The Gas additive phenomenon

[5sfecelica]

Alright I have been reading around these and other boards for a while, and I firmly know when BS is BS. But I recently used a very cheap product (~$1.80) fuel injector cleaner product. I didn't expect anything really, just figured its about that time. Well anyway I did it as instructions say, and throughout and until the end of that tank of gas I realized I've gotten way better gas mileage. I got about 25 mpg.(24.789) I normally average 20-21mpg.

Now for a little background. I travel the same route everyday, mainly city driving, but never any traffic. I drive normally and don't try to achieve any mpg goals, I just like monitoring my mpg. Now you may not think that 4-5mpg is a big deal, but I've monitored every tank this whole year, and I've always gotten 20-21mpg. So out of the blue a 4-5mpg jump is a big deal.

So this has gotten me thinking. I read around forums, and I've also seen this phenomenon of people saying gas additives rarely do anything (I agree), but they all seem to notice that on the tank of gas they add it to, they see increased mpg.

I'd like to see a discussion about this, and if anyone else has noticed this, or experienced this.

[2way]

but they all seem to notice that on the tank of gas they add it to,I usually see a decrease in mpg on the tank I use injector cleaner in and a restoration on the following tank. Most cleaning additives restore what should be there. Many injector cleaners are kerosene/diesel based and will hurt economy. Naptha based cleaners may help slightly on the current tank. Many knock/octane boosting additives are alcohol based and will hurt economy.

[5sfecelica]

So most likely the additive I used was probably a naptha based cleaner? And whats the long term effects, say if I use it every tank or 2?

By the way if you search "injector cleaner mpg" in google, you will find dozens of pages on people claiming mpg benefits, so I'm not sure how you can say they decrease mpg.

[2way]

Most likely, you had some dirty injectors. Just use a top tier fuel and toss in injector cleaner every oil change. Using it every 2-3 tanks is pretty much a waste of $. You can only get things so clean ;)

BTW, what I said was that it decreases mpg for me in that tank. I use a kerosene based cleaner. It does improve on the following tank. The chemical is gone and the system cleaned. MPG restored.

If you post the brand details, we can probably find out the main ingredients of what you used.

[5sfecelica]

It was Supertech Fuel Injector Cleaner from walmart. Cheap stuff I know.

[2way]

Kerosene
Same stuff I use

[Blue Bomber]

If you really want your injectors clean, send them to WitchHunter and have them properly done. No matter how much injector cleaner you run, it can only do so much without professional cleaning.

[Matt_GTS]

I run the Red Line Fuel System Cleaner 2-3 times a year. I've been very happy with it.

http://www.redlineoil.com/products_fueladditives.asp

Its doubled in price recently (like a lot of stuff), its about $8 at Checker.

[marc]

seafoam in the gas tank FTW

[Lo_Pro_Life]

Shell and Chevron. do your car a favor.

shell if you got the money. chevron with techron if you dont. they help you out and add cleaner to all 3 types of gas.

[raionz]

I never saw anything about Shell being superior to Chevron before. Link?

[Lo_Pro_Life]

no link. just day to day comparison. sometimes links to information on the web dont compare to real experience. unless the link is to something based on real experience.

[Blue Bomber]

I've heard people claim that their cars run crappy on Shell. I never had any issues, though...