Technical Can Injector cleaner and additives cause damage?

[g50245]

I understand that there is a lot of controversy about these products (some call them snake oil), so I'm not asking about whether they are effective or not.

I've had some problems with my 2005 1.2l 8v running rough. Not being able to find better products (forte or shell vpower), after cleaning the TB I resorted to using 1x 250ml bottle of Redex Petrol Injector Cleaner over 2 full tanks of petrol. Maybe it is just a placebo, but the car is definitely running smoother and doesn't kangaroo when it is cold.
Whilst talking about this with my local motorfactor, he gave me a sample can of Bardahl Octane Booster Ref 12301, to test instead of Redex. He suggested that it was better.

I realise that it is a little late and that any product that can dissolve carbon deposits is pretty potent. Before using any more I wanted to find out whether these products (Redex, Bardahl etc) can / do cause damage to the catalytic converter? Some stuff I got on google and from people talking suggest that these products add lead which in turn kills the cat converter.

 

[s and b]

i wont buy supermarket petrol
never had running issues with bp or shell standard fuel petrol or diesel
short runs on poor quality petrol block things up so in the best italian tradition give your car some on a sunday day off work if poor petrol is your forte

 

[jip0]

iv never had a problem with supermarket petrol and its pretty much all i use but im just one person so cant really base anything of that

when i first started driving and before i joined hear i put a bottle of redex in over two tanks and only thing i could say is that the mpg went up a little bit but could also be a placebo

i doubt it will damage anything unless you used it non stop

 

[DaveMcT]

I use Tesco's 99 octane. Its probably not got the cleaning additives of Shell & BP posh petrols but the car gives more miles per £ than ordinary unleaded.

All fuels have to meet the minimum standards so the car should be fine. Watch out in France where they have some very low octane petrol & low cetane diesels. Cheap per litre but give horrible fuel mileage.

 

[Ziggy122]

i could understand if you over did the dosage for it

But otherwise i dont think it'd do any damage, i've used redex A few times

and Yes
Increase MPG figures, and it did smooth out the acceleration a little bit, got rid of my single judder i got when i let go off the throttle

After 1 bottle, the rest didnt do that much of a difference

And i mainly used Tesco / Sainsburys Standard 95 octane fuel

Never have emission problems

Ziggy

 

[g50245]

Thanks for your contribution but that's not what I asked about. Plus...you're assuming that my problem is due to which type of fuel I use. Well, it's not.

i wont buy supermarket petrol
never had running issues with bp or shell standard fuel petrol or diesel
short runs on poor quality petrol block things up so in the best italian tradition give your car some on a sunday day off work if poor petrol is your forte

 

[DaveMcT]

Posh petrols contain injector cleaner though I doubt the high octane stuff from Tescos does.

The biggest risk with overdosing is you can dislodge gunk from the bottom of the tank that can then clog the fuel filter. But that's probably more of an issue with diesels where the thicker waxes can condense in the tank bottom.

 

[Ziggy122]

To be honest tho - petrol is quiet thin, compared to diesel
Espically when its cold

But if you keep letting the tank run down, then i dont think you'd have a problem
as you put fresh fuel in - it'll mix with the gunk(thinning it down) and been burnt off

I know the fuel filter would also capture alot of it too

Ziggy

 

[g50245]

@jip0, WhiteSei and Ziggy122 - thanks for your answers.
I have no intention of overusing Redex or any other product. Given past history with the main Fiat stealer, I didn't trust anything that came out of his mouth about why the car was idling roughly.
I was just worried that using redex or whatever product, would produce lead byproducts (or similar) which would kill off the cat.

 

[Ziggy122]

They say that they are Cat Safe, so i would have thought it'd be perfectly fine

I wacked some in and Yes i felt a difference, but no more diference after i'd complete 1 bottle and tried the 2nd

I've got a Third thats partly used, and tbh its been in the boot now for ages...

Ziggy

 

[s and b]

i used to use used brake fluid down the spi to clear valves of gunk and cats of goo
use to make lovely white smoke too:devil:
was thinking of fitting an injector into the exhaust so that i could create my own smokescreen if i ever got chased by the mafiosar
oh well
main thing is old brake fluid was/is free not like these concoctions sold in shops that have a cetane booster and mother of figs

 

[DaveMcT]

My old Montego diesel was good for that! I fitted an intercooler and turned up the pump, but just a "bit" too much. All fine until I really floored it then any tailgating plonker soon gave me room to move.

 

[Scoobysnacks]

No additives or petrol are allowed to contain any TEL (tetra ethyl lead, the "lead" part of leaded petrol) as it is a prohibited substance. There may be other things in some of the fuel additives that may damage a cat, but I know that REDEX is safe for cats, as are all of the boosters and fuel system cleaners sold by Halfrauds.

I've just run a bottle of a product called Cataclean through my Punto, as I had a problem with emissions for MOT. It didn't solve the emissions problems, but it seems to have made it run a little smoother (ok, again, probably placebo effect, I've not driven it much either)

They shouldn't damage anything, and there are possible benefits.

The additives that CAN do damage are oil additives which contain silicates and teflon, as these can build up and block the tiny oil ways, preventing proper oiling.

 

[DaveMcT]

probably not an issue with Puntos but some types of DPF (diesel exhaust filters) can be damaged by sulphur in fuel. No worries all fuels are no ultra low or no sulphur. Then you put Molyslip in the oil. Lovely slippery stuff. But its molybdenum disulphide so if the engine is burning oil especially via turbo seals its gonna take out that DPF system.

PS I used the PTFE loaded additives in my Monty but at 140K the engine was just as worn out as if it had never had the stuff. There engine was clean inside and no sign of clogged oil ways, but crank bearings were going and the turbo seals failed.

I think its snake oil. That said on a simple Perkins Prima, Moly slip might have helped and it would have been cheaper.