Petrol additives with catalyst cleaner ... does they work?

[philharve]

Hi All

My question does not concern 'petrol additives', rather the 'catalyst cleaner' that some additives now claim to incorporate.

My C230K is my first catalyzed car and I have been wondering whether the life of a cat' can be extended using additives that contain catalyst cleaner?

I have seen reviews, with examples, of additives cleaning the fuel system, with before-and-after pictures of fuel injectors, inlet tracts, etc. But I cannot recall seeing a similar review of a catalyst, presumably because you cannot disassemble a cat' to take pictures.

I am using Redex Advanced Petrol Injector Cleaner, with cat cleaner, to try an overcome a problem with the fuel level transducer in the tank. However, I have been wondering about Redex's cat' cleaning properties? I used to think cats only degrade with time and have a finite life span. Now I'm not so sure. Do cat' cleaners work or is it just hype?

REGARDS

Phil

 

[brandwooddixon]

It really depends on the quality of the fuel that you use. Poor quality fuel, with a high sulphur content will clog up the cat. Remember when they first came out catalysed cars used to smell of rotten eggs? That was because we had more sulphur in our fuel then.

I don't personally think that they would make a huge difference now though.

 

[carabind]

I'd agree 100% with above. Use a decent branded fuel and you shouldn't need additives, though they shouldn't do any harm either if you want reassurance.I am fortunate that the local shell garage competes head to head with the local asda, so I can get decent fuel at a reasonable price.
and cats do degrade, though with a bit of tlc, they should last the life of the car

 

[philharve]

Hi

I use Shell V-Power and Optimax before that so I think I can claim that I treat my engine, exhaust and fuel system to a good quality fuel. However, since emptying 500ml of Redex in my tank there does appear to be a slight improvement in economy. If true, what does that say about the super fuels I've been using?

The main reason for trying Redex was to eliminate a malfunctioning fuel level sender which causes the fuel gauge needle to incorrectly indicate the remaining fuel in the last quarter tank of fuel. The additives that have been substituted in order to reduce the amount of sulphur in the petrol may be attacking the metallic contacts in the sender.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[bouncer]

Bosal exhausts do not recomend any fuel adatives be used in a vehicle fitted with a catalytic converter.
Guess they should know.

sTeVe

 

[philharve]

Hi bouncer

This is what I have read too. I think this is also stated in the Mercedes handbook.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[Aussie Nick]

The paradox is that the Optimax contains an injection cleaner.... which is an additive.

 

[philharve]

The paradox is that the Optimax contains an injection cleaner.... which is an additive.

Now that IS interesting! I'm beginning to think I may have wasted my money on the Redex additive + cleaner but, as stated above, my reason for trying it is that it is a recommended 'trade' remedy for the fuel sender malady I've described. It may work, or it may not. Replacement of the fuel sender may be my only option but that is the more expensive option.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
By adding fuel cleaner your just speeding the process up.
As far as i was aware that was the difference between supermarket fuels and branded fuels, and why the big names could justify the difference in price because of the additives that are added.
This seemed to be the case when my fuel gauge was acting erractically it coincided with me changing to supermarket fuel. Went back to branded fuel and within the week the gauge was working correctly again.
I get better MPG and engine genarally runs "alot" better too.

 

[philharve]

I, too, have found that my engine runs better on the super fuels. It's probably been over 2 years since I used to regularly fill up with the supermarket stuff. I noticed within a couple weeks that the car performed better on Optimax and the mileage improved by almost 10 percent per tank. The extra cost of the fuel was more than balanced by the extra mileage travelled.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[amb67]

My advice is the following:

The only thing that you should put in your fuel tank is fuel.

The only thing you should put in the engine oil filler hole is oil.

I cover around 90,000 miles a year, I only use Shell fuel and genuine Mercedes-Benz oil. I have never had a cat or O2 sensor fail in all my miles.

Stay away from supermarket and wacky looking fuel outlets, stay with Shell, Esso or BP. Tesco's is possibly the worst place to buy fuel from in Britain.

 

[bouncer]

Hi,
By adding fuel cleaner your just speeding the process up.
As far as i was aware that was the difference between supermarket fuels and branded fuels, and why the big names could justify the difference in price because of the additives that are added.
This seemed to be the case when my fuel gauge was acting erractically it coincided with me changing to supermarket fuel. Went back to branded fuel and within the week the gauge was working correctly again.
I get better MPG and engine genarally runs "alot" better too.

Dont all the garages get their fuel from the same depot ?


sTeVe

 

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
I thought the same but if that was the case why was it only supermarket fuel that was effected by the contamination last year

 

[SilverCLK]

>> Stay away from supermarket and wacky looking fuel outlets, stay with Shell, Esso or BP. Tesco's is possibly the worst place to buy fuel from in Britain>>

Not sure about mainland Britain however over here in NIreland, i know for a fact that both Tesco and Sainsbury both draw their fuel supply directly from BP.

I work locally to the depot and see them queing up beside the BP lorries waiting to be filled.

Unless they draw from a separate storage tank to the official BP lorries, then it seems strange they are selling completely inferior petrol.

 

[maddog]

The additives are put into the petrol when the tanker bulks up.

Its the same stuff from the refinery but not the same stuff from the pump

 

[mercman_1]

The additives added to fuel are measured in parts per million and all fuel made in britain should be made to BS.5750 standard.I was going to write so there is not much difference until I remembered that Shell had to "shell" out millions a few years back because there fuel additive wrecked thousands of engines.
My personal opinion on the makers hand books advising against using additives is they think we are too stupid to add the correct amount and may damage our cars and make a claim on there warranty.
Bob T.

 

[jimsinessex]

I have been adding Wynns Injector cleaner every 6000 miles for at least the last 150,000 miles and the engine still purrs, so no ill effects there then.

The reason I use the additive is to counter the low detergent content of ASDA fuel which the car is fed nearly all the time. I can detect an added smoothness and better response after each treatment. It also keeps the fuel gauge sensors clean, still original although they played up in the early days before I started the additive treatment.

Why ASDA fuel? With an ASDA Mastercard card giving 2p off per litre I am still paying just 99.9p per litre. The Wynns treatment adds just 1/2p per litre to that.

Just realised this thread started with comments about catalyst enhancing additives. The Wynns that I use is just a plain old injection cleaner but the cats are still the ones the car left the factory with.

Jim

 

[philharve]

Update

Hi All

I am now using the last quarter tank of fuel and the fuel gauge is reading normally. The anomalous readings that caused me to initiate this thread appear to have gone. I must therefore conclude that the addition of Redex Advanced Injector Cleaner to a tank of fuel has overcome whatever it was that caused the fuel sender to behave non-linearly.

I would find it difficult to report, objectively, that the additive has made any real difference to the smooth running and performance of the engine. By the same token it would appear that the additive has caused no harm either.

In conclusion, my little experiment has been a success but I have no idea how long it will remain that way.

My indie may be correct. The latest low-sulphur 'super fuels' may provide better performance, smoother running and maybe better economy, but maybe they also contain sulphur substitutes, i.e. additives that compensate for the lack of sulphur but which may have harmful effects on items such as fuel sender contacts. The 'cleaning effect' of Redex Advanced Injector Cleaner may overcome these harmful effects and restore the correct operation of the fuel sender. I have no other explanation at this time.

This 'trade tip' worked for me but how long its effects will last is another question. I will update members again if there are any noteworthy developments.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[martinrwhite]

Supermarket Fuel

A close frienf of mine is a tanker driver and assures me that the fuel he delivers to Texaco garages is drawn from the same tank as the next load that he delivers to Morrisons !

 

[philharve]

A close frienf of mine is a tanker driver and assures me that the fuel he delivers to Texaco garages is drawn from the same tank as the next load that he delivers to Morrisons !

Hi Martin

I have no doubt that is true. I have been hearing these stories for quite some time and some are to be found within this forum.

REGARDS

Phil