|
Red Line SI-1 Fuel System Cleaner - 15 Ounce, Pack of 12 | 
 enlarge | Brand: RED LINE
Category: Automotive Parts And Accessories
List Price: $93.48
Buy New: $63.77
You Save: $29.71 (32%)
Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 2631
Media: Misc.
MPN: 60103
Model: 60103
UPC: 083522601238
EAN: 0083522601238
ASIN: B000T9RLT0
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 3 to 5 days
| |
| Features:
| • | Cleans injectors and carbs to like-new efficiency | | • | Lubricates upper cylinder and valves | | • | Prevents fuel system rust and cleans intake valve deposits | | • | Reduces pre-ignition and run-on as well as effectively cleaning the emission control systems | | • | Stabilizes gasoline and prevents carburetor icing which effects your vehicles performance |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews:
Best and most cost-effective product of its type January 6, 2009
Short version:
Among all fuel system cleaners I'm aware of, Redline SI-1 contains the highest quantity per dollar (based on manufacturer MSDS) of the critical fuel-system-cleaning compounds known as polyether amines (PEA). Primarily for this reason my opinion is that SI-1 is the best available fuel system cleaner, even at retail pricing. At the current price per bottle when bought by the case right here on Amazon's ($5.30) it is a bargain.
In my use it has not been necessary to use Redline's recommended treatment rate of approximately 3 oz of SI-1 per fill-up. The effects of 1 oz per fill-up are indistinguishable in terms of tested results (see my basis for this statement in the long version, below). This results in an approximate cost of $0.35/tank or less than a tenth of a penny per mile. A full case at this usage rate is enough to treat 180 full tanks of fuel or to last approximately 80,000 miles. (Figures based 15gal/tank, 25-35mpg).
Long version:
First, some background. As far as I know, every effective fuel system cleaner on the market uses a class of compounds known as polyether amines (PEA), in varying proportions, to effectively clean deposits from fuel system components, and particularly from fuel injectors, which can quickly affect engine efficiency and performance when not operating properly. My understanding is that these compounds were first developed by Chevron and sold under the Techron name, and have since been made available to other blenders of fuel treatment products. Until recently BG 44K, Chevron Techron Concentrate, Gumout Regane Fuel System Cleaner, Amsoil P.I. Performance Improver Concentrate, and Redline SI-1, among others, listed polyether amines clearly on their MSDS sheets in proportions varying from approximately 25% to 50%. Most of these products no longer list PEA on their MSDS, having changed their terminology to disguise the precise nature of their constituent components. Whether PEA is still contained in those products is a matter of uncertainty. As of this writing Redline SI-1 still clearly lists a PEA content on the product's MSDS of 30-50%. Consequently it is one of the few fuel system cleaners that can still be unquestionably assumed to contain PEA.
I have been able to test the efficacy of fuel system cleaners in one of my own vehicles using a method I stumbled upon after having its injectors professionally cleaned while out of the vehicle. The car in question uses a Bosch engine management system that reports fuel injector data to an on-board computer that then uses the data to calculate and report instantaneous and average mpg to the driver. I noted after the professional cleaning that the accuracy of the reported mpg, when used to measure average mpg over each full tank of fuel, improved suddenly from a prior error of around -3% - -5% (that is, the reported mpg was ~3-5% below the actual mpg, or typically just over 1mpg low) to an error as close to zero as I could measure (that is, usually between -1% and 1%, fluctuating above and below a perfect match). This can be easily explained on the basis that the engine management system will compensate for a dirty injector by opening the injector for a slightly longer period of time during each combustion cycle, in order to admit the proper amount of fuel. The on-board computer will then use that cycle-time data to calculate a slightly higher rate of fuel use and will consequently report a lower mpg than is actually the case.
This was an interesting curiosity at the time, and I was pleased and surprised by the new accuracy of the computed mileage and what it implied about the success of the injector cleaning, but I wasn't keeping exact data at every fill-up. Nor was I using any type of fuel treatment product. However, I did notice after several thousand miles - not all that long - that the accuracy had again begun to deteriorate. Since it's obviously not practical to remove the injectors every few thousand miles for professional cleaning, I started experimenting with fuel system cleaners and keeping records of the results.
I will leave out the long details and simply say that the results were surprisingly clear and unambiguous. Each time I went several tanks without using a fuel system cleaner, usually as a result of simply forgetting to use it or not taking the trouble), the on-board computer (OBC) accuracy would deteriorate to an average of -3% or so. Obviously this would fluctuate from tank to tank due to inevitable measurement errors. Upon returning to the use of a fuel system cleaner (I experimented mainly with Techron, Gumout Regane and SI-1, all at the time clearly contained PEA), the accuracy would improve again very quickly - within 1-3 fill-ups. I began using the SI-1 exclusively seven months ago. Since then I have reduced the quantity I use in each tank the the current 1oz per ~15gal fill-up. The results remain unambiguous. If I use this small amount of SI-1 consistently, the accuracy of the on-board computer is excellent, with an average error of below 1%, or a fraction the error rate when not using such a product.
Based on the above I feel I can confidently conclude that SI-1 works very well, even at reduced treatment rates, at keeping fuel injectors clean. Fuel system types and injectors will vary, and other parts of the fuel system - for example intake valves and combustion chambers - might benefit from higher treatment rates or, possibly, might not benefit at all. Actual engine efficiency will not vary nearly as much as injector cleanliness, since the engine feedback system corrects for slightly impeded fuel flow. However, as the flow is more greatly impeded, or impeded differentially among the individual injectors, mpg will be affected to some degree. I feel it is well worth the tiny cost to consistently use a small quantity of SI-1. Other benefits, such as to combustion efficiency as a result of combustion chamber cleanliness, to volumetric efficiency as a result of intake valve cleanliness, and to fuel system lubrication, probably exist as well although I can not evaluate them and have not attempted to do so. Other fuel system cleaners may work as well, or nearly as well, but I do not believe them to be as good in terms of value per dollar spent.
In my experimentation I did try using a few less expensive fuel system cleaners, those not containing PEA. They appeared to have no effect. I can not categorically state that only PEA-containing fuel system cleaners work, of course, but my observations did match the conventional wisdom on this point. I also experimented with using top-tier fuels only, and no fuel system cleaner. The results were the same as when using non-detergent (Costco and others) fuels. I don't doubt that top tier fuels contain small amounts of cleaners and will keep a fuel system functionally and acceptably clean, but the quantities involved are reputed to be tiny and my observations seem to indicate that even a small amount of additional additive is far more effective.
Highly Recommended by People Who Know April 17, 2008
If your looking for one of the best products in this category of fuel injector/system cleaners, then this is a product you should consider. I belong to a club of Mazda RX-8 owners, tuners, and technicians and many of us use this product with very good results - especially since it will stand up to the high operating temperatures a rotary engine runs at (especially under load) as well as its added lubricating properties.
|
|
|
| |
