Additives

[NJBob]

Originally Posted by Yar Is Word

Great! Give it a couple of tanks to start working.

I realize it's too soon but I wanted to bump up the thread. After 1st fill...no difference but didn't expect it. My 2d fill will be in a few days but can't really predict what I'll get just yet. I've just been trying to maintain a solid conservative driving style each time to keep some consistency. We'll see...I'm still optimistic.

[Yar Is Word]

It took me three tanks to notice the difference but I kept on. It's been at least a year and a half now and I know the ECHO was consistently getting about 2 mpg more. I am not sure about the Yaris because I started using it right away.

[NJBob]

Originally Posted by Yar Is Word

It took me three tanks to notice the difference but I kept on. It's been at least a year and a half now and I know the ECHO was consistently getting about 2 mpg more. I am not sure about the Yaris because I started using it right away.

Even two would be ok just to say I've been hitting 40 mpg regularly.

[silver_echo]

has anyone tried zMax?

[Yar Is Word]

I had not heard about it until you posted. Here are some opinions:
http://www.epinions.com/reviews/zMAX_Micro_Lubricant

[intake]

i use only zx1 additive for motor oil and gear oil

[jambo101]

Doesnt make much sense to use this expensive product (zMax) to maybe get a little better fuel economy,as for making the engine last longerthe Yaris engine with proper maintenance will easily achieve 300k without this additive, as for adding poweradding this stuff over the life of the Yaris it would probably be cheaper to buy a used V8 Mustang.

[NJBob]

Well, 4 tanks gone now and I see no change. However my tires have deflated down to 30psi, I was running them at 40. Let's see what I get at the end of this tankful.

[Yar Is Word]

Thanks for reporting back!

[NJBob]

Whoa I got my tires back up to 40psi and got 93 miles on the first bar. Could be a coincidence. In NJ I can't fill my own tank and the attendant was squeezing the trigger to round my fill up to $18 so I may have had more gas up the filler pipe than usual. It's my 5th tank with Lucas UCP and I really wanna see some improvement. We'll see what my next fill gets next week.

[Yaris Hilton]

Originally Posted by ka0sx

there is also a cleaner that will clean out your entire engine of carbon buildup better then techron or any of the popular brand cleaners, was designed to be clean for marine use, cant remember the name at the moment. It requires some knowhow though, You put it into the engine directly through a vacuumme line at about 3k rpm then when it drains the can you instantly shot of the engine and let it sit for about 30 - 60 minutes.
after this you are good to restart the engine, there will be lots of white smoke, dont worry your engine is fine it is just the product and carbon buildup exiting out the exhaust. After the procedure change your oil withing the next 100 miles.
once again this is the most intense and best method to get rid of the carbon buildup in the engine, but I wouldnt recomend it for any car with less then 150k miles on it, unless your car has been running rich and you are now failing smog for high NOx

Nothing new about that, it's a real throwback. Those carbon cleaning solvents, under numerous brand names, were popular in the old days before emission controls. Usual advice was to remove the air cleaner and pour it straight in while holding the throttle open to rev the engine, pouring the last bit in fast enough to kill the engine. After letting the warm engine sit with this stuff in it for a few minutes, you restarted the engine, revved it with the smoking, misfiring and backfiring till it smoothed out enough to drive, then took it out on the road to progressively run it up faster till it started missing, hold it till it smoothed out, then gun it up some more. Then you immediately changed the oil and the spark plugs, as the oil would be diluted with solvent and the plugs would have all kinds of gunk on them from the deposits loosened in the combustion chamber. Following that procedure will quickly overheat a catalytic converter and will set error codes in an ECU, and would not generally be recommended for modern cars. But it sure will get a lot of carbon buildup out of combustion chambers.

[dallas]

I have seen a test where they oxidize fuel with acid in a test tube and then add Fuel system cleaners to try to get the oxidized fuel/sludge that sinks to the bottom of the test tube to re- emulsify with the fuel so it can be burned out, The Lucas fuel additve just coats the test tube with a nasty sludge that requires scrubbing to remove. I think the only reason it may improve mileage is because you are adding lubricity to the fuel which in turn sprays into the combustion chambers and coats the upper rings to reduce friction, under the heat it will oxidize and end up collecting around the rings I would think. I would stay away from it, or if you want more mileage but are cheap buy Marvel mystery oil its basically a lubricity detergent too. Hell even ATF might work.[/I]

[dallas]

Your thinking of Seafoam.

Originally Posted by Yaris Hilton

Nothing new about that, it's a real throwback. Those carbon cleaning solvents, under numerous brand names, were popular in the old days before emission controls. Usual advice was to remove the air cleaner and pour it straight in while holding the throttle open to rev the engine, pouring the last bit in fast enough to kill the engine. After letting the warm engine sit with this stuff in it for a few minutes, you restarted the engine, revved it with the smoking, misfiring and backfiring till it smoothed out enough to drive, then took it out on the road to progressively run it up faster till it started missing, hold it till it smoothed out, then gun it up some more. Then you immediately changed the oil and the spark plugs, as the oil would be diluted with solvent and the plugs would have all kinds of gunk on them from the deposits loosened in the combustion chamber. Following that procedure will quickly overheat a catalytic converter and will set error codes in an ECU, and would not generally be recommended for modern cars. But it sure will get a lot of carbon buildup out of combustion chambers.

[Yaris Hilton]

Not exactly. I'm saying that Seafoam sounds just like the old common carbon cleaners.

I've been doing some Googling on topics related to intake valve and combustion chamber deposits, cleaners, fuel detergents (which actually are responsible for some common deposits, strange as that may seem), and a light went off over my head when I read about "carbon knock" or "carbon rap." Sounds just like the annoying cold engine knocking I never successfully tracked down or fixed on my old 1995 Mercury Villager, and which is starting to appear on the 1998 one I still have. I may be using something like Seafoam before long.

[NJBob]

So...do you think since my Yaris is only a year old that Lucas UCL is kind of useless as far as improving MPG at this point. Or is it better to use it all the time?

[gmodder]

Which one of these am i suppose to buy...Not sure what yall mean about ucl..

http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...?iid=5&catid=6

[NJBob]

Upper Cylinder Lubricant...adds to the gas tank 2-3 oz. per tankful.

[daf62757]

Originally Posted by NJBob

Upper Cylinder Lubricant...adds to the gas tank 2-3 oz. per tankful.

Has anyone experimented with more ounces per tank? Yesterday, I was filling up and had about 5 ounces let so I just put it all in the tank. My around town driving for the first bar was 72 miles...about 6 more than I usually get for city driving. So, has anyone else had some experience with putting more in?