What are people's opinions on fuel additives? Stuff like octane boosters and engine cleaners?

I recently put in a bottle of this chevron techron stuff.. (with a new tank 92 octane of course) It says that it boosts octane and cleans out the fuel and combustion system.

I have read that the higher the octane, the better, cooler, and quieter your engine will run.

For some reason my motor sounds LOUDER? I did get a new air filter recently.. maybe that has something to do with it? I do notice a slight increase in "juice" but not a lot.

Also, I am noticing a very, VERY slight hesitation when accelerating. It seems to do this in all gears, at about 2500k rpm. It also seems to get better when the car gets warm, and eventually go away. I didn't always do this (but it is getting colder at night).

What are the typical things to check first? Fuel filter? Pump? I don't even know where these things are located, I am total newb with cars.

Thanks.

Oh yeah, ’99 Accord EX coupe 5spd, stock

 

with octane, in some cars higher octane doesnt do a thing. but if you think its working...its working. im not sure on why your engine sounds louder or why your car seems to be hesitating. it may just be that it needs to warm up.

 

Really? Why would this be? It doesn't make much sense...

How can I know for sure?

Thanks.

 

with the low compressoin ratio on the f22 engine you don't need higher octane fuel the higher octane the fuel the higher the flash temperature. which means that the fuel can take more compression before it detonates. with the low compression of the f22 you don't need high octane fuel. the engine was designed for economy, not performance. there are things you can do to make 92 octane fuel the optimal fuel for your engine like adjusting your timing and whatnot, but if you are just putting high octane fuel in your car just because "it's more expensive so it must be better for it" you'll actually see worse gas mileage and your performance may suffer in the long run. there's no need for octane booster in the the f22. your owners manual actually says to use 87 octane fuel. the only fuel additives i'd suggest are like elite said, fuel injector cleaners and stuff like that. most brand name gasoline has additives already in it to keep your fuel system running optimum performance.

 

Hmmm, very interesting. I think I will have to do some more reaserch on this.

Thanks for the good info.

 

Your car has absolutely ZERO use for higher octane fuel, and all octane booster is going to do is blow out your expensive O2 sensors and possibly even clog your catalytic converter.

The reason your car is hesitating is because the ignition timing is set specifically for 87 octane, yet now you are running a much higher octane. The ignition timing is thrown off, and as a result the engine won't run nearly as efficiently and you will actually LOSE power, overall performance, and mileage.

This is what happens when you put high octane fuel in an Accord V6.



The J30A1 in the 98-02 Accords runs a mild 9.4:1 compression ratio. Generally, anything with a 10.0:1 compression ratio or higher will need higher octane fuel. But F22/F23 engines also run low compression ratios so you do not need higher octane fuel. It will only hurt you. Accord engines are tuned for economy, and low operational costs, not performance.

Stick with 87.