I have 5500 mi on my 2011 and haven't used a gas additive as of yet. Does anyone here have suggestions? I have read some posts where it is recommended due to build up on the back side of the valves. I always use premium Shell gas when available since it has the best additives from what I have heard.

 

I agree Shell is the best Top Tier gas. Using top tier gas will limit build up on the valves,that rob horsepower. I also add a bottle of Lucas injector cleaner once a month.

 

I just read an awesome article on here from an engineer who is with a large oil company. He apparently has invented/patented several things in this field. He said, in my words, injector and fuel additives are a waste of money and to put them in your kids college fund. He said run a brand name fuel, say Sunoco, for 5000 miles. It will leave some build up so switch brands, say Exxon, for 5000 miles, which will leave some build up but the additives will remove Sunocos deposits. It was a thread a week or so ago, I'll see if I can find it and attach.

 

I run a bottle of Techron through mine every 6 months. I figure that it can't hurt.

 

Not the first time that I have heard that recommendation. Certainly could be true. I use AMSOIL PI myself.

 

156,000 miles on my 07 with only 1 treatment of Techron. Still runs great.

 

Well I can see where all the additives could definitely be a waste of $$$. But changing fuel brands every 5000 is news to me. With that scenario seems like one would just be replacing one brands deposits with another brands deposits....therefore never really getting anywhere.....interesting..eh ??

 

Many consider Techron the best detergent additive...a bottle every oil change can't hurt and it only a few bucks.

It's also in Chevron and Texaco gasoline to a lesser extent.

 

With 4 Chevron stations in 6 miles of home, tank is never under 1/2.
I Have no no problem with just 93 and what tectron in it.

 

I add a bottle of Techron on occasion ... it might average once a year. But I use Chevron premium (93) exclusively.

I read something on here also about switching brands occasionally. Never heard of doing that before.

Probably the main thing to do is to avoid the off-brand discount gas that we see all over. Otherwise, any top tier premium gas should do the job. Occasionally adding a bottle of Techron or Seafoam or one of the others shouldn't hurt and might help.

 

Yet another one of these "Which fuel additive should I use?" threads.

Just use a top tier fuel (Google it) and don't waste a lot of money with everyone's personal favorite fuel additive. If one were to consult their vette's owner's manual, one would be advised to use a top tier fuel and that aftermarket fuel additives are unnecessary.

But, not taking my own (or GM's) advice, I will pour in a bottle of Seafoam or Techron about once a year. Maybe its an OCD thing or a just because I can thing.

 

Yes, I know just another one of those boring threads. But sometimes us junior members with a new Corvette, (to me anyway) just need a little advise from someone who has been around a little longer. And I want my car to be around a little longer also. Thanks for the advise, I will try a bottle of Seafoam after I hit 10,000 on the ticker.

 

I use techron but that is more for the fuel gauge issue prevention...I don't know if it helps with anything else but it can't do any harm. I also recommend taking your car for a nice long distance run on the highway to clean her out. You will also get to enjoy the car at the same time

 

Best advice yet.

 

Use Shell or Chevron and save your money for new wheels.

 

Contrary to the “can’t hurt” statements, using too much detergent can cause harm. I’m a retired refining engineer who has seen actual engine test data, and have written several posts on the topic. I won’t repeat all the details here, but the main point is that detergents leave some deposits of their own, so if your engine is already clean from using top tier gas, using extra detergent in addition to top tier gas will make your engine slightly dirtier by the small amount of those detergent residue deposits. It’s sort of like what would happen if you used way too much detergent in your clothes washing machine. It wouldn’t rinse out properly. Now mind you, this is not a serious problem. It’s not as though too much detergent is going to ruin your engine or generate massive deposits. The point is, you can indeed be slightly worse off by using top tier gas plus extra detergent, when compared to just top tier gas by itself. The additive level in top tier is optimized for maximum effectiveness, without going overboard. Adding stuff on top of that is going overboard.

As a related topic, the idea of rotating among top tier brands to get different “flavors” of detergent has far less merit than it used to. Back in the 70’s and 80’s when detergents were really coming into their own, it was true that one company’s additives were best on injectors, another’s on valves, and another’s on piston crowns, etc. So in that era, the “rotate among brands” idea made some sense. But as additives have improved, differences among the top tier brands have shrunk. They are now all very good in all areas. I’ll stop short of saying the “rotate among brands” idea no longer has any merit. But as long as you are using top tier, the advantage of rotating among top tier brands rather than sticking with a single brand is much smaller than it used to be.

 

Great, informative post. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

 

When my boys started driving they could not understand why I would not use Quick Trip gas in my Corvette. They both had beginners cars and QT gas was good enough in their cars.

Now the both have sporty cars with turbos that require premium gas like our C6's. Neither one will use QT gas anymore. Top Tier gas only now as it performs better.

 

In this day and age, just how can we be sure we are getting "Top Tier" gas. Are we to believe just because it says SHELL....or some other "TOP TIER" name that one can be absolutely certain that the gas they are getting is better on a regular basis ?? I hate to be a realest here, but I think those days are long gone.

 

QT is actually on top tier the list.