Redex, Cataclean, or premium Shell/BP fuel?

mcpitman

Iceweasel wrote: »

Whilst I accept mcpitman's maths, Millers and all similar additives have the same distinctive horrid smell which lingers for ages.

Difficult even to wash off your hands if you get a tiny bit on them when opening the bottle and pouring.

If you keep the bottle in the boot then the smell gets into everything - including the weekly shopping. :mad:

Mrs Iceweasel banned me from using these additives a long while back.

I was happy with Millers results - but Shell V-Power/BP Ultimate/Total Excellium is cleaner and easier and only a tad more expensive for me as I don't need a tankful every week.

Couldn't agree more that the smell of the stuff leaves something to be desired. The latest bottle design has an extendable spout that reduces some of the smell/spillage, but you only need a drop of it and it reeks!

lisa110rry

If a lady may be allowed to tell her tale...

We were on holiday on the (diesel) boat a week ago and I set to reading the bottle label of the stuff we add to try to avoid getting the diesel bug. It said for all fuel types.

"Why darling," I said to my husband "methinks I'll buy a litre of this stuff for the old roadster and possibly also to use on the almost equally elderly 4x4." And I did.

Thursday I put 125ml/ 50l in the tank of the 1999 roadster and topped up. Saturday I drove to Walsall and back (163 miles) and there was other mileage involved with transport to work and home a couple of times.

As I was coming back up the motorway, I happened to note the fuel tank needle was "exactly" half way (I know it's not really exact) and looked at the odometer - 204 miles! That's 50 more than I would expect.

Now I know the car had everything going for it, premium unleaded fuel (Esso) a long motorway run and this additive but that's remarkable. The car also really wanted to "go" - though I never made it above 78 and that only by accident or rather inattention.

The stuff is called Fuel Doctor and I'll continue using it in my old cars which are each only on the road for six months at a time.

tripled

I viewed these additives as snake oil. However, after long period of gradually deteriorating performance and turbo lag in one of our old diesels, which eventually got so bad I wouldn't let my wife drive it any more and was going to scrap it for becoming dangerous (particularly on motorways and at junctions), I saw Redex in Wilko for about 2 quid and thought I'd give it a go.

The old car in question has over 160k miles on the clock, is run on supermarket diesel and was predominantly driven on journeys of 20-45 minutes on A/B/C/U roads, generally with a longer run every couple of weeks incorporating some motorway driving, occasional long distance runs (2-3 hours), and didn't do much in the way of town driving or short runs.

I chucked half a bottle in the tank, did around 500 miles and it had absolutely no effect. Refilled it with its usual supermarket diesel. About half-way through that tank, I was going up a hill, foot flat down but losing speed (as usual), when suddenly it accelerated as though there was nothing wrong with it, and started performing as it had 12 months previously.

Since then it's had another couple of half-bottles of Redex. On a tank that Redex is in, I do generally feel a slight judder under power, but once it's worked through and the diesel tank refilled it drives well - to the extent that I'm now mulling over whether to spend a couple of hundred quid on general maintenance it needs.

It could well be a coincidence, but for about a tenner a year per car, I'm happy enough to chuck half a bottle of Redex into my old diesels every couple of months.

Edit: Just to add, I've also chucked half a bottle through our other old diesel (which seems to be running fine despite having an extra 10,000 miles on the clock) and there's been no appreciable difference.

Ranger8

Wow if you`ve been impressed with Redex you really should try using one of the newer more expensive fuel additives/treatments which are vastly superior.
Or use Shell V-Power even :j