Engine & Fuel Additives

Basil Faulty · Guru

Engine & Fuel Additives

Cupie · Guru

On the same subject ... I saw a bit on 'The Inventors' last night where two guys from NSW I think, had a device that continually electronically analysed the diesel performance & injected small amounts of gas (propane?) to improve the burn. They claimed around 20-30% improvement.

The devices can be fitted to both 4WD & transports and moved to other vehicles easily. I think that the cost was a couple of thousand for a 4WD & $8k for a truck.

Given that I don't have a diesel I didn't take too much notice of the details so I may well be corrected on the gas type, costs & savings.

mike and Judy · Guru

G/day Graham
my OLD patrol "1990" is still runnning well, and is diesel, covered about 450,k and is sweet as a new one, so why update, have been running on my own mix of diesel,(fish and chips) for the last 3 years, had the pump done about 3 years ago when THEY decided to take the sulphur out of the mix so switched at that time,
An engineer mate of mine showed me a dramitic improvement in consumption and reduced wear by putting an additive in the oil, but the results were doubtful, it did seem to run smoother but nothing showed on paper
so are they still giving a freebie Basil

Basil Faulty · Guru

mike and Judy wrote:

G/day Graham
my OLD patrol "1990" is still runnning well, and is diesel, covered about 450,k and is sweet as a new one, so why update, have been running on my own mix of diesel,(fish and chips) for the last 3 years, had the pump done about 3 years ago when THEY decided to take the sulphur out of the mix so switched at that time,
An engineer mate of mine showed me a dramitic improvement in consumption and reduced wear by putting an additive in the oil, but the results were doubtful, it did seem to run smoother but nothing showed on paper
so are they still giving a freebie Basil

No more freebies, I got only one even though I went back into the shop, the guy said Oh I gave you one sir.....

Bridgee · Senior Member

Basil, no wonder you call yourself Basil Faulty, I can just imagined John Cleese talking as I read your post ... it simply reeks with sincerity .... not a bit sarcastic at all!!

The only fuel / oil additive I have found to be of value is Flash Lube (for gas converted petrol vehicles and Morey's Upper Cylinder Lubricant which both compensate for reduced lubricant while running on gas. They are also used in older vehicles which normally require leaded fuel. I used this in our old (1990) gas converted Patrol and the motor never required any major mechanical work or parts even after 300,000km.

Regular use of these products in the above applications have been proven to substantially prolong the life of valves, piston rings, heads etc but as for additives that improve fuel consumption, as you say, the cost of the product is greater than the fuel saving.

Of course mentioning fuel additives to those who invested thousands of dollars in Firepower is a bit like Basil Fawlty mentioning the war to Germans!! The product claimed to reduce fuel consumption by up to 25% and like most things that seem too good to be true ......... they usually are.

Mike47 · Senior Member

One needs to understand the difference between fuel ADDITIVES and substances claimed to improve fuel consumption.

Fuel additives, such as Upper-Cylinder-Lubricant, provided they're from a reputable manufacturer, are good and usually perform as specified. Fuel improvers are all worth buying once for the experience - they will teach you not to buy them again. The next time you need a pit-stop, instead of using a tree, put it in the tank - it'll do the same thing as the fuel improver, NOT increase your mileage (kilometrage? sounds funny) and possibly damage your fuel system depending on how much you put in.

LPG enhancement of diesel engines IS good and DOES work, but you need to do a careful calculation of how much it will save you compared to how much they cost. Contrary to popular belief, the LPG won't harm your engine, because it is injected into the airstream rather than the diesel fuel. The system is very popular with interstate truckies and the like because of the enormous mileage they do which recoups their investment. For a non-commercial application, I doubt that it would ever pay for itself in fuel savings, but if you want the increased power (usually about 15%) then it's your chice. Don't forget, you have to pay for the LPG as well as the diesel, and I understand that the excise on LPG comes in at the end of this year, so expect LPG to cost at least $1/litre.

Mike

Mike47 · Senior Member

Basil, there are plenty of Supercheap stores out there, drive around and get a free sample at each of them - and let us know how much you spent in fuel driving around - Heh Heh

Mike

Basil Faulty · Guru

Mike47 wrote:

Basil, there are plenty of Supercheap stores out there, drive around and get a free sample at each of them - and let us know how much you spent in fuel driving around - Heh Heh

Mike

Hey Mike don't tell a chook how to lay eggs.... Been to 4 so far with no sucess, I think it's a weekend scam errrrrrrrrrr sorry offer so I'll try again tomorrow...... I have a mate who is an industrial chemist with the CSIRO, he is keen to run a sumpoil of this stuff through his gas chromatograph and get an analysis - we await with baited breath.....
It never ceases to amaze me though how many people fall for these scams, remember brocks "fuel polarizer" and the hyclone and the (I'm gonna dread the responses here) Fitch fuel re refiner/calalyser.....
I know a GN who even made up an extension thingy so that he could fit 2 hyclones to get twice the benifit.......

Basil Faulty · Guru

Bridgee wrote:

Basil, no wonder you call yourself Basil Faulty, I can just imagined John Cleese talking as I read your post ... it simply reeks with sincerity .... not a bit sarcastic at all!!

The only fuel / oil additive I have found to be of value is Flash Lube (for gas converted petrol vehicles and Morey's Upper Cylinder Lubricant which both compensate for reduced lubricant while running on gas. They are also used in older vehicles which normally require leaded fuel. I used this in our old (1990) gas converted Patrol and the motor never required any major mechanical work or parts even after 300,000km.

Regular use of these products in the above applications have been proven to substantially prolong the life of valves, piston rings, heads etc but as for additives that improve fuel consumption, as you say, the cost of the product is greater than the fuel saving.

Of course mentioning fuel additives to those who invested thousands of dollars in Firepower is a bit like Basil Fawlty mentioning the war to Germans!! The product claimed to reduce fuel consumption by up to 25% and like most things that seem too good to be true ......... they usually are.

I didn't mention the war.....

Wombat 280 · Guru

If one was to add and fit all the gadgets and add all the additives that claim to save fuel or increased the performance of your motor it shouldn't take long before the tank overflows and the world wide fuel usage stop altogether. Fuel companies would let that happen , Not Bloody likely.

I do believe that today's synthetic engine oils as opposed to mineral oils are far better at reducing frictional losses. So some fuel economy must result .

Tyre pressure is another important feature in reducing those frictional losses

Basil Faulty · Guru

Wombat 280 wrote:

If one was to add and fit all the gadgets and add all the additives that claim to save fuel or increased the performance of your motor it shouldn't take long before the tank overflows and the world wide fuel usage stop altogether. Fuel companies would let that happen , Not Bloody likely.

I do believe that today's synthetic engine oils as opposed to mineral oils are far better at reducing frictional losses. So some fuel economy must result .

Tyre pressure is another important feature in reducing those frictional losses

yeah Tyres are important, I was interested to see the NRMA study which proved that chunky grippy tyres had much greater rolling resistance and therefore used lots more fuel. I like synthetic oils too, expensive BUT for a domestic vehicle you don't need to change if for 20000km... Unlike mineral oils it does not oxidise either.

dave06 · Guru

one of the biggest savings to be made in fuel consumption is attached to your right leg, keep it under 100kph and a saving of more than 15% is easily achieved, gently does it and the savings are provable

Bridgee · Senior Member

Very wise advice, Dave ....... only a Guru like you could put the whole fuel saving debate into perspective so well.

Welcome back and we'll take your Tassie experience on board before heading there in late April ourselves.

dave06 · Guru

ah! to hell with what I said, go and take a big bite out of the apple see it all, do it all and you will have a ball just like we did. dont ask what we spent though, because it was our thirtieth the dragon or I did not cook once all the time we were there,

average dinner cost was $75.00, lunch $25 brekky wasnt too bad at $8 for two cuppas, $50 average per day on fuel, so saving money was not on the agenda, keep away from hammers at strahan we got well and truly hammered for cost in there and the meals were very small, $11.50 for a stubby of boags I thought was a bit cheaky