TC-W3 as a fuel treatment

Treatments cause the effective octane and O2 and CO in the exhaust to vary with every fillup and every addition of treatment. The computers will be chasing the desired operating point constantly by varying timing and fuel/air ratio. Add to that normal variations in air temperature, density, humidity, driving route, driver's condition, et cetera and you have an endless process with no real benefit. Any number of people have fooled themselves into thinking they've found an improvement; people are good at that.

If you do find an improvement in fuel economy it will almost certainly bugger the emissions.

 

BITOG has a lot of threads related to various fuel additives, from Marvel Mystery Oil to TCW3 (both contain oil) and others. Can't say that anybody has every posted any significant problems with O2 sensors, cats or other equipment, although people who've never used the stuff are sometimes quick to say it will damage something.

I'd be interested too, but doubt that this forum will be very informative about it. From my reading of multiple posts, you won't see much benefit in new or like-new engines. It would probably be worth a trial in an engine with over 70k miles.

Vic

 

Well what sort of mpg increase are we talking about anyway? Is it 1% or 2%? Good quality 2-stroke oil is about $10/L here, so even at 1:500 I'd need to get almost 2% gain just to break even

 

OK... this probably doesn't really belong in this thread, but I'm thinking about it, so I guess I'll post it here I suspect that a lot of the fuel economy gains from things like this... or magnets on the fuel lines or other crazy things that people do tend to come from people being more aware of fuel economy after making the changes and driving more economically. In other words, they probably could have seen those gains just by changing their driving style and nothing else.

I'd love to see a blind test of this or any of the other claims where the driver would go through several tanks of gas and each time they filled up a friend may or may not add the additive. After a few tanks each way, compare notes with the friend and see if you really did get better mileage on the tanks with the additive.

 

I've looked over a number of internet forums about gas additives, including the TCW3. I've tested it in my own car (2009 Civic), and two motorcycles (both 2009 models). If fuel reduction is the concern, it seems to me that it is a minimal improvement, at least with a newer engine (that's just my experience). Now, if you are planning on keeping the vehicle long-term then maybe there are other good effects that are not obvious on the short term.

One of the major internet threads on the topic of TCW3 is on the LS1.com internet forum, started by a guy with the handle Sarge. This thread has been going on about 1 1/2 years now, and from what I have seen mostly positive results: Been testing - LS1 Performance Information About 46 pages worth of reading for those who want to look it over.

 

As a rationale to any discussion on fuel and additives..... my opinion is that fuel is not perfect, that adding ethanol is detrimental to performance and fuel economy, and that upper cylinder lubrication can have benefits for the fuel system and engine efficiency. So that's where additives such as MMO, seafoam, TCW3 come in. Even Regane has a version with an UCL added to the mix.

 

Consider a 10K oil change interval if you are using Mobile 1. This engine isn't a cheap Chevy small block that is going to blow lifters for lack of fresh oil every 3,000 miles.

 

Each of us is allowed to spend our money however we like, even on snake oil.

 

The overall reports I've seen do not look like snake oil. I'll reserve that title for other products that don't work.

 

Well, the primary source is rendered dead animals, whether dinosaurs, livestock, snakes, ...

Seriously, though, fuel economy is multi-factorial, and important factors are difficult to hold constant: ambient temperature, traffic conditions, usage pattern, driving style, mechanical wear, etc. If it takes a few tanks to notice a meaningful improvement, then that makes it even more difficult to attribute to an additive. For example, you could notice a gradual increase in your FE over the next few months, but is that due to this additive, or due to warming temperatures? Thus, the naysayers will always be out in force, because, even if you get some improvement, it can be explained away. On the other hand, if everyone listened when everyone else said that what they were trying couldn't possibly work, then we wouldn't even have a Prius to drive. Enjoy your experiment

 

When I owned a two stroke, I bought injector oil for it, I just never considered it likely that my Prius would become a two stroke. Or a marine.

So it is not 'snake oil' for the use the manufacturer sells it for, there is simply an urban legend that it serves some purpose in four stoke cars other than slimming the owner's wallet.

 

2-stroke oil is made for supplementing fuel. It is correct that the Prius does not contain a 2-stroke engine, but the benefits do not need to be marginalized just because it is what I'd call an off-label use. And this is not the result of urban legend, the original discussion on this is from a deliberate exercise in finding a fuel additive product that helps improve the quality of our current, ethanol-blended fuels. The companies that sell TCW3 do not promote its use in regular cars, so there is no big financial intent on fleecing American car enthusiasts.

 

I suspect this is where we disagree, I do not consider 2 stroke oil as a fuel additive at all. It is not used to supplement the fuel. Two stoke engines use the crankcase to both push the fuel/air mixture into the cylinder as a pump, and to time when the fuel/air mixture arrives (like a valvetrain in a 4 stroke) As such it has no oil pan or oil pump lubricating the crankshaft or cylinder walls, which clearly NEED lubrication. The solution is to add oil to the fuel so it will lubricate the crankshaft and cylinder walls as it is pumped into the cylinder.

Two-stroke engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



A 4 stroke engine, as is almost universally used in cars, has an oil pan and oil pump providing lubrication to the crankshaft and cylinder walls so no additional oil is needed or would even get to the crankcase if it was added. So two stroke oil cannot do it's job in a 4 stroke engine.



Could it have other mystical powers undreamed of by modern science? I doubt it, but all it costs is your money.

 

Ah My mistake, I thought you were planning to use 2 stroke oil in a 4 stroke.