I just got a free 250ml bottle of this with some stuff I bought at Halfords. Is it any good, or more importantly, is it actually *bad* for your engine?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp ... ngId_-1_categoryId_165750

Supposedly,

Quote :

* Helps increase fuel economy
* Cleans carburettors
* Helps restore performance
* Reduces emissions

but the cynic in me is dubious.

not sure what's in the stuff but if it's (m)ethanol it should be fine.

If your car is running fine as it is, then why bother? I must admit, I tryed a bottle of the same stuff on an old Peugeot 306 1.4 I had, and it made absolutely no difference whatsoever, not like I was expecting it to.

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

If your car is running fine as it is, then why bother? I must admit, I tryed a bottle of the same stuff on an old Peugeot 306 1.4 I had, and it made absolutely no difference whatsoever, not like I was expecting it to.

haha, pretty much what I thought would be people's experience. It was free, so can't complain - I'll probably stick some in every other fill up until the bottle's empty.

Its better to fill up with V-power or any fuel type with a higher octane level once in a while than this scam.

I remember watching some program and it actually decreased engine performance (in terms of BHP)

I'll try find it. Watch this post for a link some time soon.

EDIT: Found it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbcCr2ll3c

There was also something about this on Mythbusters IIRC.

Quote from piggy501 :

I remember watching some program and it actually decreased engine performance (in terms of BHP)

I'll try find it. Watch this post for a link some time soon.

EDIT: Found it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbcCr2ll3c

To be fair, it doesn't claim to increase performance on the bottle, just clean the inside of the engine.

Quote from Crashgate3 :

To be fair, it doesn't claim to increase performance on the bottle, just clean the inside of the engine.

if the injectors are clogged, technically it would do both.

if you want a clean engine, run some water through the intake (or go water injection). Do you need your carbs cleaned?

Quote from Osco :

if you want a clean engine, run some water through the intake (or go water injection). Do you need your carbs cleaned?

water doesn't combust, and if you use too much you'd end up hydrolocking the cylinders. bad idea.

a cleaner carb should let air flow more freely into the engine, almost as much as a clean air filter.

you're gonna hydrolock the cylinders if you stuff the gardenhose in the throttlebody. But if it's come to that, you've got bigger problems, not all related to the car

However, letting the (properly warmed up) engine 'sip' some water through a vacuumport in the intake plenum will actually clean up the inside quite a bit. Don't do it if you don't know what you're doing, you will mess things up.

Reminds me of that guy with the mustang that "flushed" his engine with water...

Quote from Crashgate3 :

but the cynic in me is dubious.

Some time ago I came by this site, it's an interesting read IMO:

http://www.fuelsaving.info/fuel_additives.htm

Quote from Klutch :

Reminds me of that guy with the mustang that "flushed" his engine with water...

maybe run some sand through the intake for a port and polish job like some audi guys did not too long ago...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY1YndLmbXQ


I put some of the free stuff I got in today, and haven't noticed any difference. There's a shock.

Go find a snake in the wild. Open your gas cap and wring out the snake into the tank. Should do the trick.

I understand this is how they make Seafoam and Stabil, too.

Quote from cargame.nl :

Its better to fill up with V-power or any fuel type with a higher octane level once in a while than this scam.

V-Power is a good idea, but not because of anything to do with octane ratings. It's the detergents and additives that do the cleaning, rather than the knock sensitivity of the fuel.

I was under the impression that all of Shell's (and probably most other companies) fuel grades contain detergents.

Higher octane is just a waste of money if your vehicle doesn't require it. All of my current and past vehicles ran fine on the lowest grade available (87 here in the US, although it's measured differently here than Europe), and that includes my race bike.

But V-Power has rather more of those additives than standard fuels.

Agreed, but ALL engines can make use of more octane, although only modern ones will do so automatically. Plus there is a more of a safety margin on your mapping, so you're less likely to suffer detonation.

I also find on my car - which does not advance the ignition to make the most of V-Power - I get sufficiently more MPG to offset the increased cost of the fuel - i.e. my cost/mile decreases. Having said that, the cost difference has increased (in the UK at least), so that saving might not exist or be as favourable anymore.