector cleaner

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