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I have never heard or read anything like this. Can fuel additives really destroy a catalytic converter?

 

I've heard it on general car tech websites as well, the chemicals (to boost octane artifically manganese?) aren't kind to it. I can't remember if it clogs it or if it eats away at it.

 

Lead (and I think some of the other additives) cling to the bonding sites in the cat where the catalytic conversion process takes place. At best, it will inhibit the cat from working correctly - at worst, it will physically clog it and lead to overheating.

 

I used octain booster for a while, it made a difference, but I noticed orange soot on my spark plugs and exhaust tips. Unrelated to the booster, my header broke at the pre cat weld, bounced around on the broken pipe and ruined the precat. When I had it out for repair, I removed the precat and found that the engine side of the precat had about 50% of the surface plugged with a denser version of the orange soot found on my plugs. The clog was only on the surface, but certainly didn't allow any air through it. I had used maybe two dozen tanks treated with the booster.

Recently I repaired another MCS with the same broken weld. The pre cat perfectly clean and I could see right through it. They never used any boosters. This car has a 15% pulley and about 90k miles, similar to my car.

 

Are the ingredients relatively the same for additives that claim to clean the fuel system?

 

I think that the cleaners are fine. I have read that the chemical used to increase octaine is what clogs up (MMT). I have seen boosters, booster/cleaners and straight cleaners, so read the package. And remember the too good to be true cliche. Something like chevron techron or sea foam will be fine and are recommended by BMW.

 

they can't use lead any more, but I think it's been replaced with some other soft maleable metal. There are catalytic converter safe additives available, but they don't work as well. This is for octane boosters.

Cleaning agents are a completely different animal, and most are converter safe. That's whats in the gas you buy, stuff like Techron. I used a different cleaner in my car, Sea Foam, with very good results.

If you want to use any of this stuff, make sure that you find out that it is cat safe before you start. Sure, it's only a $10 bottle, but the cat is expensive!

Matt

 

i dont like taking suppliments myself so i dont feed my MCS vitamins either.

 

Techron and Redline's SI-1 are the only two I'd trust in my tank.

 

Octane boosters are a false economy. There have been a number of threads on NAM about them. The Cliff Notes version is that the cost of the boost vs. the increase in octane (.1 or .3 of an octane number) is just not cost effective. Separately, some of the boosters use an additive known as MMT (methyl cyclopentandienyl manganese tricarbonyl) which will coat the catalytic converter and over time, will require replacement of the converter (on your dime - read the fine print of the warranty).

If you want to increase the octane level of your gasoline, the safest approach is to blend in 100 octane racing unleaded gas that is sold from a gas station pump (which is meant for on-road/hiighway use), because if anything is added by the distributor to the gas that causes failure of the emission control system, they (the distributor) are on the hook for repair/replacement.

Separately, there is another line of discussion about detergent additives that are added to gasoline. Techron and the like are detergent additives. They do not increase the octane level per se; but by reducing combustion chamber and intake carbon deposits, can be argued to reduce the requirements for a higher octane to fight pre-ignition from carbon build-up.

What I personally do with my C5 that requires a higher octane (93-94 in the winter and 95-96 in the summer) than is available from the pisswater that is sold in California is to blend 100 octane racing unleaded with Chevron Supreme. That way, I can get the octane level that I need along with high detergent levels. Fortunately, my MINI has so far not required an octane boost (with a 17% s/c reduction pulley).

 

hi guys this post caught my interest because last day some dude told me about a product that could save feul....

check out following link,

http://www.gekados.myffi.biz/

is this product familiar to anyone here on NAM ??? it is an american product and sold *** little caps....

SAVE feul !!!! higher milage !!! less costs !!! i told him he still believed in santa claus..... BUT for making him happy , i gave it a try....

after three tanks , i stopped taking these caps of which it just di nothing... except it felt that the car did not perform very well ( maybe its in my head )

but because nobody could give me scientific proof that this would work , without sacrificing performance (i think) , i just go on putting virgin fuel in my car...

once i used an octane booster and i think it made a little difference performance wise.... engine ran a little smoother ( could be psychosomatic again though)

 

I tried out some "bio-fuel" tablets from my buddy that was selling them. (They were green, but had a suspicious moth-ball smell. I know some old timers that put mothballs in the tanks of their carbureted vehicles. Mothballs are an effervescent[convert directly from a solid to a gas] and the fumes when contained are highly flammable). They were supposed to do some enzyme stuff... You use a tanks worth to get the process going and then after the first tank your mileage is supposed to increase by up to 30% or something like that. I tested it out, but I don't think the test period was quite fair. I used it on a trip to Brian Head, Utah and back. Steady highway rpms, cold temps, and low humidity may have made the test a little biased. The change in elevation also had to play a part, too. I used 1 tank there and 1 tank back. The first tank was the "break in" for the tablets. I self calculated instead of relying on the onboard computer for mpg. I got around 27mpg on the way up and around 36mpg on the way down. Not bad at all in my book, but at $1.50 per pill and 2 pills per tank, its not worth it for just driving around town. I'll be making the same exact trip New Year's Eve, and I'll calculate again... This time with no magic ingredients.