Those $5 petrol additives. Opinions?

[Boob Johnson]

Yes, there are different ones it would appear. One 5th gear tried literally called itself octane boost or something, and did nothing.

I have run some form of octane booster in the zx7r, and it definitely made a difference. Smelt very good too I might add

Ive had a play with it also but in the RF900R, came back from Wanganui with 1/3 of a tank of 98ultra then topped up with a bottle of octane booster + 2/3 of a tank 95 (highest octane at the pump in the Naki) & struth did that make a difference lol

[AllanB]

If you have carbs there is a Yamaha carb cleaner that you spray into the carbs when the engine is running - reports I've read say it works very well.


I run a injector cleaner in the car before a oil change.


I was having a work van serviced last week and they run fully synthetic oil - the quote came back with a charge for a friction reducing oil additive. I call the shop (Midas) and asked why they would put any additive into fully synthetic oil? They just said it was their normal practice. I told them not to add it - its the highest quality oil you can get! Just a way of adding a charge I'm guessing.

[James Deuce]

Yes, there are different ones it would appear. One 5th gear tried literally called itself octane boost or something, and did nothing.

I have run some form of octane booster in the zx7r, and it definitely made a difference. Smelt very good too I might add

Dude!

You watched that and STILL wasted money on petrol additives?

[PHATVW]

I drop 50cc of two stroke oil into my tank when ever I go for a ride that I know I will be refueling on.
Lubes the carbs, puts a film on the inside of the fuel tank to stop condensation forming and causing rust, stops the rubber fuel lines drying out and becoming brittle.
Have done it to all my bikes over the years and never had problems with rust in the fuel tank, hoses going brittle or the slides in the carbs sticking.
Cost? $0.50 I guess

Is your bike a 2 stroke or 4 stroke? I'm just curious how that works

[Subike]

Is your bike a 2 stroke or 4 stroke? I'm just curious how that works

4 stroke
the oil "feeds" the rubber fuel lines, keeps them soft. Rubber absorbs oil.
The oil, when passing through the carbs lubes the throttle body pivots and the slides, dont ask me how, I just see the results.
The oil, then getting into cylinders, passes down the cylinder wall to the top compression ring, lubes that, again how I dont know the theory,
The oil when in the tank splashing around, keeps moisture from building up on the inside of the tank on a hot day from condensation, stops rust from forming.Never had a rusty tank.
The oil lube the petcocks, never had a sticky one.
I do it maybe twice a year, thats all it takes
OK, an old wives tale? an urban mith? Works for me

[slimjim]

octance boost....gee's me i like to pop off to airport and fill jerry can with av-gas...generally put three litres in per 20litres of normal pump gas..cleans as it goes...and nicer power as well...track days its gets a 40-60 mix...but she's a carb fed motor....

[Flip]

There is no benefit in adding a octane booster to std 91 pump gas unless you are trying to run it is a high compression race motor. In which case you should probably be using 100 octane race gas. The issue us one of motor design; valve and ignition timing, port and combustion chamber design, compression ratio and the correct octane rating of the fuel.
A lot of street motors dont like running on race gas because it has such a narrow cut at the refinery (ie few nice small easily burnt molecules) that it needs a very good hot and long spark to ignite. Many street motors backfire and just don't run well on it. I also suspect also that a very high 100+ octane race gas burns too slow for std pump 91 motors and results in incomplete combustion, so the O2 sensor backs the fuel ratio back and hence less HP, note to self to test this out.
If you are adding a fuel system cleaner well that is another matter. As an alternative that is easy to get try a little 'Valve master'. Valve master was originally a fuel system detergent, during testing it was found that it protected the valves seats from errosion as well.
I have a couple of vintage racing cars and I add a squirt of 2 stroke oil to std pump petrol. In this case it to lubricate the valve stems and stop them lifting a valve guide from its seat. I have even mixed white spirits (60 octane unleaded petrol) with pump gas to kill back the octane for vintage use.

[skidMark]

tryed that motor up stuff and it didnt seem to do anything.

Hows your clutch.

[Blackshear]

Ok, went for a ride today before it started raining, and came to the conclusion the fuel additives makes your wallet cleaner, too.

Why did the policeman ask for my current occupation?

[James Deuce]

Why did the policeman ask for my current occupation?

Because there's this law thing that requires you to give it.

[Blackshear]

Oh. Didn't think it was important.

[naphazoline]

i've used octane boosters before,(specially when i had a chevy),and i'd have to say,that "turbo 108" was an exceptionally good one.it has methanol,and alcohol in it.a BIG difference in power.
not sure about bikes,as they are so varying,but in cars you must advance the timing for high octane fuels,if they are tuned for pump gas.

as for carb/injector cleaners,i've been told by my mechanic,and some mates that race,that "wurth" is a very reputable brand name.
probably a bit more then 10 quid tho.

[Blackbird]

Some people might remember the tubes of "lead substitute" which used to be on sale in gas stations when lead as an additive was phased out in the 90's. I had a 1985 BMW K100 RS at that time which was supposed to run on leaded fuel principally because of the metallurgy of the valve seats. Boy, did switching to the new additive cause me grief and I didn't discover the root cause for over a month. To cut a long story short, the particulate matter in the additive was too big to go through the in-line filter of the injection system. When starting the bike for the first time on any day, it would run perfectly for 20 minutes or so and would then lose power. If I left it for 10 minutes or so with the engine off, it would regain power for a shorter length of time and then decline again. I won't go into how I eventually discovered the problem but I assume the effect was caused by the particulates gradually sticking to the filter material when there was a fuel flow and floating off and partially settling when the engine was turned off.

I just hope that some of the other "snake oil" products mentioned in this thread don't stuff fuel filters or other components! I'd be leaving well alone.

[Gremlin]

Dude!

You watched that and STILL wasted money on petrol additives?

Actually, the octane booster was chucked in gratis by the shop, as it was having issues bogging at lower revs... and it was over 2 years ago