well, now that I got the car, here is the question. When I lived out west I was religious about using Chevron gas. Now that I'm in the Midwest, we have BP (Amico) Super America, Holiday and the crappy gas. I searched for this, but didn't see anything definitive. Should I use Techron once in a while? every tank? never?

Let me know what you all think.

 

Well I used it once and I had the most slugglish ride in my life. I actually had to change all my spark plugs because my mechanic told me that the techron could make my injectors fail prematurely if used when it's not needed and all of my plugs looked crappy. I had changed then like 600 miles before hand. After that I had my tank flushed and filled with 93 octane and it ws 100% better.

 

There is a section on this board for fluids and lubricants...but I'll give my story anyway.

I get gas at Chevron (techron) or sometimes I go to Shell, where they have the new V-Power, which I assume is an additive similar to techron.

I know the manager of a local fuel company that has two Chevron stations, a VelTex and an Astro. He said they DO get the gas from the same place for all the stations, but the truck filling the tanks at Chevron has to have the additives dumped in afterwards, mandated by Chevron corporate. I don't know the policies for other companies, but I imagine they are the same. You are paying for the additives when you buy gas from Chevron or Shell.

I would think that putting in any harsh detergent in a large quantity is likely to be hard on your injectors. It could also clean them out and break away all of the crap, which is likely what happened to Ill Ridah. This is kind of the give and take of harsh cleaners. It does the job, but the gunk that gets loose can sometimes do more harm than good.

 

Chevron 93 octane is the best stuff evAr... I use it religiously

 

Techron is awesome! I have never had cleaner heads than when using the stuff. When I moved to New England, there was no Chevron. I used the additive off the shelf. Being the **** retentive person I am, I recorded the differences between two 6 month periods(with then without the additive). The results: better gas mileage with Techron. Seat of the pants dyno went up too. Of course, this could all be correlative date but I like the Techron. Now, I am back in good ole' Texas. Chevron out the yang. Accoring to the petrochemical guys I work with occasionally, not all gas comes from the same refineries, but they do share. To repeat a post above: the additives are different.

BTW: the fuel additive used by BMW, VW, Mazda, and Honda are, or have been, Techron at some point. With their label of course.

 

Nissan brand injector cleaner contains the Techroline that Chevron puts in their Techron fuel. I use the Techron from Chevron every opportunity I get. My Venom's are running strong as ever!

-Sean

 

Well, I use BP (amoco) religiously, and their 94 octane should be just as good, if not better then the chevron, its got special cleaners and such in it. I do know what I'm talking about, I used to work at the gas station I always go to

 

Geez. I don't know where you guys are finding this 93+ octane gas. In MN the highest I see at the station normally is 91.

FYI- Gas sux in MN. It was way better in WA. My millage (regarless of what car I drive) has been worse since I've been here. And it seems way worse in the winter.

 

My friend has dynod many many types of gasses, and has found mobil has 2-4 more wheel HP then shell, and BP is the worst, mobil is around 6rwhp more then BP. I had a $50 BP gas card, and I filled up with bp 90+ (it was 92 or 94). I ran that tank out and filled up with 89 mobil at a local UDF. It felt better then the 90+ from BP! Plus the UDF's/mobil stations around here are usually 10-15cents less then most other stations. Plus my max has been using mostly mobil any way as theres 2 stations within 2 min of my house. If I want an additive I'll put it in my self that way i know what im using.

~Alex

 

That's because you have a VG, 93 is pointless on it.
octane is a measure of fuel resistance to burning.
think about that

 

I'd stick with Chevron if you can. I never had a bad experience using SuperAmerica up there, or BP/Amoco, but out west Chevron is the best there is. You pay more, but IMO it's worth it.

Haven't heard anything necessarily bad about Mobil/Exxon, but in general people I talk to seem to prefer Chevron above all others.

 

Amoco used to be good, BP seems to blow. I've never really used mobile. Maybe I'll give that a try. But I think I'm done at BP, I'm only on my first tank. I'll see what I get when I'm done with it. try something new.

So back to the initial question. If I run a bottle of Techron through my next tank, will it damage, be bad, etc? I don't really care to run a bottle through everytime I fill up. I'm driving 80miles a day to work and cannot afford to put a bottle through that often.

 

Arco



Even though there is Chevron in it now

 

arco is actually bp. just found that out a couple months ago...anyway, i use 76 myself. i used the techron additive once, but any decent gas these days is going to have fuel system cleansing additives in it so i dunno how much techron is going to help anyway, and if it really can cause your injectors to fail if it's not needed, might want to stay away from it. all and all, it's probably about 75% gimmick imo.

 

It woldn't hurt you to run the fuel additive.

You drive 160 miles/day? From where to where? Minneapolis to Rochester?

 

i've only tried one tank of petro canada and one tank of mohawk since i've had my max, it was the most sluggish ride i've ever had.

techron 87 makes up 99.99% of my VG's diet, and it's been running fine...

 

unless you have a bad ks, and arent willing to save some cash to buy an expensive one.

JK

I have a vg and i only use texaco 91 but i also have a bad ks.

 

Nope, Minneapolis to Northfield. 41miles each way.

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I'm gonna wait a tank or two before I go try using the "ron".

 

fuel resistance to burning? that would mean the higher the octane the less flamable it is. i always thought higher octane burns easier...i guess i had it backwards.

 

some people will also call it resistance to detonation which is igniting before the spark.
you actually want to use the lowest octane rating you can that is compatible with your cars setup (CR , heat dispersion, timing, etc..)

 

So then are you saying if the car is stock then you should probably run 87 though it, and your millage will be better, but if you rn premium you will have more power?

 

no, you actually lose power if you use a higher octane than the car needs.
stock cars can take any of the three depending on the manufacturers designs.
the VE is recomended 91 for max power stock
the VG 87 is required
unless you have done some mods or know something that I don't stick with the stock recommendations

 

What exaclty is Techron? and what good or bad does it do for a car?

I was out in California last week (Im from the East Coast - Connecticut to be exact) and I saw a lot if Chevron gas stations that are boasting the Techron gasoline...We dont have Chevron over here and I'm just curious to know what techron is and why or why not people prefer it...thanks

 

Techron is a Chevron patent. its a "cleaning additive" that they mix with the gas out here. it claims that it cleans the injectors and fuel lines.

so how you like the weather here in cali? i was there tues when the snow storm hit.....i had the opportunity to walk 1/2 mile...its was so cold i thought i was turning into a popsicle.

 

Finally something I'm knowledgeable about. I used to work for Chevron and knew a guy who worked in the Engines Lab at the Chevron Research and Technology Center. Chevron spends about a million dollars a year testing their gas against that of their competitors. They do this so they can continue to say that their gas is the best. I talked to the guy in the lab in a no-BS-between-you-and-me and he said that Chevron IS the best gas. The big three automakers agree. Detroit doesn't have any Chevron gas stations so the big three have it trucked in from Kentucky when they do their testing for the EPA. That's a pretty powerful endorsement and I don't know why Chevron doesn't feature it more.

About gasoline:
All gas is the same UNTIL you put the additives in it. Refineries send their raw fuel to large tanks where it mixes with everybody elses fuel. Then each company pulls out the gas they're going to sell and mixes in their additives. It's Techron that makes Chevron gas so good because it's the best additive.

I converted my friend (96 Maxima) to Chevron gas after he'd been using whatever was the cheapest. He also had the problem with the engine running terrible for awhile. Basically the Techron is blowing out all of the built up crap from the cheap gasolines and your engine doesn't like it.

If you do use the Techron additive bottle, use it right before you change your oil. Techron thins your oil when you dump massive quantities (the whole bottle) into the tank. I suppose this affects older cars with worn piston rings more than newer cars.

And if you can't get Chevron go for one of the majors like Exxon, Texaco, Shell, etc. They have good additives while brands like Holiday, Super America or other non-branded stations usually don't.

Oh, and the reason gas octane varies by area has to do with the air density of the area (how close you are to sea level). The same goes for cold weather. If you live in an area like Minnesota you've probably noticed that the octane changes when it gets into the winter months.

 

I use techron in both my RSX and Maxima. I use the small bottle (treats up to 13 gallons) for the Acura since its a 13 gallon tank and the maxima gets the larger bottle (treats up to 20 gallons) since the max has a 15 gallon tank.

I have a friend in automotive school and he said his professor tested this stuff and actually had positive results. It may not be as harsh as a typical cleaner, but it will clean out your fuel system and maintain it every 3k miles.

 

thanks for your response...I LOVED Cali..it was awesome, but L.A. i think is overrated, in comparison to NYC that is, but hey..thats just my opinion
I bet you were lovin our weather here just as much, especially after that walk right?? LOL jk

 

I bit the bullet. I'm hoping to improve on my 21MPG, All freeway.

I bought a bottle of Techron last yesterday (the big one ) and filled her up this morning. I've gone about 70miles since fillup. She's sitting at about 7/8's of a tank (on the gauge) so that seems like a small improvement.

It came down to this. The car is 13 years old. It's only got 94k on it (outch that's 800 miles in 10 days.) which means that at most it was getting about 140miles put on it a week. I know that it's not bad for car to be driven that little, but I would bet that there might be some build up and what not in the engine, so a little kick to get it out might not hurt, though I think I should probably change my oil a little sooner, right?