Apart from the manufacturers claims, are they any proven benefits to using this?

Reason i ask is someone got me 4 bottles for nothing so is it worth using?

I've never noticed a difference, not in mpg, starting, power, smoke, smell, colour.....unless you put too much in and then your mpg goes down

Was tested on 5th Gear. Leads to a 2% reduction in power from the engine.

Try looking on YouTube for the clip.

Edited 6 July, 201213 yr by Metblackrat

Are we talking cetane boosters here or just "cleaners"?

I mean the redex injector cleaner

Redex used to work a treat on my old motorbike's carburretors, but the Octavia handbook advises not to use any fuel additives. Skoda could just be over-cautious, as usual.

Was tested on 5th Gear. Leads to a 2% reduction in power from the engine.

Try looking on YouTube for the clip.

Yeah, I saw that episode on Dave the other day, but to be fair, they did say at the end that they'd not tried it on very high performance cars.

Personally, I think it's a load of old b@lls though!

Fuel additives are unnecessary and potentially ruinous to the engine.

Look at it this way - your car runs fine without them but >may< not run as well after using them. There is a risk, no matter how small so why take the risk because they were free?

Donate to the local recycling centre who should have somewhere to dispose of them

If your looking for real benefits that work, forte fuel cleaner & vpower fuel, at least a few tanks!

G

Just use vpower, that has all you need.

Anything that increases the cetane rating will have a benefit so that's Vpower diesel (has a higher cetane rating than normal diesel) or cetane additive. Effectively increases the fuels willingness to burn under compression.

Injector cleaners etc though are a waste of money and on high pressure injectors like we have these days are probably a bad idea - let the detergent additives already in fuel sort that for you.

I had a proven benefit on an old-tech car with a carburettor.

I fitted a secondary windscreen washer pump and tank, the outlet pipe from this ran to an auxiliary jet fitted inside the carburettor, the pump ran when I flicked a secret switch.

The tank was filled with Redex engine cleaner suitable for squirting into carburettors.

As soon as a tailgater appeared I flicked the switch, they then literally disappeared into really dense white smoke pouring from my exhaust.

Obviously I could only use this on a private road, for consenting tailgaters! Allegedly.

Aaah, I remember the days of redexing my carbed Golf CL and white smoke pouring out the exhaust.

Aaah, I remember the days of redexing my carbed Golf CL and white smoke pouring out the exhaust.

It was best poured straight into the spark plug holes. Such joy filling the road from hedge to hedge.

It was best poured straight into the spark plug holes. Such joy filling the road from hedge to hedge.

F*ck me, yes! Couple of caps in the butterfly flaps and one in each spark hole and the miserable ******* over the road used to kick up. Cue revving the engine a bit more.

I had a proven benefit on an old-tech car with a carburettor.

I fitted a secondary windscreen washer pump and tank, the outlet pipe from this ran to an auxiliary jet fitted inside the carburettor, the pump ran when I flicked a secret switch.

The tank was filled with Redex engine cleaner suitable for squirting into carburettors.

As soon as a tailgater appeared I flicked the switch, they then literally disappeared into really dense white smoke pouring from my exhaust.

Obviously I could only use this on a private road, for consenting tailgaters! Allegedly.

haha legendary,

I never had any benifit on carb engines.

However I did have benifit with higher octane petrol but that was because of the compression ratio and the fact that the engine was set up for that kind of fuel. I was also told by a mechanic after having problems with the engine running on to use some better quality fuel every so oftern and it worked.

With modern ECUs that adjust, I'd say higher octane pretty much useless on the road. High quality fuel YES, so less unburnt crap to coke up your head/pistons etc Saying that I still use tesco rubbish.

My dad did mention to me that he once took his old diesel citreon picasso for a MOT, it only failed on emissions so the taster gave him some additive to put in the tank, and told him to go and give it a good boot then come back. He did it and when he came back they tested it and it passed! Not sure if this was redex or not though.

Anything that increases the cetane rating will have a benefit so that's Vpower diesel (has a higher cetane rating than normal diesel) or cetane additive. Effectively increases the fuels willingness to burn under compression.

Injector cleaners etc though are a waste of money and on high pressure injectors like we have these days are probably a bad idea - let the detergent additives already in fuel sort that for you.

I have this image of the molecules jumping up and down shouting "pick me! pick me!"

The octane rating is a measure of how well the fuel avoids detonation under compression. Higher octane means higher compression can be used without suffering detonation or knock, higher compression is desirable because it increases the thermal efficiency of the engine.

haha legendary,

I never had any benifit on carb engines.

With modern ECUs that adjust, I'd say higher octane pretty much useless on the road. High quality fuel YES, so less unburnt crap to coke up your head/pistons etc Saying that I still use tesco rubbish.

That's how redex worked on carb engines: it cleaned all the cr@p out from the mechanism as obviously fuel injection is exactly that, so the fuel doesn't have to go through all the pullava of a carb system, it's pretty much straight into the piston. The white smoke is only the rubbish that's stuck to the sides and whatnot, it didn't help the performance at all in that if you put it in a brand new carbed car it would have been useless. Just a cleaning additive.

I have this image of the molecules jumping up and down shouting "pick me! pick me!"

The octane rating is a measure of how well the fuel avoids detonation under compression. Higher octane means higher compression can be used without suffering detonation or knock, higher compression is desirable because it increases the thermal efficiency of the engine.

Erm, I never said anything about octane ratings - I'm well aware of what that does. i said "cetane" which is essentially a measue of how willing diesel is to burn under compression. No good pulling someone's post apart if you've not read it properly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetane_number

Erm, I never said anything about octane ratings - I'm well aware of what that does. i said "cetane" which is essentially a measue of how willing diesel is to burn under compression. No good pulling someone's post apart if you've not read it properly.

http://en.wikipedia....i/Cetane_number

Sorry, I wasnt pulling it apart, just my random sense of humour I guess....

millers is very very effective on my old non pd alh engine, smoother quieter and more willing to start

Sorry, I wasnt pulling it apart, just my random sense of humour I guess....

Ah, ok - sorry You were right though on the octane front.....

Fwiw I tried some redex and made no discernible difference. There's probably enough detergent in fuel as it is.