Too Redex or not to redex

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ej2095
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Too Redex or not to redex

Post by ej2095 »

Hi all

After doing oil change/air filter change

I was thinking of sticking some reddex into fuel.

This stuff any good.? only to clean the internals out
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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by spider »

I tried some of their derv treatment although it did not appear to do anything but the unit was quite healthy anyway.

The one I wanted was the Forte branded stuff but the local factor did not have any. That I have used a few times in various cars and it did seem to help a bit.
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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by Chlorate »

In my opinion: 100% pure freshly-squeezed snake oil, not from concentrate.

Given that fuel these days contains cleaning agents anyway, a regularly driven car shouldn't have any real trouble with fuel system gunge.

It could be used to accelerate the cleaning up of a system that has been sitting idle for a decent length of time, but shouldn't make a lot of difference to an otherwise healthy car.

Being honest, I'm skeptical of anything sold as a fuel or oil additive that claims any sort of performance benefit over what could be achieved through regular servicing.
I could be wrong, but I do recall hearing somewhere that many OEMs recommend NOT using such things...

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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by JohnD »

On one of my other forums we had a member who was a chemist working for an oil company in the Hague. Sadly his comparatively young life was cut short by a heart attack as he headed home one weekend. Topics about types of fuels and additives were constantly appearing on the forum. If I were to summarize some of his replies, he would be saying that premier fuel gave better performance than standard pump diesel. Standard diesel could be improved by the addition of Miller's Sport4 or Fortes to a similar level of premier fuel ie: from a Cetane rating of 51 to nearer 55 but only in engines that are able to retune themselves to benefit from the higher cetane rating - Euro 1V and V's. On the subject of which was best: supermarket fuel or branded pump diesel. His opinion was that they were both the same. The supermarket fuel may not always contain the cleaner pack of the branded diesel, but the addition of it did not change the Cetane rating.

Needless to say, I'm a firm believer in using Miller's Ecomax.
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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by Citroenmad »

Chlorate wrote:In my opinion: 100% pure freshly-squeezed snake oil, not from concentrate.

Given that fuel these days contains cleaning agents anyway, a regularly driven car shouldn't have any real trouble with fuel system gunge.
Tests conclude that this is not true. It largely depends on the engine design, the fuel used (branded vs cheap) and the use the car has. Cheap fuel such as that at supermarkets have recently been found to contain a gell like substance in some batches, which looks almost like frogspawn. Cheaper brands also do not contain the lubrication and the cleaning agents of branded fuel, apparently. Diesel injector failure has often been put down to poor quality fuel being used, lacking lubrication.

I have seen compression and emission tests done before and after a fuel additive/system cleaner has been used and the results have spoken for themselves. Even with high use cars.

I wouldn't use redex though, if your going to use a cleaner you might as well use something decent, which itself includes lubrication.
JohnD wrote: Standard diesel could be improved by the addition of Miller's Sport4 or Fortes to a similar level of premier fuel

The supermarket fuel may not always contain the cleaner pack of the branded diesel, but the addition of it did not change the Cetane rating.
Forte does not offer a fuel additive, it is a system cleaner and while it is perfectly safe to use in every tank of fuel, that is not its designed use. I have used Millers and other makes in the past as additives but don't use anything now.

There is more to fuel than cetane rating.


However, I find many people believe fuel is fuel and that is the end of that. No doubt the same people believe a tyre is a tyre ... :shock:

There are many conflicting reports to be found about fuel on the internet but find a reputable source and it will explain it.

From an own use point of view I have found in the past, especially with petrol cars, using supermarket fuel does not give the same MPG as premium branded fuel. As around here it all costs pretty much the same, I only ever use Shell now nad have done for years. BP when I'm not near a Shell.
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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by waynedance »

Shell diesel and forte cleaner now and again for me
Last tank was shells re branded nitro or what ever they now call v power.
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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by myglaren »

I tend to cycle between Shell (a ten mile round trip if I'm not passing it anyway), Total (two miles) and Sainsburys, 1 mile and practically next to Aldi where I do the bulk of my purchases. Occasionally Torq, on my way to/from work. Again, no difference.

There is no difference in them at all.
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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by evilally »

I have utterly thrashed my Clio round tracks for the last 70k/7 years on Sainsburys Super. No power or MPG difference compared to V-Power. Engine is as strong as the day I drove it off the forecourt. It gets an oil change every 6k, it's the engine oil that keeps engine internals clean, NOT the fuel. As far as oil changes go, you might consider engine flush rather than a fuel additive, although there is a lot of debate around that as well. The 406 gets oil changes every 3k with flush, or sometimes I just add half a litre of diesel and let it idle for 15 minutes before oil change. First time I did that it pulled out a remarkable amount of gunk.
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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by TooMany2cvs »

Citroenmad wrote:Tests conclude that this is not true. It largely depends on the engine design, the fuel used (branded vs cheap) and the use the car has. Cheap fuel such as that at supermarkets have recently been found to contain a gell like substance in some batches, which looks almost like frogspawn. Cheaper brands also do not contain the lubrication and the cleaning agents of branded fuel, apparently. Diesel injector failure has often been put down to poor quality fuel being used, lacking lubrication.
I've heard this so many times, but it always seems hard to reconcile with my understanding that all fuel in any given geographical area comes from one central distribution depot. AIUI, the only difference from Tesco to BP to Sainsbury to Total to Asda to Shell to the village garage down the road is a relatively small shot of branded jollop added to the tanker when it's filled from one of four hyoooooge vats. 95u/l, full-fat u/l, diesel, full-fat diesel.

Is it bull? Is it urban legend? Are these shots of brand-specific jollop actually really that good? What IS the true score? Anybody know for real...?
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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by Citroenmad »

evilally wrote: ... it's the engine oil that keeps engine internals clean, NOT the fuel..
Yes. But not the fuel system :? :lol:
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Re: Too Redex or not to redex

Post by isisalar »

I have used many fuel additives over the years in many different cars sometimes to cure a specific problem, sometimes in my own vehicle as maintenance.
The only stuff that has ever had any noticeable effect at all is Slick 50 fuel system treatment. Last bottle I bought was £13 recently. If nothing else it feels like you have an extra pair of cylinders while it's in the tank.
My local factors have been stocking it for about 20 yrs so it must be selling well even at that price
Try it you won't regret it
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