I know we see them advertised all the time on tv/magazines/stores but does anyone have any firsthand experience with how well (or more likely, how poorly) fuel additives work? Not looking for a power boost...more just maintenance to keep things running smoothly.

 

other than additives like "sta-bil" long term storage fuel stabilizer, i don't mess with any of that stuff.

 

I use STP Fuel Injector Cleaner every now and then. I used to use SeaFoam, which seemed to work just as well. Mitsubishi has one that they recommend with every other oil change, I believe. I have used that, as well. I think that they are all essentially the same thing. To be honest, as long as you use Shell or BP gasoline, it shouldn't even be an issue. I can tell you that that octane booster doesn't really work. If you need a boost, C10 is the way to go. It is just EU grade 98 octane gasoline. It should come in like a 5 or 10 gallon can. If I am going to push the car, I will fill the tank with it. Other than that, be careful with leaded fuel (C16). It will kill all of your sensors (at minimum). Oxygenated fuel is also really bad. C10 should be non-oxygenated and unleaded. I hope that that helps.

 

I love that stuff. That and Mercury marine are REALLY good stabilizers that I use in my boat. I don't notice a choppy idle or anything with the treatment in the tank, and it would make a difference on the 2-stroke outboard in a big way.

 

Oh boy, I can see this statement becoming it's own tangent thread as to which gasoline brands are "best". I really don't have any scientific or indisputable evidence for one brand being better than another, so I'm not taking the bait on this one....

 

I was using that as an example, because we only had Shell and BP in Durham. In Orlando, the options are greater, but I tend to stick with those two. They supposedly have additives already in them. Whether that claim is true or not I do not know, but my car seems to be doing just fine.

 

so does chevron... how else can they make the cars talk in the commercials??!?

 

I like seaform myself. My 3000GT used it every 6k miles and it never failed to pass smog on first run until it's death last year.

 

Techron is an excellent fuel injector cleaner, and running Seafoam through a vacuum line every 30,000 miles is excellent too.

I don't know what octane boosters boosters work and which ones don't, all I know is that when ones containing MMT are used they tend to shorten the life of oxygen sensors.