Properly performing equipment should always work fine with standard fuels and lubricants, WITHOUT the use of additional additives. One of the big things you (& I) do NOT know is how the product you are adding will react with the fuel and/or lube you are using.
Major fuel and lube manufacturers spend a lot of time and $ designing additive packages that allow their products to perform properly. One thing most of the majors have spent research on is the use of different detergents in gasolines to help keep injectors etc clean. Typically Premium fuels contain more of these additives, mostly so the fuel company can try to increase sales of these higher margin products. I've seen data over the years that show some slight improvement in fuel system cleanliness with products such as Shell V-Power, Chevron Techron and Esso "No Trouble" ad packs.
Of course, unusual circumstances may require the use of something different. Let me give you an example...(a real example told to me by a Mining Customer I used to call on)
Middle of the night, you are crossing the Praries, still 5 hours from home. Your vehicle breaks an oil ring and you start using oil like mad. What do you do? Well the correct answer is fix the engine, but if you are determined to run the beast anyways, how do you get the thing to get you home? This is one of the few times I might recommend a product like STP Oil Treat, or any of a number of brands of "Engine honey". Basically these products are Viscosity Index Improvers (VII), most that have high effectiveness, but short life (ie: Not Shear Stable). VII's being long chain polymers can increase the effectiveness of the oil ring and cut down oil consumption. The effect is usually short term, but it may help you home.
Another example is water in your fuel. Best bet is to drain the water. But adding a little Methyl Hydrate will help absorb the water and get it through the fuel system.
By and large there is nothing you can add to your fuel system that will increase your fuel economy. There are only so many BTU's in the fuel, and how well you can get it to burn and create heat is a function of jetting, compression, ignition and combustion chamber design. Most fuel additives are nothing more than light solvents (products such as Xylene) that at best do nothing, and at worse can cause pinging/detonation. Some will absorb some water, but unless you use a full concentration dose and leave parts to sit in it, adding it to your fuel is NOT going to clean things up. (Gasoline has a pretty hign solvency rating as measured by its KB value).
Anyway, there's my little rant for the day...Merry Christmas to all.
Topic: ROADBIKE on Fuel Additives (Read 10438 times)