Redex???

[Japanoj]

Hi guys

Never really used this product before for my w203 diesel c220

My car now done 140k, should I be using Redex and putting that into my fuel tank?

 

[Gazwould]

Been around for donkey's , £2 a pop and does 2 tanks , why not .

 

[clk320x]

Hi guys

Never really used this product before for my w203 diesel c220

My car now done 140k, should I be using Redex and putting that into my fuel tank?

You can use a tank of Shell V-Power Diesel instead.

 

[Gazwould]

What's the Cetane number of said Snake Venom Power ?

 

[clk320x]

What's the Cetane number of said Snake Venom Power ?

It’s supposed to have better additives compared to normal diesel and should do a similar job to redex.

 

[Gazwould]

But for more money

 

[clk320x]

But for more money

Yes slightly more expensive that using Redex but more convenient.

Not quite sure why you have such an attitude to be honest? I just put forward another idea to the OP.

 

[markjay]

I have been using Redex for over ten years with brilliant results - squeaky clean injectors, on the occasion when I took them off. Highly recommended.

I have since moved to using premium fuels instead (BP Ultimate / Shell V-Power), which already have the detergents added to them. It saves fumbling with the bottle and measuring dosages while at the pump.

Said that, using premium fuel is more expensive than adding Redex to standard fuel... so work out what's best for you.

(I used Redex, but there are other products that do the same e.g. Forte, Millers, BG, etc)

 

[markjay]

But for more money

Agreed, but that's the price of convenience. When I was a younger man these things didn't matter to me so much... but these days, they do.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Halfords used to a big can of stuff you’d fire into the throttle bodies, it was called Power something and was about £20. It used to work really well, you’d get loads of black smoke out the back and the car would noticeably run better. But I’ve not seen the stuff for ages which is a shame. I’ve been using the Millers additive and I would say there’s a slightly noticeable difference.

I remember pulling into a Petrol station in an old Alfa I’d dosed heavily with Redex and a huge cloud of white smoke followed me in! I was so embarrassed I got back in and drove off until the redex had cleared!

 

[zipdip]

Well if I wanted to clean out my diesel car I would wait until I had say a quarter of a tank of diesel and then put in the redex,and do it say early morning around a deserted industrial site,and drive around in a low gear and plenty of revs the vast amounts of black smoke would go unnoticed and after about 10 mins the smoke would stop and then fill up with diesel and your car will pass emission checks and it will run better.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Yes I think with the excitement of youth I was running my Alfa on 90% Redex at the time!

mind you I say excitement of youth, I think it’s just me. I put some Redex in the lawnmower last summer and ended up smoking out the garden!

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I have been using Redex for over ten years with brilliant results - squeaky clean injectors, on the occasion when I took them off. Highly recommended.

-

These guys seem to think differently - however we all have our own poison. I only use premium fuel in both our cars. The SL requires it and the B class seems to run better on it (less DPF regen action) and for the cost and low mileage we do, it is not going to bust the bank (less than a penny a mile).

What do car fuel additives do? And are they any use?

 

[Deleted member 126251]

I remember pulling into a Petrol station in an old Alfa I’d dosed heavily with Redex and a huge cloud of white smoke followed me in! I was so embarrassed I got back in and drove off until the redex had cleared!

I did the same in a Renault I had back in the early 70s (poured some straight into the carb with the engine running) but while parked in a busy street. A guy came running out of a shop with a fire extinguisher....

 

[fabes]

I drop a couple of tanks with Redex periodically in both the MB and the diesel QQ
I can only help and at a quid a tank, it's got to be good /placebo maintenance.
Not had any problems / dpf / injectors on either so its got to be helping, right???

Actually will be getting some today as I am off upto Worksop for work in a week or so, so the MB will have a tank full to run through it.
Asda have it on offer most days
Might even get to open the V6 up a bit on the country roads up there......

 

[Petrol Pete]

I used to use it in my Vauxhall Omega Elite back in the day , it was the 2.5 straight six diesel (my first diesel car), BMW engine. Massively underrated cars. I used to do mega motorway miles and never had an issue with the engine. Was it down to the Redex ? don't know ,but it obviously did no harm.

 

[markjay]

These guys seem to think differently - however we all have our own poison. I only use premium fuel in both our cars. The SL requires it and the B class seems to run better on it (less DPF regen action) and for the cost and low mileage we do, it is not going to bust the bank (less than a penny a mile).

What do car fuel additives do? And are they any use?

With respect to Autoexpress, they got it wrong. As someone who used to take engines apart (many many years ago...) on regular basis, I can tell you that carburetors and injectors and intake valves get all gummed-up, and exhaust valves are covered with Carbon deposits, on well-maintained cars much younger than 10 years. The idea that a car's engine will maintain it's original internal cleanliness for 10 years just isn't serious. And my experience is that regular use of fuel additives containing detergent will help keep it clean.

I am sure that many members here who worked on their cars will have had the same experience as I did, or alternatively you can watch on YouTube what the top part of an engine looks like inside after a couple of years of normal use.

Where they do have a point, is that while allowing the engine to get all full of gum and Carbon deposits will have a detrimental effect on both its performance and fuel economy, keeping the engine clean won't improve these beyond the manufacturer's original specifications...

So they are right in the sense that anyone using detergents in the fuel from when the car is new won't actually notice any difference, but they neglect to mention that the engine performance would have otherwise deteriorated somewhat over time.

Another valid point they make is that car engines are optimised for the fuel sold at the pumps, and the additives won't make it a better fuel. All the additives do is help keep the engine clean.

That said, many people are of the view that if the engine is good for (say) 150,000 miles 'out of the box', then the car should just be used as it comes and there's so need to try and improve on the manufacturer's service schedule by going into the trouble of keeping the engine at top performance and fuel economy etc.

 

[markjay]

I used to use it in my Vauxhall Omega Elite back in the day , it was the 2.5 straight six diesel (my first diesel car), BMW engine. Massively underrated cars. I used to do mega motorway miles and never had an issue with the engine. Was it down to the Redex ? don't know ,but it obviously did no harm.

Had an Omega 2.5 V6 petrol for 3 years, then an Omega CDX 2.6 V6 petrol (the facelift one) for 7 years.... fantastic RWD beasts the munch motorway miles with great ease. In fact, if they hadn't stopped making them in 2004, I might still be driving one today.... and would have probably upgraded to the Elite, at some point

Ringway had a few Omegas as well, I believe.

 

[Petrol Pete]

I have mentioned on here before about a mate of mine who has had many,many Transit vans over the years and has always put two stroke oil in the fuel tank, even does it on his new one. Swears by it.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

@markjay

I'm not for or against it. It has been around since Noah was a boy and I've used it as well. I've also read that the detergents, while they do clean the engine, also break down the lubricating oil and increase friction.