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Exactly...and that's why I change all the fluids in my vehicles regularly, (as opposed to waiting 30k miles, 50k, etc. etc). Sure, more expensive to maintain, but cheaper than replacing parts...(not to mention less pain in the rear if something fails on ya, especially when yer on the road!)
See the ground through the engine bay and the engine!! Some of those vehicles you could put your leg through the engine bay and touch the ground. Man why did we ever go away from that!
It was a good engine degreaser ,but it would remove or discolor engine paint if you left it on to long,lol. We used it to clean up piston tops and combustion chambers when the heads were off,as it softened up carbon to the point you could wipe it off with a rag.As long as you didn't leave it sit for very long,it didn't hurt anything though,so using it in a cylinder where it only sat for 15/20 minutes wouldn't hurt a piston,but would soften up the carbon,to where it probably blew out the exhaust,not a hell'va lot differant then what seafoam does. It's tough to find the old caustic oven cleaner anymore,lol
Had a '69 F150 straight 6 where I could climb into the engine bay and stand on the ground comfortably with both feet, with plenty of elbow room to work...which worked out great, cuz I had to do that quite often, being a Ferd and all! Lol!!
Agree.
Don’t know if this still applies, but I read somewhere about a year ago that the additives are for top tier gas are in short supply due to supply chain issues so I’m not sure if top tier still exists the way it used to. It is possible you haven’t been using top tier for awhile. I just use the redline cleaner through the system right before I change the oil and hope for the best.Gang,
Top Tier gasoline certification continues to shrink in my region (upper midwest) - by a lot.
We've lost Top Tier Certified Gasoline stations Mobil (pulled out of state to save distribution costs), SuperAmerica (sold to Marathon, which elected to sell only their cheapo non-Top Tier Speedway gas), Kwik Trip (dropped Top Tier during pandemic and doesn't intend to return), and now Holiday (Erickson family sold to Circle K of Canada, which dropped Top Tier).
Guys, that's the great majority of gas stations we have up here at the end of the pipeline in Minneapolis metro region. We have a few Shell, Arco, Costco (always crowed with lines of vehicles due to their cheapness), Marathon, and that's about all that's left anymore.
Unreal, at the exact time it's needed more than ever for small, high stressed engines for EPA mileage regs. BP claims on their website:
"All grades of bp/Amoco gasoline with Invigorate® exceed TOP TIER™ detergent requirements and provide enhanced benefits to our consumers, such as cleaning your engine,3 that TOP TIER™ fuels do not. "
We have a few BP's left too, but not many. Most stations are Speedway, Kwik Trip, and Holiday here. None are Top Tier.
What's a guy to do? Make special trips to out-of-the-way Top Tier stations? Carry bottles of PEA around with you all the time. This is ridiculous in the year 2024.
TOP TIER™ Gasoline Brands - TOP TIER™
TOP TIER™ Gasoline Brands. All retail locations within the licensed country must meet the high standards of the TOP TIER™ program.www.toptiergas.com
I know they test gas stations all the time for weights and measures, as I had an uncle and that was his job. It is actually impressive how much the gov't actually tests gas stations on this issue, and they make an extra effort for those who cheat customers. But I have no idea on anyone who tests for additives. One reason to trust the big names a little more, my guess they don't ever want to be caught with low additives, that would be disastrous to profits if the media got that. What is telling was that study posted earlier, shell, bp, and exon led when te-s-ted (cant say tested?) all gas both regular and supreme, and not in the same order, just those three big names made sure they had plenty of detergents across all offerings they sell. Of note of course the glaring weakness was they didnt test chevron, I certainly would make the easy assumption chevron is in the same ilk.
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While I agree with you, companies do what they need to to survive. For me it’s not a stretch to believe supply chain issues have affected additives. No idea if this has been resolved. An example is Toyota said they were accepting parts for manufacturing cars they wouldn’t normally accept. Hence the term “COVID” cars.I know they test gas stations all the time for weights and measures, as I had an uncle and that was his job. It is actually impressive how much the gov't actually tests gas stations on this issue, and they make an extra effort for those who cheat customers. But I have no idea on anyone who tests for additives. One reason to trust the big names a little more, my guess they don't ever want to be caught with low additives, that would be disastrous to profits if the media got that. What is telling was that study posted earlier, shell, bp, and exon led when te-s-ted (cant say tested?) all gas both regular and supreme, and not in the same order, just those three big names made sure they had plenty of detergents across all offerings they sell. Of note of course the glaring weakness was they didnt test chevron, I certainly would make the easy assumption chevron is in the same ilk.
And of note, all the people that race to the bottom also stayed on the bottom not only when testing one gas, but across regular and supreme. I'll post it again for those who didnt catch it, when randomly tested top stations tested high in detergency and bottom feeders raced to the bottom and even justified it with ceo statements such as "we meet epa requirements but we dont put in extra". Someone needs to grab that idiot and tell him to learn a bedside manner. Even if it is a lie tell them "yeah we will do better and it is good to see the competitions numbers and we will even have better gas next year, thanks for bringing this to our attention", lol?? I think is it safe to say those cheapy gas stations are minimum effort establishments and the big names are maximum effort establishments. Those big name stations are simply not going to get caught with their pants down.
Investigation: Best brands of gas for your car
Investigation: Best brands of gas for your car
I think it was U&A in the oil thread that stated he could smell the redline cleaner in the oil when he changed it. Not sur how the chemicals play with the oil chemicals. That’s why I only use cleaners in the tank right before the oil change, but that’s your expertise, not mine. So is that an issue ?
So there is a triangle where I get my gas, costco where I go, chevron who is always 40-80 cents per gallon more and sometimes even more, and an independent right next store to chevron and is religiously the same price as costco. Furthermore, the dude that owns that independent is a sweetheart, I mean salt of the earth dude. The costco is crowded from the time they open to the time they close, in second place is the chevron who on average is fifty cents a gallon more then either of the stations, and despite having a car wash the independent can buy a customer. The only reason he survives is because he has owned this station for something close to 50 years, and I'm sure he has no mortgage and since he runs it himself he has low overhead as well.
Could be yes, something about thickening and yes boy you can smell chems when you change the oil. w/o doubt I only use si-1 when oil change is coming soon, but also when the oil is going to be changed soon I go out of my way to use it. Mind you I opt to use the entire bottle when I treat, maybe if you use a maintenance dose instead of a heavy treatment it would be different, and I cant say which would be better, but yes heavy PEA use and oil thickening is at least a theory. Maybe bitog has a thread on it I forget. I have not experienced thickening that I recall, but I smell the chems everytime I change the oil. I use it heavy at least 2-3 tank fulls before an oil chnage, I try and maximise it because I have a long interval on the oil.
I know they test gas stations all the time for weights and measures, as I had an uncle and that was his job. It is actually impressive how much the gov't actually tests gas stations on this issue, and they make an extra effort for those who cheat customers. But I have no idea on anyone who tests for additives. One reason to trust the big names a little more, my guess they don't ever want to be caught with low additives, that would be disastrous to profits if the media got that. What is telling was that study posted earlier, shell, bp, and exon led when te-s-ted (cant say tested?) all gas both regular and supreme, and not in the same order, just those three big names made sure they had plenty of detergents across all offerings they sell. Of note of course the glaring weakness was they didnt test chevron, I certainly would make the easy assumption chevron is in the same ilk.
And of note, all the people that race to the bottom also stayed on the bottom not only when testing one gas, but across regular and supreme. I'll post it again for those who didnt catch it, when randomly tested top stations tested high in detergency and bottom feeders raced to the bottom and even justified it with ceo statements such as "we meet epa requirements but we dont put in extra". Someone needs to grab that idiot and tell him to learn a bedside manner. Even if it is a lie tell them "yeah we will do better and it is good to see the competitions numbers and we will even have better gas next year, thanks for bringing this to our attention", lol?? I think is it safe to say those cheapy gas stations are minimum effort establishments and the big names are maximum effort establishments. Those big name stations are simply not going to get caught with their pants down.
Investigation: Best brands of gas for your car
Investigation: Best brands of gas for your car
