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While purchasing some Sea-Foam (which I do about once a year), I got into a convo with a few of the parts guys, and one of them suggested that a better alternative to Sea-Foam, would be to pour about a pint of VP-110 (Race Fuel?) into my tank, along with 91 non-ethanol fuel. He said the VP-110 (used in moderation; say once a year, or maybe every 6 months) would clean out my fuel-delivery system, and get it back to it's '97 "like new" performance (relatively speaking).
How true is that?
I understand the part about 91 non-ethanol, because it makes sense that therein is 10% water; which can't be good for any engine. So (although I had never thought about it until we had this convo) an alternative that doesn't include water is basically pure-gasoline, and would have to out-perform 93 octane.
Theres a Mirabito gas station locally, which offers 91 non-ethanol fuel; so should I really do the VP-110 pint, and transition to 91-Non? According to these guys the power output will be significantly greater, as will fuel economy. Further, I should be able to smell the difference as well, if I compare my exhaust to what it was, or to that of another car beside me.
If I'll gain power - I'm all for it.
If I'll improve economy - I'm all for it.
I'm actually all for it already, but I ain't doing anything without certainty; lol.
well seafoam is used for 2 stroke and boat engines, you're better off using cleaners made for 4 stroke engines and injector cleaners and so on. i'm not sure about the 110 though, i don't see how that would clean anything since it's still just fuel.
2 stroke/4 stroke/boat/car/truck/lawn mower... matters not. They're all still internal combustion engines and they all can benefit from a product like Seafoam, sometimes.
Also, don't put too much weight on what a guy who works at a parts store says. Not saying he's necessarily wrong, but past experience dictates the vast majority know little to nothing about actual diagnosis/car repair. If they did, they'd be working for a shop as actual techs.
There's more to fuel aside from ethanol vs non-ethanol. For instance, my Chevy Suburban clearly runs better using BP or Shell vs other brands, all of which contain "up to 10% Ethanol". I couldn't tell you why, can only guess they may contain less Ethanol than the others or the formula overall is better.
I'm personally skeptical about the 110 octane claim. I imagine, theoretically, it should be able to burn hotter but it would also require higher compression to ignite efficiently, meaning it's potential benefits may not only be moot but may be detrimental and cause more deposit build up in the end.
Well I went ahead and used the 91 non-ethanol and lemme tell you ... BIG difference
Even the idle differs; however acceleration is improved dramatically; it's smooth and fast. Economy seems to be improved, but I won't know for sure until later (I have an hour drive ahead of me shortly), but so far this week the $20 I put in seems to've stretched out a bit as compared to before on 93.
I considered the VP-110 but unfortunately they don't sell it in small quantities. You have to buy it 5gal. at a time. They (for some reason) can't sell any less than that, and it's $65.
I'll wait, but I do wanna experiment with it, and see how it improves the fuel-delivery system (or not). Maybe because it's a stronger agent simply? (Than Sea-Foam ...) I think that's what he meant.
I know what ya mean about who to listen to or not, but I took their word for it because my area (Binghamton, NY) really has nothing going on; kinda rural and small. So everybody around here pretty much just builds/races cars; it's the only exciting thing around.
So that said, there's an abundance of knowledgable car guys around; yet so far, he was dead right about the 91 non-ethanol. I'm never using 93 again.
gas is a solvent, what the clerk said in theory should be true as a higher octane should be a more pure solvent. was bored last year and did a buncha drunken research on reasons to use higher octane in your premium octane engine, solvency was one of them.
do most gas stations sell non ethanol? what's the price difference of it compared to regular 93?
Price is about the same really; so its worth it.
Originally Posted by eight
gas is a solvent, what the clerk said in theory should be true as a higher octane should be a more pure solvent. was bored last year and did a buncha drunken research on reasons to use higher octane in your premium octane engine, solvency was one of them.
Exactly. It makes sense.
I talked to the guy again this week, and shared my results.
I told him the VP-110 was expensive as per the quantity sold, versus how much I actually needed ...
He said he knows the guy who owns the shop (they dirt-bike together) and could get him to sell him a smaller amount on the side; therefore he would get some for me, and allow me to come by the shop and buy it from him, so I can see how it really makes a difference to my car.
04-05-16, 09:51 PM
How true is this?
