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Hi guys are they bad for the Maserati?? Octane boosters, Fuel injector cleaner etc.. Let me know your experiences and what you have heard.
Fuel additives???
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I used Chevron's Techron cleaner... Just because.
Didnt hurt. I wouldnt suggset using anything other than a cleaner though.
Didnt hurt. I wouldnt suggset using anything other than a cleaner though.
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Probably just use a top tier gas and leave it alone.
I tried 100 octane and got a CEL from the secondary air injection system for my trouble.
http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html
I tried 100 octane and got a CEL from the secondary air injection system for my trouble.
http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html
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ethenol wears out O-rings fast?
heard that ethenol, wears out the O-rings in the engine. would the fuel cleaners help with the preservation of those?
heard that ethenol, wears out the O-rings in the engine. would the fuel cleaners help with the preservation of those?
Mooostey it depends on what the o-rings are made of and how much ethanol...your usual 10%-15% blend will not affect a regular motors gaskets although personally I wouldn't run it in the maserati because it is always some pisswater octane.
If you are running E-85 the ethanol content is high enough to melt your gaskets and o rings, there is no additive that can prevent it, this is why cars have to be converted to run e-85 it has little to do with fuel mapping and almost everything to do with replacing every piece of butyl, and PTFE based rubber and plastic in the fuel tract with gfelt gaskets
If you are running E-85 the ethanol content is high enough to melt your gaskets and o rings, there is no additive that can prevent it, this is why cars have to be converted to run e-85 it has little to do with fuel mapping and almost everything to do with replacing every piece of butyl, and PTFE based rubber and plastic in the fuel tract with gfelt gaskets
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357 Posts
No. The ethanol would still attack non-compatible rubber. I have no idea how the rubber O-rings in a Maserati react to ethanol.
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4,764 Posts
Octane Boosters do very little if anything, they're a waste of money. The nominal amount they boost your octane isn't worth the cost and remember that boosting your octane is pointless *unless* you do something with it.
FWIW, you can brew your own by mixing chemicals with your fuel however it's not of much value.
FWIW, you can brew your own by mixing chemicals with your fuel however it's not of much value.
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79 Posts
Fuel additives do not work.
When they say that an octane booster will raise it a point, this is not from 91 to 92, its a completely different number they are talking about.
The only effective way to raise your octane with an aditive, is to do one of the following.
1. Dump in a few gallons of toluene
2. Dump in a good deal of Torco octane booster... more than that puny little bottle you buy at Kragen
3. Add a few gallons of real race fuel.
However, unless you are running forced induction, or have raised your compression, you will not get any power boost out of a higher octane fuel.
Octane essentially is a measurement of a fuels ability to resist pre-detonation. This is important on forced induction motors, tubo, supercharged, or nitrous fed, etc, or high compression motors.
It does not give you more power, it simply allows you to run your engine harder, without blowing it up. Higher octane fuel is actually harder to ignite. What you want for maximum performance, is the lowest octane fuel, that you engine can run without damaging itself.
The best fuel cleaner, is you fuel filter.
If you want to play around with fluids for more performance, dont look to your fuel system, look to your vacume system, your oil system, and your transmission and differential fluids.
In my 1995 BMW M3, I cleaned out my vacume system using Seafoam sucked into the system, with mind bogglingly good results. However, your car is probably not old enough to need such a treatment.
Techron does work in keeping your engine clean, but if you want it, simply use Chevron premium gasoline... which you should already be using my opinion actually... as I belive it to be the best gasoline out there. You can always dump it in later, but you will not see the same results from one large does of Techron to the fuel, as you would from using it regularly via the gasoline.
This test is far less technical than what I was talking about, but it will give you an idea. Basically a British TV show dumped fuel adititves into a Rover motor... not exactally a high strung Maserati motor... but you will see that they all do nothing, or reduce power.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2jbcCr2ll3c
-Colleen
When they say that an octane booster will raise it a point, this is not from 91 to 92, its a completely different number they are talking about.
The only effective way to raise your octane with an aditive, is to do one of the following.
1. Dump in a few gallons of toluene
2. Dump in a good deal of Torco octane booster... more than that puny little bottle you buy at Kragen
3. Add a few gallons of real race fuel.
However, unless you are running forced induction, or have raised your compression, you will not get any power boost out of a higher octane fuel.
Octane essentially is a measurement of a fuels ability to resist pre-detonation. This is important on forced induction motors, tubo, supercharged, or nitrous fed, etc, or high compression motors.
It does not give you more power, it simply allows you to run your engine harder, without blowing it up. Higher octane fuel is actually harder to ignite. What you want for maximum performance, is the lowest octane fuel, that you engine can run without damaging itself.
The best fuel cleaner, is you fuel filter.
If you want to play around with fluids for more performance, dont look to your fuel system, look to your vacume system, your oil system, and your transmission and differential fluids.
In my 1995 BMW M3, I cleaned out my vacume system using Seafoam sucked into the system, with mind bogglingly good results. However, your car is probably not old enough to need such a treatment.
Techron does work in keeping your engine clean, but if you want it, simply use Chevron premium gasoline... which you should already be using my opinion actually... as I belive it to be the best gasoline out there. You can always dump it in later, but you will not see the same results from one large does of Techron to the fuel, as you would from using it regularly via the gasoline.
This test is far less technical than what I was talking about, but it will give you an idea. Basically a British TV show dumped fuel adititves into a Rover motor... not exactally a high strung Maserati motor... but you will see that they all do nothing, or reduce power.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2jbcCr2ll3c
-Colleen
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Very well written and I believe completely accurate.
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Sucking Seafoam into your vacuum line serves to clean deposits off your intake valves. This does have dramatic results in high mileage engines that get the treatment for the first time. If you've ever disassembled the head of a high mileage engine, you immediately know why. Intake valve deposits get BIG and block a great percentage of the flow volume through the port, not to mention disrupting the flow that does get past. Ventil Sauber is another good product for this.
Get the engine hot. Stick your pinched vacuum hose in the can. Start up and unpinch the line to allow the Seafoam to gradually be sucked up. Shut off the engine and let it soak into the deposits for a bit. Restart and observe moderate smoke and think "that's not so bad". Go drive it up the road to clear things out and be amazed at the smoke screen. Yes, it makes a BIG difference to engines with obstructed intake ports.
Beware, this treatment produces HUMONGOUS amounts of thick white smoke from the exhaust when done right. Your neighbors will surely take notice, though they may not actually be able to see the vehicle it's coming from due to the smoke screen. I did this to a high mileage BMW V-12 and it took a really long time for the atmospheric disturbance to dissipate. Everybody in the neighborhood came out to see what was up
Get the engine hot. Stick your pinched vacuum hose in the can. Start up and unpinch the line to allow the Seafoam to gradually be sucked up. Shut off the engine and let it soak into the deposits for a bit. Restart and observe moderate smoke and think "that's not so bad". Go drive it up the road to clear things out and be amazed at the smoke screen. Yes, it makes a BIG difference to engines with obstructed intake ports.
Beware, this treatment produces HUMONGOUS amounts of thick white smoke from the exhaust when done right. Your neighbors will surely take notice, though they may not actually be able to see the vehicle it's coming from due to the smoke screen. I did this to a high mileage BMW V-12 and it took a really long time for the atmospheric disturbance to dissipate. Everybody in the neighborhood came out to see what was up
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Yup, helped with my high millage M3!Sucking Seafoam into your vacuum line serves to clean deposits off your intake valves. This does have dramatic results in high mileage engines that get the treatment for the first time. If you've ever disassembled the head of a high mileage engine, you immediately know why. Intake valve deposits get BIG and block a great percentage of the flow volume through the port, not to mention disrupting the flow that does get past. Ventil Sauber is another good product for this.
Get the engine hot. Stick your pinched vacuum hose in the can. Start up and unpinch the line to allow the Seafoam to gradually be sucked up. Shut off the engine and let it soak into the deposits for a bit. Restart and observe moderate smoke and think "that's not so bad". Go drive it up the road to clear things out and be amazed at the smoke screen. Yes, it makes a BIG difference to engines with obstructed intake ports.
Beware, this treatment produces HUMONGOUS amounts of thick white smoke from the exhaust when done right. Your neighbors will surely take notice, though they may not actually be able to see the vehicle it's coming from due to the smoke screen. I did this to a high mileage BMW V-12 and it took a really long time for the atmospheric disturbance to dissipate. Everybody in the neighborhood came out to see what was up
My fathers Maserati doesnt need it yet I am sure.
I told my neighbors I was doing it... and they came over to watch. They thought the smoke was so cool
.
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Waste of money, and unnecessary if you use a quality fuel in the first place.
They are the chemical equivalents of steering wheel wrap, neon undercarriage lights, and fuzzy dice.
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lol that was hillarious...
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Using a reputable fuel additive is NOT bad for a Maserati, in fact it is GOOD since it will rid of deposits & varnish that are robbing your vehicle of its performance. I have an 02 Spyder and use a bottle of Gumout Regane Fuel System Cleaner or Shell V-Power Complete Fuel System Cleaner every couple of thousand miles to keep things running smoothly and in top performance. I also use these regularly in my other 2 vehicles and am always pleased with the results.
Complete fuel system cleaners are designed to clean the whole fuel system from the fuel injectors through the intake port and intake valve into the combustion chamber including the cylinder head and piston top. Some have even been shown to clean gum and varnish from fuel lines and open up fuel filters. They are able to remove gum and varnish deposits through an agent that softens organic deposits and a detergent/dispersant that wets deposits and rinses them clean.
A fuel injector cleaner on the other hand only cleans fuel injectors as it is not a strong enough cleaner to remove heavy intake valve deposits or carbonaceous deposits in hotter areas like the intake port or combustion chamber.
Engine deposits can cause driveability problems like hesitation, stalling, surging and rough idle. So removal of deposits solves those problems and restores your engine to its original performance. Deposits in the combustion chamber can also increase the octane requirement of the engine. The engine needs a higher-octane fuel to avoid knock in engines without knock sensors or the loss in performance due to the computer recalibrating the engine in vehicles with knock sensors. Using an octane booster can reduce the tendency to knock in those engines if the octane requirement has increased just above what the fuel delivers.
I hope that helps!
Complete fuel system cleaners are designed to clean the whole fuel system from the fuel injectors through the intake port and intake valve into the combustion chamber including the cylinder head and piston top. Some have even been shown to clean gum and varnish from fuel lines and open up fuel filters. They are able to remove gum and varnish deposits through an agent that softens organic deposits and a detergent/dispersant that wets deposits and rinses them clean.
A fuel injector cleaner on the other hand only cleans fuel injectors as it is not a strong enough cleaner to remove heavy intake valve deposits or carbonaceous deposits in hotter areas like the intake port or combustion chamber.
Engine deposits can cause driveability problems like hesitation, stalling, surging and rough idle. So removal of deposits solves those problems and restores your engine to its original performance. Deposits in the combustion chamber can also increase the octane requirement of the engine. The engine needs a higher-octane fuel to avoid knock in engines without knock sensors or the loss in performance due to the computer recalibrating the engine in vehicles with knock sensors. Using an octane booster can reduce the tendency to knock in those engines if the octane requirement has increased just above what the fuel delivers.
I hope that helps!
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Porsche recommends Techron.
http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa_question.asp?id={802D6D6A-AD5D-4D6D-BBAF-A5A2966049EA}
I don't know if it is still the case, but at one point in time Jaguar was recommending BG MOA 44K.
Techron is significantly less expensive - in fact you can purchase a "family size" case at Costco. BG MOA is generally only available at dealerships or specialty shops and the cost is around $20USD.
http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa_question.asp?id={802D6D6A-AD5D-4D6D-BBAF-A5A2966049EA}
I don't know if it is still the case, but at one point in time Jaguar was recommending BG MOA 44K.
Techron is significantly less expensive - in fact you can purchase a "family size" case at Costco. BG MOA is generally only available at dealerships or specialty shops and the cost is around $20USD.
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Additives
I used Gumout Regane regularly and have used Shell V-Power Complete Fuel System Cleaner a few times. Both products work great keeping your engine clean through use of detergents and have friction modifiers to improve your engine's performance.
I used Gumout Regane regularly and have used Shell V-Power Complete Fuel System Cleaner a few times. Both products work great keeping your engine clean through use of detergents and have friction modifiers to improve your engine's performance.
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I think that the main issue with octane boosters is that most of them contain lead. A very good way to destroy your cat. Toluene works but for the money it can be more expensive than racing fuel.
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Whatever you decide do not put in any octane boosters with MMT Methyl cyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl as it will gum up your plugs and cats faster than you can say "Holy ....) and then you will be out some extra dough in repairs...
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I would recommend stick with good premuim fuel from a gas station that has a lot of traffic. The more gas they sell the more often they get new gas meaning fresh fuel. When it comes to decarbing you engine I would recommend BG fuel system and induction cleaner. This has to be done by someone with the right equipment. I have to say I have never seen something work so well. It cleans the intake manifold and the intake valves. As well as the fuel rail and injectors. I have used it many times. I have also used seafoam which does a good job and you are able to do it without the aid of special equipment. I personally use Shell of Chevron in my vehicles.
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