Do you use fuel treatment in your automobile?

Never.

I tend to drive my vehicles "until the wheels fall off", and in the past I've owned 3 cars that I've driven for more than 100,000 miles.

To pick just one example, a '91 Subaru Loyale wagon that I bought with 120,000 miles that I drove until it had 260,000 miles on the clock.

That car consistently got about 28 mpg the entire time I had it, and never lost any performance or showed any signs of engine running issues as far as I could tell. My other cars were similar.

Ive never felt the need to use fuel treatment (or oil treatment or similar fluid "cleaning" products) and have never noticed any negative results.

 

With certain engines their may be some benefit to running a bottle of Techron or something similar through a full tank of gas right right before getting an oil change.

 

My Dakota will hit 250000 miles later this week. I should probably do something nice for it.

 

Fuel Doctors has been recommended to me. Took a punt on it the other day. Seems to be doing the trick but the engine had no faults to begin with I'm just being a little overcautious due to the bind we're in. Not doing many miles.​

 

IMO, I doubt they'd be allowed to sell anything for your car that'd actively screw it up. But the number of times I've been wrong today alone leads me to doubt even that.

I'm also inclined to think that any benefits such products would claim to yield are exaggerations at best. Motor oil and oil filters are subject to some pretty intense quality testing, regulated by ISOs and other standards such that even the cheap motor aster oil is guaranteed to protectyourengine well enough. What tests do these products have to go through to measure their effectiveness?

I'm not saying they DON'T go through tests and can't verify their claims, I'm just saying that I haven't looked into it and therefore don't know, and until I look through it enough I'm inclined to doubt what's written on the bottle.

 

Yes
Sea-foam
A can in each vehicle spring and fall
(6 months between)
Duke

 

No. Neither does my drummer (auto mechanic for almost 40 years).

 

Only for my Mercury 4 stroke outboard motor. Sea Foam brand. The boat is docked in a saltwater 365 days a year so I do use additives to keep it running smoothly. I never use in my cars.

 

No.

 

A can of Seafoam every so often.

 

I just use Shell, Mobile or Chevron about every 2 or 3 tank.

 

No. I do all the maintenance on our 5 cars. Maintenance schedules according to the FSM recommendations, and no cheap parts.

 

I ran a bottle of Techron through an old Honda motorcycle that had a gummed up carb one time.

As a regular thing on a car with no problems... no.

 

Data, or just "seems to"?

 

My cars have consistently gone over 100K miles since I started owning cars in the 1970s. I've never used fuel additives, but I do buy major brand gas with the additives that go with those brands.

I currently have four cars with over 100K miles: a 1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo, 2008 BMW 3-series, 2009 BMW 3-series, and 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee. My sister has a Toyota Tacoma with over 400,000 miles. All are fuel injected; as far as I know none have used fuel additives.

The current science of fuels and oils is such that IMO fuel additives (and oil additives) have a better chance of screwing up the chemistry of those products than they do of improving their performance or extending engine longevity.

 

Fuel System Cleaners - Fact Or Fiction

Cut to the chase...

"The Verdict: FICTION

As John explained to us, the problem with pour-in fuel injector cleaners can be two-fold. Effective injector cleaning requires stronger chemicals than can legally be sold in stores for use with emissions-controlled vehicles, and stubborn deposits simply must be dealt with by force—and more of it than an engine’s fuel system can provide, even at 100 percent duty cycle. "Even the injectors we saw today would be passable in most cases, for everyday driving," he admits. "But in high-performance builds, especially in high-strung turbo applications and engines tuned for pump gas, clean fuel injectors are hugely, hugely important.""