Fuel "saving" devices: debunk site has moved URL

Excellent, I spend all day at work trying to tell people not to buy these devices.

You may also be interested to know that we are finding quite a lot of adverse affects from such fuels as Optimax as well. We have to now advise customers NOT to use Shell fuel, or indeed fuels with so called 'cleaner burning' additives. Over a period of time, sometimes years, this stuff is coating the O2 sensor, and, where fitted, the EGR valve, with black gooey soot. This eventually leads to failure of that component.

As you know O2 sensors don't take kindly to being cleaned with anything that will shift this goo, so have to be replaced. Likewise EGR valves never seem to work properly after cleaning either.

Cheers.

The message from snipped-for-privacy@spamcop.net (Andy Hewitt) contains these words:

Perhaps you should stop selling 'em!

That's a bit arse, that is. Especially given the fact that several of the cars I'm looking at at the mo' do require stupid octane fuel as they are Japanese market only.

Use decent octane booster?

Optimax is the same octane anyway I thought? Or if higher its only 1 point.

Burgerman was seen penning the following ode to ... whatever:

That's *one* alternative, although in the longer run it's probably cheaper to bite the bullet and get the ECu remapped.

Optimax is 98, UK "Super unleaded" 97. Trouble is, most of the petrol stations around here that still sell 97 or higher are either Shell or BP, and thus "clean burning" fuels.

You might not need it, some of these should simply retune to cope with the fuel. Try it, if they pink then use an octane booster.

Yes, it's not an issue with higher octane, but with the crappy 'cleaner burning' additives they bung in. They have *never* really worked properly. IMHO they were also the main cause of the valves sticking problem on the Zetec engine too.

Hmm. I use Optimax on the old SD1 as it really needs the higher octane. And after changing a leaking gasket was amazed just how clean the exhaust ports were. Plugs, too. I understood the additives were merely detergents, and designed to keep things clean - not gum them up.

Well yeah, as long as they're standard this should work.

Trouble is, most of the ones I can find are anything but...

In news: snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk, Dave Plowman (News) decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

I find Optimax and BP Ultimate works rather well in the Sierra as well.

Maybe it's more beneficial to the older, less computerised engine.

Now Timo, you *know* what you and motorised vehicles are like...... :-)

Quite so. The SD1 doesn't have hydraulic lifters for a start. When we removed the valves from the Zetec engines you could clearly see black gunge had been dragged up the stems of the inlet valves. This acted like a glue that prevented the valves from closing fully, hence the Zetec misfire, and subsequent loss of compressions.

It doesn't affect all engines, but the effects on the ones it does are severe enough that I always advise on the side of caution.

I seem to recall one of the earlier Shell 'cleaner engine' products causing problems about 15 years ago. Tyne and Wear police force at the time stopped using Shell due to engine burn outs from what I recall.

Oh, and Tony. That's a fascinating site and very well written. I spent a couple of hours reading the breakdown of the snake-oil merchants out there and your analysis of their 'science'. I'd never looked into the various claims myself having discarded them all as fake anyway just based on the look and feel of the claims. I initially started browsing your site from work and it managed to trip my 'snake oil' filters and it was blocked by the content filter so I've whitelisted it and made the front page of it the divert for any user that tries to access anything that would trip the filter on the 'fuel economy' filter. Any of the other 'snake oil' filters direct the user to

Warwick

Try and keep up, Andy. The Rover V-8 was the first large scale production engine in the UK with hydraulic tappets.

This is common on these engines - through using the wrong oil, or missed servicing.

So does anyone know of any site or info on devices that claim to stop scale in heating systems

Oi! I wasn't talking about *that* kind of "modified"...

Maybe he's talking about the 2000, 2300 and 2600 SD-1s? O Series? And the straight six Triumph-developed engines?

Mind you, didn't they all have hydraulic tappets too?

in news:opsfg4sliakx08km@amy, DuncanWood slurred :

One type uses a 16MHz pulsed RF field, which purportedly alters the structure of the calcium carbonate in such a way as to stop is flocculating and adhering to the pipe walls. The principle _can_ work, although it needs to be carefully set-up to work properly. Commercially available systems are not custom-set, so it's pot luck as to how well it will work in any given installation. There are chemical based treatments, which can be very effective, but require periodic refills. There are also devices which use fixed magnet elements. These do not work. At all.